Lucille Clifton: A Tribute to the Power of African Womanhood - Essay Sample

Introduction

Lucille Clifton was a talented and educated poet who used her life experiences in her poetry to help people acknowledge the beauty and power of being a woman. Her past informs the acknowledgment of the beauty and power associated with being an African woman. Being an African woman, various real issues used to occur in the society that needed to be highlighted. Therefore, she used her poetry to highlight the problems and make them known to other people. She was born on 27th June 1936, Depew, New York (Whitley 68). That was where she grew, under a set of circumstances that formed the basis of her works. Through her mother, she was made aware of the history of women in their lineage. That motivated her to enhance awareness and celebrate women through her literary works. Furthermore, what supported her poetry was the education which she earned. That enabled her to be more competent, writing, and better expressing her ideas (Grischkowsky 1). She graduated from Howard University, where she was studying on a scholarship. Later, she studied at the State University of New York at Fredonia, which furthered her literacy skills.

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Through her mother, and her studies, she was made aware of the issues that faced women in her lineage. For example, she told about a woman in her family sentenced to death as a result of manslaughter. The circumstances that led to her death were quite unclear, which enhanced her motivation to address issues facing women and celebrate them through her works. A key theme that is evident in most of the works by Lucille Clifton is that of celebration. The celebration that her work is centered on is that of the African American woman. The celebration is as a result of the unfavorable history that was associated with the women. Therefore, she saw it was of significance that she does highlight the desirable aspects of the women, which ought to be celebrated. Furthermore, there is a celebration of culture. She encourages people to be happy with their origin and celebrate their culture.

Through her poem' Homage to my hips, there is the celebration of a woman. The features that are associated with womanhood are celebrated throughout the poem. There is a description of the hips being big and desirable; they do not need to be held back because they are mighty (Clifton 1). Throughout the poem, there is the celebration of the look associated with an African American black woman. There is the assertion that the woman is not meant to be held back. She is to be appreciated because of her abilities and looks. Furthermore, the woman is magical and influential enough to cast a spell on a man. Through the detail, it is evident that there are very many reasons that are associated with a woman worth being celebrated. The unfavorable history related to black women was the reason behind her theme of the celebration. The women, earlier, had no rights equal to those of men. Therefore, she was engaged in making sure the women received the deserved appreciation in society.

The other highlight of the theme of celebration through the poems by Lucille Clifton is a poem in praise of menstruation. Menstruation was, in most cases, a source of shame to women, which had no justification. Therefore, she composed a poem in celebration of menstruation, so that there was no prejudice associated with it. 'Is there a river more beautiful than this?' is the opening of the poem. That shows the appreciation that is associated with women's biological processes. The significance of the process is highlighted and appreciated, as it signifies fertility. Fertility is the basis of human existence. The source of shame and ridicule in women is a source of pride in the poem. Therefore, through the poem, the theme of the celebration is evident. Another example of the theme of the celebration is evident in her poems is Praise Song. There is the praise of the natural women who, from a young age, is a source of pride. Therefore, that cements the fact that celebration is a significant theme that Lucille Clifton used in her poetry.

There are various techniques that Lucille Clifton applies in her work to enable her poems to convey her message. First, her poems are short and precise, which makes it easy to understand (Johnson 7). For most of her poems, they are just a few lines long, which are short too. Furthermore, the language she uses is direct, which avoids any likelihood of being misunderstood. That enables her to communicate various concepts transparently. Given the chance that she authored more poems that were long, there could be boredom, which would hinder her from effectively communicating her ideas to her intended audience. Furthermore, there is the use of imagery, which enhances the meaning associated with the contents in the poems. The way she describes women and their attractiveness is enough to enable an individual to understand what she is trying to communicate. The poems are simple to understand in the long run based on the basic techniques that she uses in poetry. Therefore, they are very useful in building up towards the theme of celebration of women in society.

The use of magery was the other technique that was used by Lucille Clifton in her works, which enabled her to communicate her ideas more effectively. The use of figurative language in describing the high prevalence of discrimination against women unable her audiences understand her works in a better way. For example, when the way she described her aunt Blanche enabled her audience to understand her message in a better way. She used vivid and precise descriptions to reduce the chance of boredom or to misunderstand the contents of her work through her short poems. In some cases, she used similes to compare unfamiliar ideas with familiar attributes. She was able to communicate her ideas in a significant way through the use of multiple techniques, hence her influence.

