The making of classifications by literary
historians can be a somewhat risky enterprise.
When Black poets are discussed separately as a
group, for instance, the extent to which their
(5) work reflects the development of poetry in
general should not be forgotten, or a distortion
of literary history may result. This caution
is particularly relevant in an assessment of
the differences between Black poets at the turn of
(10) the century (1900-1909) and those of the gener-
ation of the 1920's. These differences include the
bolder and more forthright speech of the later
generation and its technical inventiveness. It
should be remembered, though, that comparable
(15) differences also existed for similar generations
of White poets.
When poets of the 1910's and 1920's are
considered together, however, the distinctions
that literary historians might make between
(20) "conservative" and "experimental' would be
of little significance in a discussion of Black
poets, although these remain helpful classifications
for White poets of these decades. Certainly differ-
ences can be noted between "conservative"
(25) Black poets such as Countee Cullen and Claude
McKay and "experimental" one such as Jean Loomer
and Langston Hughes. But Black poets were not
battling over old or new styles; rather, one
accomplished Black poet was ready to
(30) welcome another, whatever his her style,
for what mattered was racial pride.
However, in the 1920's Black poets did
debate whether they should deal with specif-
ically racial subjects. They asked whether they
(35) should only write about Black experience for
a Black audience or whether such demands were
restrictive. It may be said, though, that virtually
all these poets wrote their best poems when they
spoke out of racial feeling, race being, as James
(40) Weldon Johnson rightly put in. "perforce the
thing the Negro poet knows best"
At the turn of the century, by contrast, most
Black poets generally wrote in the conventional
manner of the age and expressed noble, if vague,
(45) emotions in their poetry. These poets were
not unusually gifted, though Boscoe Jamison and
G, M, McClellen may be mentioned as excep-
tions. They chose not to write in dialect, which,
as Sterling Brown bas suggested, "meant a
(50) rejection of stereotypes of Negro life," and they
refused to write only about racial subjects. This
refusal had both a positive and a negative conse-
quence. As Brown observes, "Valuably insisting that
Negro poets should not be confined to is-
(55) sues of race, these poets committed [an] error…
they refused to look into their hearts and write.
" These are important insights, but one must stress
that this refusal to look within was also typical
of most White poets of the United States
(60) at the time. They, too often turned from their
own experience and consequently produced not very
memorable poems about vague topics, such as the
peace of nature.
17. According to the passage, most turn-of-the- century Black poets generally did which of the following?
(A) Wrote in ways that did not challenge accepted literary practice.
(B) Described scenes from their own lives.
(C) Aroused patriotic feelings by expressing devotion to the land.
(D) Expressed complex feeling in the words of ordinary people.
(E) Interpreted the frustrations of Blacks to an audience of Whites.
18. According to the passage, an issue facing Black poets in the 1920's was whether they should
(A) seek a consensus on new techniques of poetry
(B) write exclusively about and for Blacks
(C) withdraw their support from a repressive society
(D) turn away from social questions to recollect the tranquillity of nature
(E) identify themselves with an international movement of Black writers
19. It can be inferred from the passage that classi- fying a poet as either conservative or experi- mental would be of "little significance" (line 21) when discussing Black poets of the 1910's and the 1920's because
(A) these poets wrote in very similar styles
(B) these poets all wrote about nature in the same way
(C) these poets were fundamentally united by a sense of racial achievement despite differences in poetic style.
(D) such a method of classification would fail to take account of the influence of general poetic practice
(E) such a method of classification would be relevant only in a discussion of poet's separated in time by more than three decades
20. The author quotes Sterling Brown in line 53-56 in order to
(A) present an interpretation of some Black poets that contradicts the author's own assertion about their acceptance of various poetic styles
(B) introduce a distinction between Black poets who used dialect and White poets who did not
(C) disprove James Weldon Johnson's claim that race is what "the Negro poet knows best "
(D) suggest what were the effects of some Black poets decision not to write only about racial subjects
(E) prove that Black poets at the turn of the century wrote less conventionally than did their White counterparts
21. It can be inferred from the passage that the author finds the work of the majority of the Black poets at the turn of the century to be
(A) unexciting
(B) calming
(C) confusing
(D) delightful
(E) inspiring
22. The author would be most likely to agree that poets tend to produce better poems when they
(A) express a love of nature
(B) declaim noble emotions
(C) avoid technical questions about style'
(D) emulate the best work of their predecessors
(E) write from personal experience
23. Which of the following best describes the attitude of the author toward classification as a technique in literary history?
(A) Enthusiastic
(B) Indifferent
(C) Wary
(D) Derisive
(E) Defensive |
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