Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
Each poem has a different narrative or point of view. "Questions," for example, is told from a first-person point of view for an unnamed character. "They Had a Language," on the other hand, is told from a third-person point of view.
Form and Meter
Each poem has its own unique form and meter.
Metaphors and Similes
"The Kingdom of Ndongo was nestled between the Lukala and Kwanza Rivers" is a metaphor.
Alliteration and Assonance
"high, high plateau" is an example of alliteration in one of the poems.
Irony
African people were thought of as thoughtless idiots only capable of doing manual labor by their enslavers; however, they had taught themselves math and science.
Genre
Children's Book
Setting
Various settings depending on the poem - examples of settings include Africa, the United States, and on sailing ships.
Tone
Informative, Bleak, and Hopeful
Protagonist and Antagonist
There is no clear protagonist and antagonist strucutre in this book.
Major Conflict
The major conflict revolves around the struggle to teach younger generations about their ancestors and their traditions.
Climax
There is no climax in this book.
Foreshadowing
The teacher's assignment in the poem "Questions" foreshadows the girl's grandmother telling her family about her life and the life of their ancestor's.
Understatement
The cruelty of the people who enslaved black people is understated in the book.
Allusions
To history - particularly the slave trade, to the geography of the United States and Africa, to tradition, religion, and mythology.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Kimbundu is personified in several of the poems.
Hyperbole
"nestled between the Lukala and Kwanza rivers" is hyperbolic as it overestimates how close to the rivers the kingdom is.
Onomatopoeia
"Whip" is an example of an onomatopoeia used in the book.
