Night By Paul Laurence Dunbar Rhetorical Devices

In the poem, Paul Laurence Dunbar employs the rhetorical device of rhyme structure to contrast the bondage of individual sorrow with the liberation of action. Although the speaker does not claim divine authority, the poem’s orator possesses a definitive tone, bolstering the argument and beckoning the audience. The first lines of the initial stanza, “I am no priest of crooks nor creeds / For human wants and human needs / are more to me than prophets’ deeds,” display Dunbar’s use of rhyme structure to connect a single idea. Dunbar emphasizes the deeds of a prophet, a religious figure chosen by God to interpret His Will, to perhaps convey that time spent discerning the Will of God causes individuals to lose sight of the wants and needs around them.

Additionally, Dunbar crafts three rhetorical questions within the second stanza seeking to convict the audience according to their Christian shared values. When Dunbar writes, “Take up your arms, come out with me, / Let Heav’n alone; humanity / Needs more and Heaven less from thee,” he is proposing that attention to physical suffering will spark liberation. To focus solely on eternity alone, according to Dunbar, prevents the mending of present injustices. The final coupled rhyme of the poem, “With pity for mankind look ‘round; / Help them to rise – and Heaven is found,” suggests that true bliss and freedom is found by bearing one anothers burdens. Note Dunbar uses the word “rise” within the final line, which insinuates elevating another to a similar position. This establishes that Heaven is not experienced through individual prayer and lament, but communal action on others behalf. In this way, Dunbar contrasts the slavery of individual grief with the liberation of action using a repetitive rhyme