Maya Angelou- "old folks laugh"

OLD folks laugh

“They spent their content of simpering,

holding their lips this

and that way, winding

the lines between

their brows.”

1) What did the poet mean  when she says” “They spent their content of simpering, holding their lips this and that way, winding the lines between their brows.”?

A: The poet suggests that most people spend their time holding their lips or tongues and this causes the many wrinkles on their brows. It is stressful to forever holding back lest one offends someone. The old folks however have reached the stage in their lives when they no longer need to do this. They are now free to say whatever they like.

“old folks allow their bellies to jiggle like slow tambourines.”

2) Comment this rather quaint expression.

A: The poet possibly wants to create a pleasant sound to these lines. The old folks laughter makes their bellies wriggle and bounce but there is a note of happiness in this as well and it is  a pleasant sound hearing old folks laugh.

“The hollers

Rise up and spill

Over any way they want

When old folks laugh, they free the world.”

3) What is mean by “hollers”?

A:“Hollers usually means “shouting out “. In this poem however it means that the old folks laughter is loud, as if their laughs itself is shouting out.

4) Comment on the lines “The hollers Rise up and spill over any way they want”?

A:Just as the old folks have stopped trying to please everybody, so have they stopped trying to laugh politely. Now they just laugh anyway they want and as loudly as they want.

5. What does the poet mean when she says, “ when old folks laugh ,they free the world.”

A: Just as old folks free to laugh as they wish, so their laughter itself is refreshing it is such a pleasant thing to be with people who really enjoy themselves and don’t mind other people seeing it.

6) Explain why 'spent' (line 1) is important to an understanding of the poem as a Whole?

A:The focus of the poem is on people who have lived their lives and have now reached old age; they have stopped trying to please others/doing what is expected of them by society. ‘Simpering’ suggests artificially amiable behaviour. They have ‘spent’ (used up) their supply of ‘simpering’ and what it suggests.

7) What impression is created in 'Old folks/allow their bellies to jiggle like slow/tambourines' (lines 6–8)?

A: The quivering of their bellies like tambourines suggests their freedom to laugh as they wish. They have the freedom to enjoy their laughter with no concern for appearances. They engage in the joyful sound of laughter, which is linked to the joyful sound of tambourines.

8) Refer to lines 9–11: 'The hollers/rise ... any way they want.'

Discuss the effectiveness of ONE of the figures of speech in the above lines.

A :Metaphor. The hollers/loud yells are compared to liquid overflowing. This highlights the excess and exuberance in their laughter. The joyous sounds grow louder and louder.

OR

Personification. It is as if the hollers are able to freely exercise their right to rise and spill over at will. They seem to have the power of choice. Their joyous sounds are not restricted in any way.

OR

Onomatopoeia. The emphasis is on the loud yells that become louder and louder until they cannot be contained and burst out (‘spill over’). The word ‘hollers’ helps the reader to ‘hear’ the loud voices of the elderly. It sounds like the kind of loud noise they make.

9) Refer to lines 22–23: 'they consider the promise/of dear painless death'.

In your view, is the paradox used in the above detail effective? Discuss your

Response.

A:Yes. It emphasises the contrast between the idea of death, and that of ‘dear’ and ‘painless’. The paradox emphasises that these old folks embrace death because it will offer them rest from their physical pain. Hence, death is ‘dear’ and friendly to them.