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"The Ballad of Chocolate Mabbie"- Analysis

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"The Ballad of Chocolate Mabbie"- Analysis

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There is a strong sense of empathy in this poem. The narrator (Gwendolyn Brooks) feels bad for Mabbie in her situation; but she continues to tell the story anyways. The story is set in front of grammar school, which is where Willie Boone attends school; and Mabbie is waiting for him. He, unfortunately, wants nothing to do with her and basically rejects her. Mabbie has other black friends, but no white friends as shown by saying "It was Mabbie alone by the grammar school gates. Yet chocolate companions had she." (Brooks, 21-22) This poem is set in ballad-meter; so it is very structured. Each stanza has 4 lines, and each line has about the same number of syllables. Racism was still alive and thriving at this time period. Gwendolyn Brooks went to all sorts of high schools, so she knows what the racial prejudices are like from a first hand experience. She uses this experience while writing "The Ballad of Chocolate Mabbie" to tackle racial prejudice. The meaning of this story is that someone's skin color does not mean that you can make a judgement on them, or treat them differently than other poeple. This is also sad from the standpoint that this is an innocent little seven year old girl; and yet racial prejudices are playing a role in her life. She doesn't know any differently; which implies that racial bias is something taught to humans, not something that we are just naturally born with.

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Literary Terms- "The Ballad of Chocolate Mabbie"

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Literary Terms- "The Ballad of Chocolate Mabbie"

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Anaphora- the deliberate repitition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses or paragraphs.
"Mabbie without the grammar school gates. And Mabbie was all of seven. And Mabbie.... And Mabbie..." (Brooks, 1-4)
The repeated use of "And Mabbie" is emphasizing the characterization of Mabbie; giving more and more information on the poems' main subject.

Ballad- a song-like poem that tells a story, often one dealing with adventure or romance. Ballads often employ repitition or a refrain.
"He would surely be coming soon. Oh, warm is the waiting for joys, my dears!" (Brooks, 12-13)
The story follows Mabbie throughout her journey of longing for Willie Boone. It is set in ballad meter and has a certain tone of hope, and then despair. This ballad does not have a happy ending; but it does prove a point.

Symbol- is a person, place, object or activity that stands for something beyond itself.
"And Mabbie was cut from a chocolate bar." (Brooks, 3)
The chocolate in this case is a symbol for Mabbie's African American lineage and ethnicity. Chocolate certainly has a positive connotation to it; and it brings to mind the color brown. One can then infer that Mabbie is black.

Understatement- saying less than is actually meant, usually in an ironic way.
"For Willie Boone went to school When she sat by him in history class," (Brooks, 6-7)
This is just simply stating the facts. The fact that Willie Boone is in Mabbie's history class is actually quite significant; but it is presented in a way that one would not know that this is any significant event without context clues.

Diction- word choice.
"He wore like a jewel a lemon-hued lynx With sand-waves loving her brow." (Brooks, 19-20)
The diction in this case is informal and quite playful. Brooks uses whatever language she feels will best help the reader to understand her point of view. Carefully chosen, yes, but still in language that a seven year old could (mostly) understand and relate to.

Metaphor-  is a comparison between two unlike things without using "like" or "as".
" Oh, pity the little poor chocolate lips That carry the bubble of song!" (Brooks, 15-16)
This is using a metaphor as well as imagery, to create a picture in the readers mind of Mabbies joyful lips. Also a hint of foreshadowing with reagards to the use of the word pity. This means that something undesirable is most likely going to happen to her, and that bubble will pop.

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This is a poem about the subject of abortion; more specifically how it relates to the mother. It is not directly pro-choice, neither is it directly pro-life. Rather, it discusses the theme of what could have been and the sadness that surrounds this subject. Very vivid descriptions and language are used, and the poem is very structered. This structure is somewhat anticlimactic, as how can there be structure when life itself doesn't have structure. The meaning is clearly seen in the phrase, "Believe me, I loved you all. Believe me, I knew you, though faintly, and I loved, I loved you All." (Brooks, 34) This is showcasing how the stererotypical role of a mother would feel, or rather does feel, when something so traumatic as an abortion occurs in their life. At the time this poem was written, abortion was a rarely discussed topic that was basically taboo. Brooks dedicated a lot of her career to representing the underrepresented; so it makes sense that she would openly talk about a topic like this when everyone else was afraid to. This poem was very impactful to me, and I think Gwendolyn Brooks beautifully (yet sadly) portrayed the more intricate emotional aspects that result from losing a child.

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Speaker: in a poem is the voice that "talks" to the reader, like the narrator in fiction.
"Though why should I whine, Whine that the crime was other than mine?" (Brooks, 22)
The speaker is very strong in this poem, very opinionated and emotional. This affects the entire poem because the reader is seeing the topic through the speaker's eyes.

Aphorism- a general truth or observation about life, usually stated concisely and pointedly.
"Abortions will not let you forget." (Brooks, 1)
Brooks does not mince words in this case, she lets the audience know her observation, without any "fluff". Sudden, jarring start to the poem.

Implication- a suggeston an author or speaker makes  (implies) without stating it directly.
"Believe that even in my deliberateness I was not deliberate." (Brooks, 21)
Although not explicitly stated; the audience can infer that Brooks knows quite a bit on the subject of abortion, both physically and emotionally. Personally, I have inferred that she herself has had an abortion. While I can be wrong, the speaker makes it easy for the reader to assume this.

