Your Turn

Begin your practice analysis by responding to the first question below. Type your answer using your notes. When you're finished answering the first question, check your understanding and then read the poem “Revolutionary Dreams” by Nikki Giovanni.

  1. Brainstorm a list of words that you associate with the word “revolutionary.”

    2. Check Your Understanding

    Sample Response:

    “Fighting,” “uproar,” “change,” “violence,” “conflict,” and “war” are some possibilities.

    Close

Read the poem “Revolutionary Dreams” by Nikki Giovanni.

Revolutionary Dreams
By Nikki Giovanni

i used to dream militant
dreams of taking
over america to show
these white folks how it should be
done
i used to dream radical dreams
of blowing everyone away with my perceptive powers
of correct analysis
i even used to think i’d be the one
to stop the riot and negotiate the peace
then i awoke and dug
that if i dreamed natural
dreams of being a natural
woman doing what a woman
does when she’s natural
i would have a revolution

Photo of Nikki Giovanni. Portrait of Nikki Giovanni by Elsa Dorfman

 

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Using your notes again, respond to the questions that follow. Check your understanding after each response.

  1. Describe what you think is happening in the poem.

    2. Check Your Understanding

    Sample Response:

    One possible interpretation is that a woman used to think about fighting to take over America and then changed her mind.

    Close

  2. Make a list of the vocabulary words you are not familiar with and find their meanings at
    www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary.

    3. Check Your Understanding

    Sample Response:

    You may have chosen several of these words from the poem:

    Militant: engaged in warfare or combat

    Radical: very different from the traditional

    Perceptive: observant

    Negotiate: to complete, accomplish

    Natural: real, true

    Revolution: sudden, complete change

    Close

  3. Reorganize the poem into four sentences or complete thoughts by writing your sentences line-by-line. Then complete your “stepping in” by paraphrasing each sentence for its literal meaning.

    4. Check Your Understanding

    Sample Response:

    Here’s how you may have arranged the sentences of the poem and interpreted them:

    a. I used to dream militant dreams of taking over America to show these white folks how it should be done.

    (Step in!)
    I used to dream about being in charge of America—telling white people what to do.

    b. I used to dream radical dreams of blowing everyone away with my perceptive powers of correct analysis.

    (Step in!)
    I used to dream about getting rid of everyone by analyzing what needed to be done.

    c. I even used to think I’d be the one to stop the riot and negotiate the peace.

    (Step in!)
    I even thought I could stop wars and get everyone to agree.

    d. Then I awoke and dug that if I dreamed natural dreams of being a natural woman doing what a natural woman does when she’s natural I would have a revolution.

    (Step in!)
    Then I decided that if I was true to myself and acted the way I was used to acting, I could do everything.

    Close

  4. Reread the poem and answer the following questions.
    1. Who is the audience?
    2. What is the point of view?
    3. What is the poem’s tone?
    4. What is the setting?
    5. What word(s) indicate the turning point?
    6. What is the poem’s form?
    7. Discuss the poem’s rhythm and/or rhyme.
    8. Discuss any figurative language the poem includes.

    Check Your Understanding

    Sample Response:

    a. Who is the audience? All of us including the speaker herself

    b. What is the point of view? First person

    c. What is the poem’s tone? Nostalgic, philosophical, objective, content

    d. What is the setting? The speaker is writing about racial issues in America.

    e. What word(s) indicate the turning point? “then I awoke and dug”

    f. What is the poem’s form? Free verse—a list of ideas begun with the small letter “I”

    g. The poem definitely has rhythm, just not a formal rhythmic pattern. There is no rhyme.

    h. Discuss any figurative language the poem includes. “Blowing everyone away with my perceptive powers” is a metaphor explaining how the speaker plans to impress everyone else with her brilliant ideas.

    Close

  5. Write a summary of what is happening in the poem. What is it saying?

    6. Check Your Understanding

    Sample Response:

    In the poem “Revolutionary Dreams,” the speaker begins by saying that she used to dream about taking over America from the white people and using her brilliant mind to show people the right way to behave. Then the speaker “awoke” and realized (the turning point in the poem) that by acting like a “natural woman” and being true to herself—which probably includes being inspired by her anger, while also being tolerant and compassionate of others—she would have more of an impact on changing society. The speaker uses the first-person point of view and a tone of satisfaction and confidence. Just as the speaker in Thomas Hardy’s poem looks back on his life regarding his tolerance, the speaker in “Revolutionary Dreams” reflects about her discoveries. She decided to renew her “natural woman” strategy in dealing with racial issues in America.

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