The Black Atlantic Literary Elements

Historical non-fiction

The text is set throughout modern history, beginning with the slave trade in America, and moving on to its consequences.

The text is written from Gilroy's point of view.

The tone of the text is academic and informative.

There is arguably no clear protagonist and antagonist, as the text is not fiction.

The major conflict of the text is analyzing the black diaspora and black identity.

There is no clear climax of the text, as Gilroy details different ideas and arguments in each chapter.

Gilroy foreshadows the idea of double consciousness at the beginning of the text. He then goes on to speak about it further later in the text.

In his third chapter, Gilroy argues that music has been left out of contemporary debates about modernity.

Gilroy alludes to many historical eras and events in this text, including the slave trade and the Jim Crow era.

Gilroy uses many nautical images in this text, including describing the strength and power of the ocean.

Gilroy argues that the exclusion of music from the debate about artistic modernity is wrong considering the importance of music.

Gilroy parallels the experiences of black people from the West, showing how those from America and England will have different concepts of blackness and cultural identity.

"Darkness" is used as a metonym for ignorance.

The ocean is personified as "roaring."