“Dialect or the speech of the people is capable of expressing whatever the people are.”

 

main | biography | literary terms | literary criticism | activities | outline | works cited | links | poetry presentation web

http://www.infojustice.com/NYPD%20Officer%20Drury%20man%20of%20the%20people.jpg

Literary Terms and Analysis

Lines (1-5)

Rhetorical Strategy

Explanation

Let us forgive Ty Kendricks.

The place was Darktown. He was young. 

His nerves were jittery. The day was hot. 

The Negro ran down the alley. 

And so Ty shot.

Tone, diction, allusion, juxtaposition, connotation, imagery

Brown alludes to the Christian tenet that all deserve forgiveness in order to validate his empathy. The diction reinforces the sympathetic and exonerating tone.

The imagery created by the diction and connotation of “Darktown” portrays the town's community as immoral and foreshadows a tragic event. Brown juxtaposes the nervous young cop with the fleeing Negro to propose the killing as a natural reaction. Brown juxtaposes "Darktown" and "[t]he day was hot" in order to give a sense of irony.

 

Lines 6-10

Let us understand Ty Kendricks.

The Negro must have been dangerous,

Because he ran;

And here was a rookie with a chance

To prove himself a man.

 

Selection of detail, diction, tone shift, mood

The diction and negative connotations reveal a drastic shift in tone. The selection of detail incorporates the ideas of Southern society’s role in the killing. This diction also exposes Brown’s dissatisfactory mood towards the murder.

Lines 11-16

Let us condone Ty Kendricks

If we cannot decorate. 

When he found what the Negro was running for,

It was too late;

And all we can say for the Negro is

It was unfortunate.

Tone shift, diction, connotation, understatement

Through the use of diction, Brown shifts the tone. The tone shifts from

The connotation of the word decorate implies a military award or civil award, and the following line clarifies the Negro's innocence and Ty's wrongdoing. Ty does not deserve this award because the Negro was innocent of any crime.

The use of understatement draws great attention to the last line of the third stanza. The author is implying that it is more than unfortunate. It is terrible.

Lines 17-22

Let us pity Ty Kendricks. 

He has been through enough,

Standing there, his big gun smoking,

Rabbit scared, alone,

Having to hear the wenches wail

And the dying Negro moan.

 

Tone shift, diction, imagery, onomatopoeia, mood

The first line also indicates a shift in tone. Brown implies that society should look down upon Ty for his actions and actually pity the Negro and his family.

 

The imagery of the big gun further cements the view of Ty Kendricks as a criminal.

The utilization of onomatopoeia affects the reader significantly because Brown echoes the sounds throughout the mind of a man dying in front of his family, screeching, while his killer coldly watches his death. This reveals the Brown's angry mood and his efforts within the poem to condem Ty Kendricks and sympathsize with the Negro's family.

Other Rhetorical Strategies

  • Repetition
    • The repetition of the first sentence in each stanza signifies an upcoming change in tone
    • Brown adds signifcant emphasis to the first line of each stanza through repetition
    • Repetition of the word negro serves to equate the worth of a black man’s life to a white man’s and stress the great injustice of Ty’s actions
  • Style
    • The poem is written like a eulogy to signify the death of Ty Kendrick’s innocence and fragile understanding of society
  • Verbal Irony
    • The entire poem focuses upon verbal irony
    • Brown utilizes other literary devices in order to make the irony prevalent
    • He purposely switches his tone and diction to over-emphasize the irony of his poem
  • Punctuation
      • use of periodic sentences continues a quick, straight-forward pace, and connects the structure together
      • when there are commas and colons there is a pause in the thinking and Brown heeds the reader to pay attention

      Rhyme Scheme:

Let us forgive Ty Kendricks. A.

The place was Darktown. He was young. B. 

His nerves were jittery. The day was hot.  C.

The Negro ran down the alley.  D.

And so Ty shot. C.

 

Let us understand Ty Kendricks. A.

The Negro must have been dangerous, E.

Because he ran; F.

And here was a rookie with a chance G.

To prove himself a man. E.

 

Let us condone Ty Kendricks A.

If we cannot decorate.  H.

When he found what the Negro was running for, I.

It was too late; J.

And all we can say for the Negro is K.

It was unfortunate. J.

 

Let us pity Ty Kendricks.  A.

He has been through enough, L.

Standing there, his big gun smoking, M.

Rabbit scared, alone, N.

Having to hear the wenches wail O.

And the dying Negro moan. N.

 

This unique rhyme scheme gives a certain flow to the poem and adds emphais and effect to the rhymed lines.