Nikki Giovanni’s Language, Style, Technique, and Structure

Language:
“Black”
“Honkies”
“Revolution”

Style:
Colloquial language
profanity
Irony (verbal)
Hyperbole
Prose poems
Allusions to black artists/leaders
Cathartic, purging of emotions
Motif of Black beauty and Black Power
Racism
Feminism, poems about women’s issues
Angry, reflective tones
Dedication of poems
Black vs. white conflict
Black vs. negro
Black beauty

Techniques:
Enjamb lines (Enjambment)
Ellipses
Prose
Capitalization vs. lower case
Imagery (violent, dark, humorous, social class, gender)
Alliteration
Repetition (Anaphora)
Figures of speech

Structures:
Prose poetry
Enjamb lines
Free Verse