The themes of written texts will be more compelling when the reader discerns careful
language choices.
In order for the themes of written texts to be compelling, they must be relevant to the audience
and challenge the reader both intellectually and emotionally. An example of a text which
undoubtedly achieves this is ‘A Brave and Startling Truth” by Maya Angelou. As her official
website states, her words “stir our souls, energise our bodies, liberate our minds and heal our
hearts”, showing just how compelling her writing is. In this poem, Angelou’s careful language
choices are clearly discernible by the reader, and allow her to effectively portray her theme; that
humanity is an intriguing phenomenon plagued with paradoxes. Being able to appreciate the
purpose with which Angelou has crafted her work makes us more drawn to the message she is
seeking to convey to us. Thus, this poem is the perfect example through which we must surely
agree that the themes of written texts will be more compelling when the readers discerns
careful language choices.
Maya Angelou’s background has clearly shaped her understandings of the complexities of
humanity and its paradoxes, such as out extreme capacity for both cruelty and compassion,
which in turn has led to it being a common theme in her works. A more succinct opening
sentence is likely to be more effective Being Black, female and from an economically
disadvantaged background, she grew up as a victim of 20th Century societal judgment, and the
prejudices she faced taught her the extent of the human capacity for cruelty. However, she also
learnt to value humanity and appreciate its equally strong capacity for kindness through the
influence of her grandmother, who raised and mentored her in her early years. This depth of
understanding of our paradoxical nature led to an intrigue with humanity, and she was
saddened by how our negative tendencies were destroying the possibility of all men living
peacefully. She believed if we understood our paradoxes and valued humanity more, we would
be able to work to overcome the societal problems caused by our nature. In doing so, she hoped
the race might one day reach through to a perfect world of peace and prosperity for all. Thus,
because of her true desire to create this change, she has carefully crafted her work so as to best
present and persuade us to her way of thinking. Being able to sense this specific crafting allows
us to see the theme and message more clearly, which makes them all the more compelling for
us. Rather than having a paragraph like this, I would suggest you launch straight into your
analysis and discussion of the poem in relation to the topic. These ideas are more effective if
they are spread across an essay in the context of the poem.
One aspect which we can pick up almost immediately is Angleou’s desire for all to be included in
her message. From her very first lines, we see she has chosen personal pronouns and direct
address in the hopes of achieving this: “We, this people/ O this small and lonely planet.”
Immediately, we realise she is drawing us all in, and this feeling of inclusion allows the message
to challenge us more effectively. We see a further attempt at making us feel included – an indeed
an effective attempt – in her use of anaphora. She starts seven of the stanzas with the line
“When we come to it” – “When we come to it/ To the day of peacemaking” and “When we come
to it/ When the curtain falls on the minstrel show of hate”, for example. Repetition of this all
inclusive phrase reminds us that Angelou is seeking to make us aware that this message applies
to us, and we must act on it. We are all part of the human race – this body that she refers to as
“the miraculous, the true wonder of this world.” We must realise this, and see how we are
denying ourselves the peaceful conditions we deserve, because of our innate paradoxical nature.
Thus, in being able to discern the purpose behind this deliberate use of inclusive language and
anaphora, the theme is made more relevant to us, and therefore more compelling.
Having thus established the theme’s relevant relevance to us, we see how Angelou has then
chosen to build our understanding of the theme through the use of contrasts. Angelou has
effectively employed juxtaposition to make the extremes of our capacities more clear. She
repeatedly puts a description of a negative feature of humanity alongside a positive idea, such as
in the lines, “We this people…/ Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade and the dagger/ Yet
who petition in the dark for tokens of peace.” In being able to see why she has chosen to do this
– that is, to effectively contrast the extreme capacities to deepen our understanding of our
paradoxes – we are in a better position to appreciate the effect of the language use. Because
indeed, as we consider her outstanding use of juxtaposition, we cannot help but be intrigued by
the paradoxes it points up, and saddened by the realisation of how they plague the prosperity of
the race. This certainly challenges us to think about how we must control our cruel tendencies.
Thus again, the discernment of purposeful language choices allow her theme to resonate with
us, thus achieving her purpose.
We see Angelou using imagery to build on her use of contrast and add further impact to her
theme, which indeed it does. We can see she has chosen to use imagery to make the current
state of the race seem worse, to make the prospect of overcoming it more desirable, such as in
the lines “When children are not kicked awake/ By nightmares of abuse.” The negative image
this concrete imagery conjures up combine with the harsh aural sound of “kicked awake” to
deepen our understanding of the unfortunate results of our paradoxical nature. A further
example of this combination of imagery and aural devices is the lines “When the rapacious
storming of the churches/ The screaming racket in the temples has ceased” – here, the sibilance
of “rapacious storming” and harsh sound of “screaming racket” combines with the chaotic image
to deepen our understanding of the theme. On the other hand, we see Angelou has also chosen
to use positive imagery to make more desirable the positive world she is holding out to us if we
could overcome our paradoxes. This is seen in the peaceful image created in the lives “When we
release our fingers from fists of hostility/ And allow the pure air to cool our palms” – what an
affecting image. Analyse this example and explain why it is effective Understanding Angelou’s
language choices and the effect she hope to create puts us in a position to question why she is so
desirous of creating these effects. We realise how much this idea must mean to her, and sense
that this is an important idea. Aside from the effects that occur inevitably through te
effectiveness of these choices, this understanding of why Angelou sought to gain these effects
takes us to a new level of insight into the value of what she is telling us. Thus, while the effects of
her use of language make her theme clear on their own, an appreciation of the deliberateness of
her choices helps to make it even more compelling.
Be specific. Say something about the theme and the poet’s purpose
Thus, Angelou’s specific choice of language techniques such as direct address, anaphora,
contrasts and imagery have certainly been effective in conveying her theme about the
complexities of humanity. Because we can identify these specific choices, her writing becomes
more appealing as we are challenged more deeply as to why she is seeking to convey her theme
to us. As we think more deeply about our paradoxical capacities and the way they plague
society, we are more able to be challenged both intellectually and emotionally by this theme.
Thus, the discernment of her purpose has undoubtedly contributed to her poem’s ability to “stir
our souls, energise our bodies, liberate our minds and heal our hearts”, showing that indeed, the
themes of any written text will be more compelling when we, the readers, discern careful
language choices.
This is a good essay. In general you could do with being less wordy and more specific. I would
suggest writing under 1000 words for the sake of time and the marker not being overwhelmed.
Aim to analyse each example in relation to the topic – this may mean using fewer examples. Also
aim to refer specifically to the “poet’s purpose”. Three body paragraphs is the idea number. Your
first body paragraph is unnecessary. I hope this is helpful.