The poem When De Co'n Pone's Hot was written by Paul Laurence Dunbar. To understand the poem, you'd need to understand the Harlem Renaissance.
<h3>What was the
Harlem Renaissance?</h3>
The natural disasters and the decline in immigration due to the first World War caused many black workers to migrate from the South to the Northern parts of America.
At this time (somewhere between 1915 and 1916) the natural disasters rendered lots of black workers in the South redundant. So Northern industrialists headed south to recruit them.
Many of the black workers - over three hundred thousand - migrated during this period from the South to the North. Many of them on getting to the North settled in a place called Harlem.
With the expansion of population in this area and the Northern Industrialists being pro-anti-slavery, cultural expression among the blacks gained speed, hence, the Harlem Renaissance.
"When De Co'n Pone's Hot" in contemporary English means "<em>When the Corn pone (or Corn Bread) is Hot"</em>.
The writer uses phrases repeatedly to show that blacks were now free to live in their own homes and cook and eat what they liked - a major concern of the Harlem Renaissance - freedom. They were free as workers but not yet treated as equal citizens. The anticipation of this is what the writer refers to as "Fu' de glory time is comin'" that is "For the glory time is coming".
More importantly was the expression of ideas from black people by black people, using a language evolved by black people.
The characteristics of modernism that are present in the poem can be found in the following line:
- Symbolism: This is used very generously by the writer in lines 1-6
- Formality: The poem itself is written in Jive Talk a type of vernacular associated with black American Jazz musicians. Formalism is characterized by the inclusion of invented words in poetry or literature.
- Experimentation: Notice how the narrator takes the reader on a journey through their thoughts? That is an element of Experimentation.
See the link below for more exercises related to other poems by Paul Laurence Dunbar:
brainly.com/question/9525625
See the link below for more exercises related to the Harlem Renaissance
brainly.com/question/1092926
