Imitate
Poem by Maya Angelou
Because we have forgotten our ancestors,
our children no longer give us honor.
Because we have lost the path our ancestors cleared knelling in
perilous undergrowth, our children cannot find their way.
Because we have banished the God of our ancestors, children
cannot pray.
Because we have abandoned our wisdom of mothering and fathering,
our befuddled children give birth to children they neither want nor
understand.
Because we have forgotten how to love, the adversary is within
our gates, and holds up to the mirror of the world, shouting, “Regard the
loveless.”
Therefore, we pledge to bind ourselves to one another
To embrace our lowliest,
To educate our illiterate,
To feed our starving,
To clothe our ragged,
To do all good things, knowing that we are more than keepers of
our brothers and sisters. We are our brothers and sisters.
In honor of those who toiled and implored God with golden
tongues, and in gratitude to do the same God who brought us out of hopeless
desolation.
We make this pledge.
Analyze Poem and how this reflects on our family
Analysis
Deeper Meaning
If we keep neglecting the past:
- it’ll lead to an unguided future
- we’ll dismiss our basic values and morals
- we’ll be learning the same tedious lessons over and over again causing no progress with new discoveries to be made
- Repetition of “Because”
- cause and effect affect
- Repetition of “our ancestors”
- represents the cause
- past
- Repetition of “our children”
- represents the effect
- Present
- Since we have “forgotten” (1), “lost the path”(2), and “banished” (3) knowledge of our origin, we are unable to “give honor” (1), “find (our) way” (2), and “pray” (3) in order to be successful.
Lines 1-4
“The Black Family Pledge”
Because we have forgotten our ancestors, our children no longer give us honor.
Because we have lost the path our ancestors cleared, kneeling in perilous undergrowth, our children cannot find their way.
Because we have banished the God of our ancestors, our children can not pray.
Because the long wails of our ancestors have faded beyond our hearing, our children cannot hear us crying.
Because we have abandoned our wisdom of mothering and fathering, our befuddled children give birth to children they neither want nor understand.
Because we have forgotten how to love, the adversary is within our gates, and holds us up to the mirror of the world, shouting, Regard the loveless.
Therefore, we pledge to bind ourselves again to one another;
To embrace our lowliest,
To keep company with our loneliest,
To educate our illiterate,
To feed our starving,
To clothe our ragged,
To do all good things, knowing that we are more than keepers of our brothers and sisters. We are our brothers and sisters.
In honor of those who toiled and implored God with golden tongues, and in gratitude to the same God who brought us out of hopeless desolation,
We make this pledge
Biographical Context
Because we have forgotten our ancestors, our children no longer give us honor.
Because we have lost the path our ancestors cleared, kneeling in perilous undergrowth, our children cannot find their way.
Because we have banished the God of our ancestors, our children can not pray.
Because the long wails of our ancestors have faded beyond our hearing, our children cannot hear us crying.
- lived from 1928 until 2014
- Civil Rights Movement
- Civil Rights Activist for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X
- At the age of 7, she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend.
- caused her to be mute for 5 years
- Read many black authors’ works
- developed her love for written language
***Notice the repetition
- spokesperson for blacks, women, and all people who were committed to advocating moral standards in the U.S.
Lines 5 &6
Because we have abandoned our wisdom of mothering and fathering, our befuddled children give birth to children they neither want nor understand.
Because we have forgotten how to love, the adversary is within our gates, and holds us up to the mirror of the world, shouting, Regard the loveless.
Lines 7-13
Analysis
- Change of repetition from “Because” to “to”
- signals shift from cause to action
- no more blaming, have to act
- have to move on from the cause of our problems in order to fix what is broken by reconnecting to our past and relearning our morals
Therefore, we pledge to bind ourselves again to one another;
To embrace our lowliest,
To keep company with our loneliest,
To educate our illiterate,
To feed our starving,
To clothe our ragged,
To do all good things, knowing that we are more than keepers of our brothers and sisters. We are our brothers and sisters.
Analysis
Deeper
Meaning
- demonstrates the effect of dismissing our current duties to society
- causes a stagnant present that faces many problems with acceptance and responsibility because we, as a society, currently neglect “our wisdom of mothering” and “how to love”
- doesn’t give purpose, dedication, and kindness to the next generation who will impact the world.
- Repetition of “Because”
- cause and effect affect
- Previously repeated phrase of “our ancestors” is replaced with “our wisdom” (5) and “our gates” (6)
- emphasizes the transition from disregarding their past to not teaching in the present
- emphasizes that our problems are all in our control to fix and prevent
Maya Angelou’s “The Black Family Pledge”
By: Emma Vicen
Ihttps://prezi.com/tkayu7blzakg/maya-angelou-explication-2/ d eam modo exerci, vix ne reque neglegentur. Est euismod concludaturque ad, pri cu atqui altera euripidis. Vis no percipit menandri, eum ea prompta sanctus. Ex vel aliquid suscipit, nominati periculis per ei. Mel legere euismod ex.
