Paul Laurence Dunbar :: essays research papers fc

capital of Minnesota Laurence DunbarOutlineThesis The major accomplishments of Paul Laurence Dunbars life during 1872 to1938 label him as being an American poet, short story writer, and novelist.I. Introduction II. American poet     A. Literary English     B. Dialect poet          1. "Oak and Ivy"          2. "Majors and Minors"          3. "Lyrics of Lowly keep"          4. "Lyrics of the Hearthside"          5. "Sympathy" III. Short story writer     A. Folks from Dixie (1898)     B. The Strength of Gideon and Other Stories (1900)     C. The Heart of Happy Hollow (1904) IV. Novelist     A. The Uncalled (1898)   &nbs p B. The Love of Landry (1900)     C. The Fanatics (1901)     D. The Sport of the Gods (1902) V. Conclusion     Paul Laurence Dunbar attended grade schools and Central High School inDayton, Ohio. He was editor of the High School Times and president ofPhilomathean Literary Society in his senior year. Despite Dunbars growingreputation in the then small town of Dayton, writing jobs were closed to blackapplicants and the money to further his education was scarce. In 1891, Dunbargraduated from Central High School and was unable to find a decent job.Desperate for employment, he settled for a job as an ski lift operator in theCallahan Building in Dayton.     The major accomplishments of Paul Laurence Dunbars life during 1872 to1938 labeled him as an American poet. Dunbar had two poetic identities. He wasfirst a Victorian poet writing in a comparatively formal style of literaryEnglish. Dunbars other identit y was that of the dialect poet, writing lighter,usually humorous or sentimental work not merely in the Negro dialect however inother varieties as well Irish, once in German, but very frequently in thehoosier dialect of Indiana. There is good reason to assert, however, that thesources of Dunbars dialect verse were in the real language of the people. Thebasic charge of this reproof can be stated in the words of a recent critic,Jean Wagner. Dunbars dialect is, he says, "at best a secondhand instrument,irredeemably deface by the degrading things imposed upon it by the enemies ofthe Black people" (Revell, Paul Laurence Dunbar, pg. 84). One of the mostpopular of Dunbars dialect poems was and is "When Malindy Sings" which buildsupon the natural ability of the race in song and is acknowledged to be Dunbarstribute to his mothers spontaneous outbursts of singing as she worked in thekitchen. The message of the poem is of praise for simplicity of spirit and thelove of God.&nb sp     other of Dunbars superb poems is entitled "Sympathy", written in1895I know what the caged bird feels,alasWhen the sun is bright on theupland slopesWhen the wind stirs buggy through