Poetry Assignment: "good times" Lucille Clifton pg 349

 Analysis:          
                 In the poem "good times" by Lucille Clifton, the author uses repetition and a childlike, innocent tone to convey the central message of always to focus on the good times in life.  The author of this poem made common use of the repetition technique when writing "good times." The title is repeated throughout, emphasizing the importance that good times have on the speaker. Lines seven and eight, along with 15 and 16, consist of nothing other than "good times; good times." This isolates the theme and idea possessed by the speaker that one should always focus on the good times.  The repeating lines "good times" seem to be occurring because of the shift from the potential bad times that have seemed to have ended at the beginning of the poem. "My Daddy has paid the rent and the insurance man is gone and the lights is back on," points to the end of troubling times and entrance to the good times emphasized by repetition. The final line of the poem uses one last repetition to drill in the idea " oh children think about the good times." This can either be a statement claiming that children only think about the good times, a concept that can be envied by adults, or a command telling children to think about the good times in order to forget about their troubles.
                 Lucille Clifton uses poor grammar and uneducated diction to develop a childlike feel and the tone of innocence that often accompanies a child. The author makes use of "My Daddy" and "My Mama" to illustrate that the speaker is of a younger age that still is dependent on their parents. Statements like "the lights is back on" point towards the poor grammar used by children. Lines 9-14 may best portray a tone of innocence, "My Mama has made bread and Grampaw has come and everybody is drunk and dancing in the kitchen and singing in the kitchen oh these is good times." In these lines not only the child speaker is innocent but their whole family is. The family is "drunk and dancing in the kitchen and singing in the kitchen." The state of being drunk in this poem likely represents a state of bliss and obliviousness. The family is too busy caught up in their good times to see that the time they have is limited and is will likely be threatened soon. However, like the speaker points at, the central meaning of the poem is to always focus on the good times. With all of the family holding a childlike attitude of innocence and obliviousness, they can forget about all of their troubles and focus on the good times.


Reflection:  
                  I believe that the message of this poem, to focus on the good times in life, is an extremely important one. If a person carries this theme with them, it can aid them in getting through even the toughest of times.  My personal experience of the poem has lead to me being convinced that the best way to get through troubling times or forget about a rough period of time, is to only think of the good times and the moments within them.