The Lovers of the Poor

“The Lovers of the Poor” by Gwendolyn Brooks is an ironic, sarcastic title. This poem is about rich women who give to the poor to make themselves look good. They never get too dirty and never stay too long. They do not give thinking of others, but themselves; they do not give out of love. We see this throughout the poem.

The first stanza describe the women that are “lovers of the poor”. They are fearful of the poverty, according to line six, and are described as “full, sleek, tender-clad, fit, fiftyish, a-glow…” These women care about appearances.

They give money to those that they believe deserve it; to the “worthy” poor. Brooks wording shows the thought processes of the women with her questions and pauses. For example, she says, “Perhaps just not too swarthy? Perhaps just not too dirty nor too dim Nor – passionate” (The American Tradition in Literature 1463). It shows their hesitancy to the situation.

The next paragraph describes how awful the poor’s situation is. The women simply cannot handle it. Again, Brooks writes how someone would read the poem. She uses italics, commas, and explanation marks to make her points. She makes the point that the poor’s things are dirty and old – repulsive to the “kind” older women.

The poem goes on to talk about how awful the life of the poor is. The women end up walking out quickly without touching anything. Their love is no love at all.

The message of this poem is that true love is sacrificial. It doesn’t always look good; it doesn’t always feel good; it doesn’t always show you off. On the contrary, true love stoops into the lives of the dirty and poor, worthy or not, and gets dirty themselves. It is reprimanding the upper class and bringing light to the lifestyle of the lower class.

Learn from the mistakes of these lovers. Lose your identity and sacrificially love.