(1) Characterize Brown’s “Sister Lou” in terms of the humanism displayed in “Ma Rainey,” “Break of Day,” “Puttin’ on Dog,” and “Slim in Hell.” Determine how the poet blends graciousness and delight in individuals with realism.
(2) Contrast Brown’s command of idiom and piquant humor in “Mister Samuel and Sam,” “Break of Day,” and “Master and Man” with the poetic vignettes of Edwin Arlington Robinson, Mari Evans, Maya Angelou, Sonya Sanchez, Edgar Lee Masters, and Langston Hughes.
(3) Discuss how Brown evokes the speaker’s bitterness in “Bitter Fruit of the Tree.” What does the “tree” in the poem’s title symbolize?
