Question

"Lift Every Voice and Sing" is filled with vivid figurative language. In the table, list four types of figures of speech and give examples from the poem. Then discuss the meaning and importance of each example.

Lift Every Voice and Sing
by James Weldon Johnson
Lift every voice and sing
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us.
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on till victory is won.
Stony the road we trod, 
Bitter the chastening rod, 
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; 
Yet with a steady beat, 
Have not our weary feet 
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed? 
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past, 
Till now we stand at last 
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast. 

God of our weary years, 
God of our silent tears,
Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who hast by Thy might
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand.
True to our God,
True to our native land.

Answer 1

imagery : "Facing the rising sun of our new day begun" paints a vivid picture and emphasizes the meaning, purpose, and emotional weight of the piece

alliteration: "Sing a song full of the faith". contributes to the musical quality

oxymoron: "silent tears" intensifies the emotional content of the poem

simile : "loud as the rolling sea" conveys a sense of widespread rejoicing

Answer 2

imagery : "Facing the rising sun of our new day begun" paints a vivid picture and emphasizes the meaning, purpose, and emotional weight of the piece

alliteration: "Sing a song full of the faith". contributes to the musical quality

oxymoron: "silent tears" intensifies the emotional content of the poem

simile : "loud as the rolling sea" conveys a sense of widespread rejoicing