The Harlem Dancer

The sonnet “The Harlem Dancer” leads to reveal its theme in the couplet at the end: 

“But, looking at her falsely-smiling face

I knew herself was not in that strange place”

This couplet changes my perception I first had enough to change the tone and meaning of the poem. At first, I believed that the interpretation of this sonnet was quite simple: young prostitutes dancing in a night club in front of a young audience. However, the diction used can be defined in many ways and the theme revealed in the couplet as well as the context of some similes and metaphors altered my perception of it. As Baraka said in his writing “Expressive Language”: “it is the users that establish the world’s realities” 

I believe the theme in this poem was that economic conditions can cause one to commit actions one never thought one would do yet one must endure to survive. This theme allows me to empathize with the prostitute and therefore I can highlight the diction used that corresponds to this emotion: “Her voice was like the sound of blended flutes.” The comparison of “blended flutes” could be used to express her hypnotizing effect on her audience however, in my opinion; the theme suggests that the sound of blended flutes is soft and could describe her vulnerable position like her audience is in presently. In addition, the next line of the sonnet provides a context to where the flutes were played: “Blown by black players upon a picnic day.” This situation completely contrasts the chaotic scene of a nightclub where everyone is drunk and running around while a group of people sitting together on a picnic day suggests a unity and blissful peace.  Moreover, her singing and dancing is described as “gracefully” and “calm”. This contrasts to the dancing of a common prostitute – sly, sexual, open, and revealing. These contrasting comparisons to the prostitute enhance her economic depravity that much more once the theme is understood. 

The audience creates the sexual tone in the poem. “The wine-flushed, bold-eyed boys, and even the girls” describes their current drunk and manipulated situation. They are mesmerized by the prostitute’s movements as described through their “bold-eyed” eyes. Then to further heighten their condition, McKay states “even the girls”. The word “even” can be stressed on to highlight the hypnotizing effect of the prostitute. Then McKay goes on to say that they “devoured her with their eager, passionate gaze”. The word “devoured” is usually used to describe the consuming action of a food by an animal. This word is animalistic and emphasizes their sexual hunger and desires. The words “eager” and “passionate” both describe their young age and sexual needs. 

All in all, the theme alters the meaning of the original diction which alters the overall tone of the sonnet. The sonnet portrayed both a sexual tone from the audience and a sorrowful tone from the prostitute.