There are various influences associated with the works by Lucille Clifton. First, the appreciation of women in the community was influenced by her works, as well as being influenced by it. The history of women being oppressed and not being appreciated made her compose poems in their celebration. As an extended effect, it had an impact on enhancing the celebration of women. That is evident through the multiple awards that the poems won. The awards are a reflection of the positive reception of the poems in society. Based on the effect that her poetry had, she compared favorably with other authors. The accolades that her poems enabled her to win are a reflection of how superior her quality was, compared to other authors. Her poems were about real issues that people faced in society; in this case, gender issues. Her works' reception was positive, which ranks her among the best poets in issues concerning gender. For example, her work in praising menstruation ranks highly among other works about women. That was because she was courageous enough to highlight the issue in real terms, which most authors were afraid of doing.

Various notable figures were influenced by the works of Lucille Clifton, which highlights the quality of her work. The goal of most authors is to have a desirable influence on the people that read their work. For example, she helped the Black Arts Movement in addressing their issues. They had the goal of resisting the mistreatment that African Americans, which were meant to enhance their dignity. Influential people and activists such as Malcolm X are known to have been inspired by her works. That is through the way they quoted their work; which helped them advance their goals and objectives for the society. Moreover, when in school, she was in charge of mentoring other prospective writers to enhance their writing skills. Through her mentorship, they were able to develop their skills and become better authors. On that basis, they expressed their ideas in a better way, which is credited to the influence of Lucille Clifton.

The poetry work by Lucille Clifton fits perfectly well in her time in history; because of its message. There was a need for the empowerment of women, after a long time of being taken for granted. There was gender inequality at that time, which was unfair to most women. There was a need for appreciation and enabling them to achieve more in life. Through her gratitude, the women had better dignity and were celebrated. During her period, there was also the issue of stereotyping women, which placed them in a disadvantaged position. Through her works of poetry, women were viewed in a better light, which was favorable for their growth and welfare in society. In the face of hardships, there was a need to make sure the women have resilience in the struggles. That was reiterated in the poem 'Blessing the Boats", where the graduating students were encouraged to have resistance in life. All people, regardless of gender, are faced with challenges in life, for example, in this case, after graduation. The message was realistic at that time, because of the difficulties that people might face, mostly women, after getting out of school. There is encouragement that the graduates turn misfortunes into their fortunes. 'May you kiss the wind and turn from it certain that it will love you back" (Clifton 27).Therefore, she did fit perfectly in the historical period because she addressed empowerment and challenges, which were predominant at that time.

Through her work, Lucille Clifton influenced other authors by encouraging them to address the various issues that were facing people in society. For example, concerns regarding women's dignity were a significant part of her poems. The success achieved by her works encouraged other authors to join in addressing the issues affecting the welfare of women. Through the accolades, she won, and the recognition, it was enough to motivate other authors to join her in addressing some vital issues in society. The inspiration is one of the factors that contributed to her fame, as the issues she highlighted were of considerable significance to the people. One of the unique attributes associated with her work was her excellent art of description. In most of her poems, the principal character was always a woman. She described women in captivating terms, which made it such an exciting piece of work. For example, there is a description of her aunt Blanche, who was an amazing woman. Although Lucille Clifton was just ten years old, she could notice how an amazing woman the aunt was. She made a traffic stop and the environment more captivating. That was a highlight of one of the most interesting characters in her poems.

One of the exciting aspects of the work by Lucille Clifton is the direct language he uses to refer to various issues. For most authors, there is the censorship of terms, to make their work sensitive to certain words. However, for the poems by Lucille Clifton, she does mention issues by their original conditions. For example, with the problem with menstruation, she does describe everything in literal terms. For other authors, maybe they would have used different terms to describe various ideas. The use of literal and direct terms in her works is consistent with her theme of the celebration. She makes it evident that there is no reason to be ashamed of any aspect that is associated with women. She mentions everything that another author might have been afraid of mentioning in their work. That makes most of her work interesting to read.

There are various aspects of Lucille Clifton that highlight her importance through the various works that she authored. First, she is crucial for advancing equality in society. At the time of her authoring multiple works, there was widespread gender discrimination. Women were not afforded the dignity they deserved in society. That was inconsistent with the interests of many members of t...