Jayne Cortez and Analysis of the Poem There it is and the Black Arts Movement

Jayne Cortez, a female poet who began during the Black Arts movement, writes frequently about oppression. This oppression takes shape in women who are raped or black people in America, or people of third world countries who are abused or exploited in terms of labor, their own bodies, or their land. In her very well-known poem "There It Is" many of these themes are right there on the surface. Jane Cortez's poem "There It Is" uses parallel structure and powerful images as a call to the people of third world countries to rise up in revolution.

Jayne Cortez uses parallel structure very powerfully to get her point across. The beginning of the poem rather reminds me of Patrick Henry's "Speech at the Virginia Convention" where he discusses all the things the colonists have done in a list and then says that all these actions have gotten them nowhere. If they don't fight now, he lists how they will end up. For example, they may have a British guard at every door. Cortez uses parallel structure in the same way. "If we don't" (Cortez) is repeated three times for emphasis but also to spell out the actions that must be taken. These people must "fight, resist, organize, and unify" (Cortez) in order to throw off the chains of oppression and keep them off. They must gain "the power to control their own lives" (Cortez). By repeating this phrase three times, she makes following her instructions very clear. She is also setting up the poem for the If/Then Statement that it becomes. For example, if we don't do this, then here is what will happen.

She uses parallel structure again for the Then part of the poem. If people do not follow the instructions in the first part, "then we will wear" (Cortez) a variety of looks. The way she states these are absolutely parallel in structure, and there are more options in this part. She uses the word "the" first, then an adjective, then the word "look", of, and lastly a noun telling more about the look. For example, "the exaggerated look of captivity" (Cortez) or "the dehumanized look of fear" (Cortez) are very powerful. There are no other options. If these people don't fight, they will wear these expressions for the rest of their lives. The choice of the word wear is interesting; she seems to use it to suggest that it could be taken off as well, like an article of clothing. If people would fight and resist and the like, they would not be forced to wear anything.

Cortez uses these powerful images to make readers all the more aware of what will happen if they don't rise up against oppression. Some of the powerful words almost seem strange the way she uses them. For example, she uses "the stylized look of submission." One assumes that she is making a statement about the advertising industry that seems to use pictures of submission to sell products, but one is not sure. In any case she continues to use the series of powerful adjectives in this part to emphasize her point. Adjectives like "bizarre, dehumanized, and decomposed" create a mental image for the reader to better understand what will become of people if they do not fight oppression.

The ending of this poem is incredibly impactful as well. These looks that the people will wear will continue "forever and ever and ever" (Cortez). In this statement she makes it clear, that there is no easy way to get out of this situation. Once people are truly oppressed and give up, the situation will continue indefinitely. She ends with that last line "And there it is" (Cortez). A very simple, almost slang expression, she uses this to show how simple her instructions really are. If these people don't stand up and stop the forces trying to oppress them, they will end up wearing horrible expressions for the rest of their lives and for generations to come. It is that simple, according to Jayne Cortez. By using such simple phrasing that anyone can understand along with much repetition and particularly powerful adjectives, Cortez has composed a poem that anyone of any level can understand. The images are so powerful that we can search into our brains and pull out pictures of the oppressed people of the world that match the descriptions in her poem. This poem is very political and chiefly didactic but written this way in order to incite revolution.