Remember how poetry gives you chills and make you shudder? Ntozake Shange elicits that kind of emotion with this musical/poem.
It has been so long when I read poetry that was this artistically written.
I was not only overwhelmed with the richness of this poem, but also with the central theme, the power and strength of the colored women it portrays.
Ntozake Shange's artistic work, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When The Rainbow Is Enuf," is a thought provoking poem that defies traditional theatrical conventions.
It is a poem about seven women each representing a different color of the rainbow, sharing their stories and experiences through powerful monologues and dialogue.
Called a "choreopoem" by its creator, Ntozake, this creative twenty-poem performance weaves together the complex narratives of African American women, exploring themes of joy, anguish, oppression, survival, and ultimately, the unbreakable spirit of sisterhood.
Through its unique blend of poetry, monologue, and dialogue, the poem gives voice to the multifaceted experiences of Black women, celebrating their strength and resilience in the face of adversity.
The first part of the title comes from the fact that not only are the women colored because they're African American, but that each of the pain that they've been through is represented by a color.
African American women have always been victims of pain from time immemorial, and the first part of the title does justice to portraying this pain.
Because of their specific ordeals, trials and pain, each of them have at one point viewed death or suicide as a way out of their situation.
Lady in red speaks of her underappreciated demonstrations of love. She talks about unreciprocated love and the length she goes before eventually terminating the affair.
Lady in yellow is frustrated at her own human nature that depends on love and intimacy to survive.
All the other women speak of their experiences in ways that provoke the emotions of the reader.
This work begins and ends with the lady in brown. The other six girls represent the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
One thing I absolutely admired about this choreopoem, is that as a woman, whether you're black, Italian, Jamaican, yellow, orange or green etc., as represented in the play, life is bound to change your perspectives on so many things. You are also bound to experience both good and bad things, and your ability to appreciate those moments determine the quality of your life.
There are some experiences that are life altering and may attempt to make you "consider suicide". Your decision in that single moment, may or may not lead you down a road of pure pain, or shame.
I genuinely appreciated every character in this work of art, not only because their experiences resonate with me, but because they resonate with women of color all over the world.
Do I recommend this work of art? Absolutely. For every colored woman out there, who wants to have a literary experience of what being a colored woman looks like in every aspect, then this poem is for you.