"The Harlem Dancer" Analysis

Because analyzing poems are such an important part of AP Lit, I am going to share my analysis for one of my favorite poems--“The Harlem Dancer” by Claude McKay. The following paragraphs introduce the poem and discuss the first four lines. For the next couple of weeks, I will continue my analysis.

Young men hold sleek drinks around a varnished, mahogany floor. Upbeat music floats through the air carrying the laughter and drunkenness of the night with it. But the men aren’t there for the merriment or alcohol. Instead, their eyes are transfixed on the mesmerizing female dancer in the center of the room. The men leer at her while shouting obscene slurs, and the sensual dancer struggles with the lack of respect she finds in the audience. During the Harlem Renaissance, such female dancers, who were often of black descent, were not uncommon in night clubs. Claude McKay’s poem “The Harlem Dancer” is significant in that it typified the discrimination that black women often had to endure during the early 1900s. The poem follows a dancing black girl through a night club while exposing themes such as youth, sex, and promiscuity. By incorporating these implicit themes and revealing hidden emotions within the dancer, McKay successfully conveys the effects of an audience’s prejudices on the objectified yet strong Harlem dancer, who is the victim of cruel misinterpretations.

“The Harlem Dancer” is seemingly about the attractive titular dancer sensually dancing, presumably in a night club, for an excited audience of young men and women. In the first line of the poem, the speaker characterizes the spectators in the club as “Applauding youths” and adds that the youths were laughing. The positive diction initially presents an image of gaiety and innocence. However, towards the end of the first line, the reader is introduced to the “young prostitutes” amidst the audience. The mention of the prostitutes challenges and contrasts with the innocence of the youths. Moreover, these prostitutes are young, and the reader is suddenly and unexpectedly transferred away from youthful excitement into a sordid place where girls prematurely discover their sexuality. The “perfect, half-clothed” Harlem dancer then enters in the second line. The line focuses on the audience watching the dancer’s ideal body, and it is evident that the audience is captivated by her sexual appeal and outward appearance as they “watched her…body sway.” For the youth, the dancer’s perfection lies in her body and sexuality. Being barely clothed, the dancer further characterizes the night club as a seedy place. The portrayal of two contrasting elements, such as sexuality and innocence, governs the rest of the poem.

The next two lines incorporate a simile which contradicts the sexualized characterization of the dancer in the second line. First, the speaker says that “her voice was like the sound of blended flutes.” By establishing that her voice sounded like more than one flute “blended” together, the speaker shows that her voice isn’t one-sided. Instead, the voice is depicted as intricate and complex. Perhaps, the speaker is trying to show that the dancer, like her voice, isn’t as simple as she might seem. The description of her voice also includes an interesting contrast. The speaker uses flutes to distinguish her voices, and flutes are typically found at formal events. Flutes would not be playing at a sleazy night club. Therefore, the speaker illustrates that the speaker’s voice is out of place in the midst of prostitutes and her “half-clothed” body. Through her voice, the dancer displays a refinement that contrasts with her profession. The fourth line of the poem elaborates on the simile in the third. Her voice isn’t just characterized by a multitude of flutes. Instead, the flutes are being played by black players on a “picnic day.” The mention of black players suggests that the Harlem dancer may be African American. In addition, the picnic day shows that her voice is light and fresh against the darkness in the night club. Again, the speaker points out unexpected contrasts, specifically showing that the dancer may not be as immoral as her profession and the night club.