Anaphora- the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the begininng of several successive verses, clauses or paragraphs.
"if I sinned, if I seized... If I stole your births and your names... If I poisoned the beginnings of your breaths," (Brooks, 15-20)
The use of the words "if I" emphasize a point the speaker is trying to make about the sadness she feels for the possibility of ever hurting the fetus. This also gives the reader insight as to the good intentions behind the mother.

Connotation- an association that a word calls to mind in addition to its dictionary meaning.
"It is just that you never giggled or planned or cried." (Brooks, 30)
Giggled is something a small child typically does, planning happens in the teenage years and crying comes with heartbreak and other woes. These three words show a slight progression in the life that "could have been". These words each bring to mind something different for everyone; but they are all actions and can be associated with a certain time period in someones life.

Figurative Language- is writing or speech not meant to be interpreted literally. It creates vivid word pictures and makes writing emotionally intense and concentrated.
"I have heard in the voices of the wind the voices of my dim killed children," (Brooks. 11)
This example of figurative language shows how intense and serious this is. Using the wind, which connotates shiftiness and uncertatinty; is being phrased together with the unborn child. The voices are there; perhaps she is just imagining them, perhaps she is not. Though, it is not meant to be interpreted literally and can be seen as something said to add to the intensity of the poem.

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Gwendolyn Brooks was born on June 7,1917 in Topeka, Kansas. She had a good family, so when she speaks of functional families; that is coming from a first hand experience. As an African American, she attended an all-white high school, an all-black high school and an integrated high school in Chicago. This influenced her works in regards to racial dynamics. Her first book of poetry, "A street in Bronzeville" gained critical acclaim shortly after being published in 1945. John Kennedy invited Brooks to read poetry at the Library of Congress in 1962; and she was appointed poetry consultant. Brooks is the first black Pulitzer Prize recipient; and her works are known worldwide. In addition to her long list of accolades; Brooks also won the highest humanities award that can be appointed by the federal government. 1967 is when a big turning point in her career took place. She joined the "Black Arts" movement; this did not change her poetry much but did lead to a publishing of a number of books shortly thereafter. Two specific works, "The Wall" and "Ode to Chicago Picasso" were dedicated to ceremonies in Chicago embracing this movement. As a protest poet, she used suggestive language instead of harsh, bludgeoning language that could detract from the more conservative population. Finally, she was appointed poet laurete of Illinois in 1968; and is very active in participating in workshops for inner city kids. Her mantra is to "find the poetry in your lives", and believes that perspective is key for appreciating poetry. Gwendolyn had two children and a husband, resided in the South Side of Chicago for her entire life, and succumbed to cancer at the age of 83.

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Brooks, Gwendolyn. "The Ballad of Chocolate Mabbie." Prairie Lights Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2017
Brooks, Gwendolyn. "The Mother." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, 1945. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.
Selvi, Muththamizh. "Racism in the Poems of Gwendolyn Brooks." Choice Reviews Online27.10 (1990): n. pag. Indian Journal of Applied Research. Web. 5 Apr. 2017.
Williams, Kenny Jackson. "Gwendolyn Brooks' Life and Career." Gwendolyn Brooks' Life and Career. Oxford University Press, 1997. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

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It was Mabbie without the grammar school gates.
And Mabbie was all of seven.
And Mabbie was cut from a chocolate bar.
And Mabbie thought life was heaven.

The grammar school gates were the pearly gates,
For Willie Boone went to school
When she sat by him in history class
Was only her eyes were cool.

It was Mabbie without the grammar school gates
Waiting for Willie Boone.
Half hour after the closing bell!
He would surely be coming soon.

Oh, warm is the waiting for joys, my dears!
And it cannot be too long.
Oh, pity the little poor chocolate lips
That carry the bubble of song!

Out came the saucily bold Willie Boone.
It was woe for our Mabbie now.
He wore like a jewel a lemon-hued lynx
With sand-waves loving her brow.

It was Mabbie alone by the grammar school gates.
Yet chocolate companions had she:
Mabbie on Mabbie with hush in the heart.
Mabbie on Mabbie to be.

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Abortions will not let you forget.

You remember the children you got that you did not get,

The damp small pulps with a little or with no hair,

The singers and workers that never handled the air.

You will never neglect or beat

Them, or silence or buy with a sweet.

You will never wind up the sucking-thumb

Or scuttle off ghosts that come.

You will never leave them, controlling your luscious sigh,

Return for a snack of them, with gobbling mother-eye.

I have heard in the voices of the wind the voices of my dim killed children.

I have contracted. I have eased

My dim dears at the breasts they could never suck.

I have said, Sweets, if I sinned, if I seized

Your luck

And your lives from your unfinished reach,

If I stole your births and your names,

Your straight baby tears and your games,

Your stilted or lovely loves, your tumults, your marriages, aches, and your deaths,

If I poisoned the beginnings of your breaths,

Believe that even in my deliberateness I was not deliberate.

Though why should I whine,

Whine that the crime was other than mine?—

Since anyhow you are dead.

Or rather, or instead,

You were never made.

But that too, I am afraid,

Is faulty: oh, what shall I say, how is the truth to be said?

You were born, you had body, you died.

It is just that you never giggled or planned or cried.

Believe me, I loved you all.

Believe me, I knew you, though faintly, and I loved, I loved you

All.

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Period 6