Runagate Sparknotes
The poem “Runagate Runagate,” written by Robert Hayden, consists of two different slave narratives, both portraying experiences of runway slaves. Hayden divides the poem into two different stories through the use of roman numerals. Moreover, both stories are different in terms of style and plot complication. The first part of the poem begins with a roman numeral, “I” (line 1). Off from the stanzas and line breaks of the poem, Hayden is depicting slaves trying to run away to unreachable North. After the first stanza, there are three “Runagate,” (line 8) which represents slave moving one area to another. By dividing runaway slaves from “mythic North,” (line 13) with a different stanza consisting of two lines, we can assume that the slaves never
made it to the their destination. The language, “mythic,” itself shows that North was never a utopian place for slaves. Throughout the poem, dictions is dark. The speaker, “I,” knows that his or her journey might lead to dead, but that will not stop the speaker from running away from being someone’s slave. The message readers can take from this is the idea of “give me liberty, give me death.” In the end, the speaker seems to finally reached “North star and bonanza gold” (line 33). Through the use of allusion, “bonanza gold,” the speaker almost reach Canada. Bonanza is a creek near Canada where gold can be found. However, in the end the speaker is still running. The second part of the poem begins with another roman numeral, “II” (line 38). This part of the poem is a whole another story. Unlike the first part of the poem, there are not a lot of space or line gaps between stanzas. This suggests that the runaway seems to be in a bigger group. Furthermore, the use of “their” (line 39) and “we” (line 45) throughout the poem also suggest there are more slaves. Furthermore, another stylistic technique that stands out is the use of italic lines. For instance, a line like “Hush that now” and “Oh that train, ghost-story train” are poet’s way of citing historical lines from the abolitionists. This is also supported when the poet lists out the names of abolitionists in lines 56-58, “Wanted Harriet Tubman alias The General / alias Moses Stealer of Slaves / In league with Garrison Alcott Emerson / Garrett Douglas Thoreau John Brown” (line 56-58). In terms figuring out there are two different stories in the poem is through the plot complication. In “I,” slaves are only running and there is no underground railroad compare to “II” where the plot resolves with mysterious figures offering the runaway slaves to ride in the train. On the other hand, both stories develop their plot by incorporating a form of slave ads. “I” warns the readers that “They’ll dart underground” (line 28). In other words, they’ll leave the place they are staying with the underground railroad. “II” not only includes the violent factors but also includes a list of white abolitionists. The effect of this stylistic technique is to function the poem as a real life narrative. All in all, there are many genres such as “give me liberty, to give me death,” freedom in the North is a myth, Canada border, white and black abolitionists, the underground railroads, slave ads and actual experience as runaways.
made it to the their destination. The language, “mythic,” itself shows that North was never a utopian place for slaves. Throughout the poem, dictions is dark. The speaker, “I,” knows that his or her journey might lead to dead, but that will not stop the speaker from running away from being someone’s slave. The message readers can take from this is the idea of “give me liberty, give me death.” In the end, the speaker seems to finally reached “North star and bonanza gold” (line 33). Through the use of allusion, “bonanza gold,” the speaker almost reach Canada. Bonanza is a creek near Canada where gold can be found. However, in the end the speaker is still running. The second part of the poem begins with another roman numeral, “II” (line 38). This part of the poem is a whole another story. Unlike the first part of the poem, there are not a lot of space or line gaps between stanzas. This suggests that the runaway seems to be in a bigger group. Furthermore, the use of “their” (line 39) and “we” (line 45) throughout the poem also suggest there are more slaves. Furthermore, another stylistic technique that stands out is the use of italic lines. For instance, a line like “Hush that now” and “Oh that train, ghost-story train” are poet’s way of citing historical lines from the abolitionists. This is also supported when the poet lists out the names of abolitionists in lines 56-58, “Wanted Harriet Tubman alias The General / alias Moses Stealer of Slaves / In league with Garrison Alcott Emerson / Garrett Douglas Thoreau John Brown” (line 56-58). In terms figuring out there are two different stories in the poem is through the plot complication. In “I,” slaves are only running and there is no underground railroad compare to “II” where the plot resolves with mysterious figures offering the runaway slaves to ride in the train. On the other hand, both stories develop their plot by incorporating a form of slave ads. “I” warns the readers that “They’ll dart underground” (line 28). In other words, they’ll leave the place they are staying with the underground railroad. “II” not only includes the violent factors but also includes a list of white abolitionists. The effect of this stylistic technique is to function the poem as a real life narrative. All in all, there are many genres such as “give me liberty, to give me death,” freedom in the North is a myth, Canada border, white and black abolitionists, the underground railroads, slave ads and actual experience as runaways.