The Harlem Dancer-poem

The Harlem Dancer

Claude Mckay

applauding youths laughed with young prostitutes

And watched her perfect, half-clothed body sway;

Her voice was like the sound of blended flutes

Blown by black players upon a picnic day.

She sang and danced on gracefully and calm,

The light gauze hanging loose about her form;

To me she seemed a proudly-swaying palm

Grown lovelier for passing through a storm.

Upon her swarthy neck black, shiny curls

Profusely fell; and, tossing coins in praise,

The wine-flushed, bold-eyed boys, and even the girls,

Devoured her with their eager, passionate gaze;

But, looking at her falsely-smiling face

I knew her self was not in that strange place.

(http://www.poetry-archive.com/m/the_harlem_dancer.html)

Analysis 

The Harlem Dancer by Claude McKay is about the people and the nightclubs in Harlem. in the poem he is describing a scene of young man with prostitutes watching a beautiful woman dance on the dance floor. the way she is dancing implies that she he proud of who she is, with no shame. "to me she seemed a proudly-swaying palm". and it also implies that overcoming her hard times have made her this proud beautiful woman "grown lovelier for passing through the storm" she is also obviously dancing for some kind of money "tossing coins in praise" by the way the poet describes her, it sounds like hes saying that she is too good to be dancing for money and that they cant put a price on her. its almost like hes describing her soul.

  the HR themes that i see in this poem are pride because the way McKay describes her it sounds like she is proud of who she is as a black woman.there is a great deal of imagery in this poem. i can easily the "bold eyed boys" and the "shiny curls".i realy like this poem because its really colorful and well written. i chose it because i felt like there could be a diverse oppinion about what it meant, and there were so many things i grabbed from the poem.