Paul Laurence Dunbar was an African-American poet and he was first of the kind to gather a national critical applause. He was one among the youngest poet who passed away at a very young age. His works addressed the hardships and difficulties that his race faced to achieve and equality among the Americans.
Dunbar was inspired to poetry by his mother, Matilda. Matilda worked as washerwomen to up bring her children, but even then she always praised art work and she used to inspire her children in reading and writing.
She used to recite poems and stories that she had heard when young and thus she always kept the fire going in poetry and art and this in turn inspired little Dunbar from the age of 6.
Since Dunbar was the only African –American in his school, he was often humiliated for his race. However, he rose to great heights in school level itself by becoming the editor of the school paper, president of the school’s literary society etc. He was able to publish an African-American newsletter in the Dayton Tattler, with the help from the Wright Brothers.
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In 1892, Dunbar published his first book of poems which was accepted and received well locally. Because of his good reputation and more contacts, he was invited to recite at the World’s Fair. His second book was the key to his fame and success. He has written near to 12 books of poetry, 5 novels, 4 books of short stories and a play all add to his great contribution to the writing world.
The poem, Life’s tragedy is true depiction of his life and facing racial discrimination in all parts of life, still striving to be the top is what is portrayed here.
In the first stanza, he says that it might be a misery not being able to express ones thought and desires freely or even to be loved by our loved ones, but still he says there are even more deeper miseries than these, that people suffer or which could even come up during one’s life.
In the second stanza he says that, a tragedy in life starts with a simple small mistake. Here he has exampled it in such a manner that, while in a gathering you are singing and you forget a note, then the grief, the shame and the paleness that dwells at that point is all that may lead to a fall in life.
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In the third stanza, he explains about his love life, where you think that do come across your prefect love, but do not succeed, the love should not be of fascination, but of true understanding and faith is what he tries to tell.
And lastly, he says that success is measured in various ways and it all depends on how each one of us sees. We never count or success by what we have, rather we count from things that try to keep us perfect.
Dunbar had written this poem in such a manner that each stanza reflects his life at each stages and it is beautifully described with the sweetness and sorrow of his inner thoughts and feelings he went through.