Her poetry is noted for its sincerity and passion and often touched on topics including civil rights and second-wave feminism. And if you come I will be silent Nor speak harsh words to you. MALCOLM X is a distinct shape in a very pivotal period of my life. She says that her wish is that her lover approaches her softly. [23] The speaker begins by addressing her listener, telling them that if they come to her lightly and silently, that she will sit with and speak to them. date the date you are citing the material. Who Said It Was Simple by Audre Lorde is a powerful poem about the inequalities in various civil rights movements during the poets lifetime. date the date you are citing the material. Audre Lorde proposed a series of calming activities as a way to survive adversity. (LogOut/ When she is fifteen, Ellie first meets Miah and falls quickly in love. wild for life, relentless and acqu, An upright abutment in the mouth Jeremiah is a black boy from Brooklyn while Ellie is a white girl from the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The speaker requests that their love interest makes a gentle approach indicating that she only wants a positive experience despite their love and hate relationship. Try it today! Highly personal, Sister Outsider reflects how Audre Lorde's deals with the many faces of systematic oppression, in order to become whole. If You Come Softly If You Come Softly is about Jeremiah who is fifteen and black and Ellie who is fifteen and white. it will leave my shape behind. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. It takes place in Manhattan. And whether you use it or whether you waste it, you are responsible for it. The poet uses personification in order to give human characteristics to non-human things. your face in the evening schools o If You Come Softly (Audre Lorde) On October 12, 2014 By RadicalDiscipleship In Art as Resistance, Feminist/Womanist/Queer Liberation and Theology If you come as softly As wind within the trees You may hear what I hear See what sorrow sees. The other theme of the novelwhich both main characters experienceis the negative effects of a broken family on youth. Through allusion, she suggests there is more separating them than it seems. The book ends with Ellie reflecting on their short-lived relationship and the idea that she will heal with time. Or how, or what you do. Audre Lordes poem If You Come Softly has five stanzas and is composed of quatrains, which are clusters of four lines. eNotes Editorial. Please continue to help us support the fight against dementia with Alzheimer's Research Charity. sleek leather boots on the pavemen, My mother had two faces and a fryi "I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.". Change). In the first stanza of If You Come Softly, the speaker begins with the line that later came to be used as the title of the poem. a cablegram nailed to the wood is the use of personification where sorrow is given human attributes such as the ability of sight. "If You Come Softly by Audre Lorde". We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make yourown. In the second line, Lorde uses simile by comparing a soft approach to the "wind within the trees," hinting at the paranormal nature of the poem's intended listener (line 2). of the Willis Avenue bridge I seek no favor. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. where she cooked up her daughters 2023