Legacies
her grandmother called her from the playground
“yes, ma’am”
“i want chu to learn how to make rolls” said the old
woman proudly
but the little girl didn’t want
to learn how because she knew
even if she couldn’t say it that
that would mean when the old one died she would be less
dependent on her spirit so
she said
“i don’t want to know how to make no rolls”
with her lips poked out
and the old woman wiped her hands on
her apron saying “lord
these children”
and neither of them ever
said what they meant
and i guess nobody ever does
Summary of Legacies
- Popularity of “Legacies”: “Legacies” by Nikki Giovanni, a famous American poet, author, and commentator, is a symbolic poetic piece. Written in 1976, the poem speaks about the transfer of knowledge. It beautifully captures how older people try to pass their knowledge, customs, traditions, and symbolic practices to the coming generations. It also explains the attitude of the young generation how they react when elderly people try to teach them something. The factual representation of the child’s behavior and its relevance with the present time has made this poem popular across the world.
- “Legacies” As a Representative of Time: The poem involves a brief dialogue between two characters, yet this simple conversation possesses a layer of meaning in it. It begins where the grandmother calls a little girl from the playground, intending to teach her the art of making rolls. To her surprise, the little girl confidently refuses to follow her grandmother’s guidelines. The reason for her refusal stands strong. She believes that this act will limit her in later life. Therefore, she bluntly rejects her grandmother’s ideas and chooses to live an independent life. On the other hand, grandmother’s pride turns into regret. She thinks that the new generation does not act rationally and makes hasty decisions.
- Major Themes in “Legacies”: Transfer of knowledge, perseverance of one’s tradition, and independence are the major themes of the poem. The poem presents two symbolic characters, a grandmother, presenting cultural thoughts and concerns. On the contrary, the little girl’s attitude shows liberal and independent practices of the young generation. For grandmother, passing her legacies and practices seem a fundamental goal of her life. However, for the little girl, one should be less dependent on his/her ancestral spirits and should have the freedom to determine the course of life. Through this simple poem, the poet explains how affection, love, and care plays a pivotal role in one’s family, and these tender feelings are faithfully transferred to the upcoming generations.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “Legacies”
literary devices are used to add deep ideas to simple compositions. The poets use them to bring clarity in their poetic pieces as Giovanni has done in this poem whose analysis is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ and /o/ in “and the old woman wiped her hands on” and the sound of /o/ in “i want chu to learn how to make rolls.”
- Allegory: It is a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures, and events. The speaker has used allegoric expression in the end of the poem when the elderly lady gets amazed on the reply of the little girl such as; “lord these children”.
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /w/ in “woman wiped” and /h/ sound in “her hands.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /n/ in “i don’t want to know how to make no rolls” and the sound of /r/ in “her grandmother called her from the playground.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
“her grandmother called her from the playground
“yes, ma’am”
“i want chu to learn how to make rolls” said the old
woman proudly.”
- Litotes: Niki uses double negative to show the attitude of the little girl such as “i don’t want to know how to make no rolls.” It is a good use of a litotes that means to use double negative to show positive or affirmative meanings.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Niki Giovanni has used imagery in the poem such as “her grandmother called her from the playground”, “and the old woman wiped her hands on/her apron saying” and “i want chu to learn how to make rolls”.”
- Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The title of the poem is ironic as it hints about something grand but the poem exhibits the worry of a grandmother.
- Metaphor: The poem shows the use of legacies as an extended metaphor to show the eagerness of elderly people such as “i want chu to learn how to make rolls.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The expressions like “the rolls” symbolizes the tradition of one’s family.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Legacies”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: The poem shows descriptive diction, having metaphors, symbolism, and impressive images.
- Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free-verse poem with no strict rhyme or metrical pattern.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. This is an eighteen-lined poem, having no stanza break.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to use when talking about the challenging attitude of children in the modern world.
“lord
these children”
and neither of them ever
said what they meant
and i guess nobody ever does.”
