In The Harlem Dancer by Claude McKay, the brief passage that unlocks the poem for me is “The light gauze hanging loose about her form. ” The metaphor of light gauze suggests that the female dancer had wounds from her past nevertheless she is still beautiful, and her heart is pure and chaste. This implies McKay felt sympathy and admiration for the dancer. These meanings connect to the rest of the poem in these ways: First, McKay describes her voice as “sound of blended flutes blown by black players upon a picnic day” (McKay line 3).
As a popular instrument at formal situation, flute clearly not belongs to the filthy night club where young prostitutes watch half-clothed body sway (Line 2). They do not listen to the singing nor focus on the dancer’s dancing skills; instead they watch the naked body sway. Her voice is not just any blend of flutes. It is the sound upon a picnic day, which is a symbol of freshness and energy.
Here, the dancer is not blending into the obscene around her. She is elegant and decent despite her behavior. The fact that the flutes are blown by black players shows that the dancing girl is probably an African American.
So she probably had experienced severe discrimination and prejudgment in the past, and this can be understood as her wounds. Second, McKay describes her performance as “gracefully and calm” (line 5). This shows she is not a part of the chaos around her, and she just dance and sing regardless the environment where people have “wine-flushed, bold-eyed” (line 11).
Here, her heart is chaste and is clearly not as obscene as her operation. At last, McKay praises her as “a proudly-swaying palm grown lovelier for passing through a storm” (line 7).
Palm is a tree species known for tall and unbranched, and it is also a decoration of honor (dictionary. com). McKay is trying to say that the past discrimination and prejudge suffered by the dancer did not diminish her faith, one the contrary it stimulates her, increases her strength and unflappability. So she deserves honor and admiration. In these ways, the metaphor of stage light to light gauze that hanging loose about her form, not only an enjoyable description of scenery, but also is key to the whole text and helps me understand it more closely.
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