Nowadays, poetry is often seen as an inaccessible literary form, created by and for those of a certain education and class background. TS Eliot commented that 'it seems […] that poets in our civilization […] must be difficult' to be considered important. However, the origins of poetry do not support the notion of art as a dark form. It began as an oral, auditory form, which everyone could enjoy and take part in. This openness provided poetry with the opportunity to take great risks, addressing social issues and challenging normativity. Poets from marginalized communities dare to challenge social conventions that demand their silence and complacency, simply by being poets and using their voices. Even people with social privilege risk rejection, choosing to discuss taboos and seek greater understanding of the world we live in – and others within it. Therefore, poetry can be considered a space of social deviance, a form that dares to take risks for the greater good. This important function of poetry is evident and is explored here through Gwendolyn Brooks's "We Real Cool", ee cummings's "beside obviously god america i" (lowercase intentional),[3] and John Clare's "Gypsies".Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Brooks' poetry is inherently bold, as she was an African American woman living amid the battle against segregation. Her decision to prioritize her voice and share her words was an act of defiance and fraught with risk, as hers was a voice that racist and misogynistic American society did not wish to hear. Hers was a voice that people actively tried to stifle, but she continued to produce poetry. In "We Real Cool," Brooks's focus specifically on the African-American experience is highlighted by the frequent repetition of the plural pronoun "we" (ll. 1-7). This word appears on every line, first beat, refusing to allow the reader to forget even for a moment who is at the center of this poem. This relentlessness is paired with the use of enjambment: the “we” that comes at the end of each line and the statement that appears in the next. Such a technique creates the feeling that Brooks is rushing to tell this story, desperate to get it out as quickly as possible – and behind it all lies fear. As a woman of color, she is keenly aware that her voice and this space to use it can be interrupted and taken away at any moment – ​​her insistence that this narrative of her people, who "left school" (l. 2) and 'Hitting straight' (l. 4), being told, is a risk he runs in his work and in his life. This need to finish the story is further demonstrated by the paucity of the poem, which consists of only 8 lines and a 2-line epigraph. Each of these lines is short, as are the words themselves: 'Lurk' (l. 3), 'June' (l. 7), 'gin' (l. 6) and each of the others are single-syllable words, which they intensify the rapid pace. Brooks is quick to speak this truth but always aware of the risk inherent in doing so. Likewise, John Clare was born into a peasant family and therefore belonged to a lower class than those deemed important and worthy of attention. This meant that he too had had the courage to decide to make his voice heard among the literary elite of his time. However, unlike Brooks, he did not choose to prioritize his own experience in poetry“Gypsies,” opting for a third-person tone when speaking about “The Boy” (l. 2) and “The Gypsy” (l. 4). While this could be seen as a way to avoid the risk of talking about one's lived experiences, it should also be understood as an even greater risk. Chiara chose to write about a population much more marginalized than himself and to shed light on the struggles faced by those who were not even well tolerated by his own class. Lo fanon minces words in describing the scene – just as Brooks does not allow the reader to ignore the writer, Clare refuses to shield the reader from the reality in which the 'Gypsies' lived. The opening description is of “The snow fall[ing] deep” (l. 1), which eases the reader, as it could belong to any nature poem. However, once the context is provided – this snow covers the “squalid encampment” (l. 5) in which the people try to live, but are an “unprotected race” (l. 14) – the horror of the situation becomes street. people ignore the conditions in which the marginalized live – they even ignore that they are really people – but Chiara insists on revealing this truth to them, in the hope that it will change some people's attitudes. He risks ruining his social position – perhaps he even risks his career – but he is apparently aware that his is a risk that pales in comparison to this cold and “half-wasted” population (l. 9).E. And. Cummings was born of greater social privilege than both Clare and Brooks, but he too is bold in his poetry. In 'next to obviously God America i', it risks being seen as profoundly unpatriotic – which in America, even in this day and age, amounts to a terrible wrong. It uses the sonnet form, traditionally associated with love and romance, to mock Americans' devotion to their country. Furthermore, it includes a small section of the national anthem – “oh / tell me, can you see at the dawn” (ll. 2-3) – questioning the faith and loyalty that the song is supposed to incite. He goes on to openly address this reckless devotion, writing of people who “rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter” (l. 11) and “did not stop to think [and so] died instead” (l. 12). The zoomorphic simile of the front line is particularly interesting, as lions denote courage and strength: this is how people who fight for their country feel when doing so. However, the transferred epithet of “roaring slaughter” (l. 11) suggests that what these men faced was more ferocious than they thought and that their defeat – death – was inevitable. By daring to suggest that the war was not an opportunity to protect and boast the excellence of America – that it was a careless and destructive beast – Cummings risks being ostracized, even accused of treason. He refuses to be rendered “mute” (l. 13), knowing that the risk must ultimately be worth pursuing freedom for all. While Cummings dares to address the issue of patriotism and its effects, Clare notes the results of xenophobia, racism and classism. He describes how “The boy hurries to take his load” (l. 2), illustrating that children are forced to do the work when their families are in a desperate situation like that of the “Gypsies.” By using the image of a child, Clare evokes sympathy for these people as the wider population finds caring for children's lives easier than their adult counterparts. Chiara also highlights the malnutrition of travelers - explaining that "no one can spare themselves" (l. 11) and that their food is "contaminated" (l. 8) - an effect of poverty that is linked to exclusion from society and therefore reasonably paid work. Although Chiara doesn't consider it. 823