In "Equality," the poet Maya Angelou describes her experiences as a Black woman and expresses a desire for equality and freedom to an intentionally indifferent audience. Angelou addresses the poem to someone who recognizes her suffering but claims to be unaware of the problems facing Black women. "Equality" is a poem that could change the perspective of one who feels indifferent to the experiences of Black women, because Angelou combines her repeated call for equality with an order to "take the blinders from your vision/take the padding from your ears" regarding the treatment of Black women. Angelou's cultural analysis, combined with her use of the second person to address readers who are willingly ignorant of her experiences, has potential to educate audiences and inspire them to gain awareness of the challenges facing African Americans and women.
Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
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