- Read and listen to each of the Shange poems. Choose one of the female characters from the five included poems. In these poems, the characters include: Lady in Yellow, Lady in Orange, Lady in Blue, Lady in Red, and Lady in Purple.
- What aspects of the character you chose are readily apparent? What are you most curious about regarding this character that is not directly apparent?
- Consider references to formal and/or non-formal education that you identify in association with the character you chose and/or other characters in these five poems? For example, how does Shange communicate a character’s sense of knowledge of herself or an issue? In what ways do the women educate one another?
- With those things in mind:
- Post a 2- to 3-paragraph description of the character you selected from Shange’s poem, including her emotional and physical self. Explain how this character represents the concepts of expression, perspective, and social change. How is the style of poetry in Shange’s work different from other styles of poetry?
