Poetry is a form of art that brings readers together. It connects readers to their past and ancestors, allowing them to learn and re-experience memories and other perseverance. It pertains to both young and old, black and white from the highest to the lowest parts of the world. It is a guide that engages readers with their inner lives and modernism. When authors use poetry to confront injustices, they do it in such a way that the reader will be empowered and react to the prejudice in their own lives. This is one of the most effective forms of poetry. This is seen with Audre Lorde’s “Who Said It Was Simple” and Alice Walker’s “Women” who most powerfully use figurative language to persuade others to fight against the injustice of gender and class…show more content… A prime example of this is seen when Lorde states, “There are so many roots to the tree of anger / that sometimes the branches shatter / before they bear. Sitting in Nedicks / the women rally before they march / discussing the problematic girls / they hire to make them free” (lines 1-7). A major theme exhibited in these lines is the vivid anger suppressed within the speaker and other oppressed women of the time. This is supported through the tone, metaphor, imagery, and juxtaposition in the writing of Lorde. The readers are given an intense image of the fury exhibited by these women. They contain resentment and struggle as Lorde uses words such as “anger” and “shatter” to describe the experiences women went through during the early 1900’s. The “roots” is the main cause of the anger of the women. They represent the multiple aspects and qualities of a woman during this period that were used to oppress them. It wasn’t merely about ones gender, but also their sexuality, and the color of their skin. These and more were the different qualities that categorized women, leaving a tree full of anger. This gave them multiple reasons, or…show more content… This is expressed by Alice Walker in “Women” when she states, “They were women then / My mama’s generation / Husky of voice—stout of / Step / With fists as well as / Hands” (lines 1-6). Walker begins right away alluding to these women as men, saying that the women from her mother’s generation were “women”, strong, tough, and independent even then. They are “husky of voice-stout of step”, alluding to a man. They have the power of a man, a natural born leader to step so forcefully and have an assertive and husky voice. The imagery of their fists shows they are fighters, prepared to “take care of business” like a man would. Yet like a women they still have soft and gentle hands for when they’re needed. Again this theme of a woman being equal to a man presents itself when Walker says, “How they led / Armies / Headragged generals / Across mined / Fields / Booby-trapped / Ditches / To discover books / Desks / A place for us” (lines 19-21). Walker uses an assertive and forceful tone to describe the women. She doesn’t want them to be seen as dainty, sweet, and gentle women who carry everything with a gentle hand. She wants them to be seen and remembered as leaders. Leading armies alludes to the American midcentury feminist movement. They were leaders, wearing the head rags that symbolized not only African descent but the