Setting, Imagery, and Form

Setting:
The setting of "The Harlem Dancer" is in a club. The area that she is in is loud but she remains calm and focused. We can see the loud raucousness if the area from the diction used in the poem, such as: "applauding" "laughed" "tossing coins." These words show that the area she is in is loud and crazy. An interesting point that Saumya noticed was that the serenity that we see in the poem is describing the dancers surroundings. (Saumya's blog)We can also gather that the woman that is the focal point in the poem is also as such in the room. It appears that the woman is in the center of the room being watched by the people surrounding her. This is deduced form the facts that the "youths laughed with young prostitutes and watched her..."
Imagery:
In this poem the imagery is contrasted. The imagery at the beginning of the club and the contrasted with a picnic day. Another contrast is that she appears to be like a "proudly-swaying palm" and then it is contrasted to a "storm." This contrasting images emphasize the craziness that is the club and her serenity. This also changes the poem because it changes from the tranquility that we felt in the room before to what the room actually is.
Sound/Form:
Because this poem is in the form of a Shakespearean Sonnet this poem has rhythm. This adds to the poem because of the fact that the focal point in the poem is the dancer and rhythm is a huge part in music and the poem brings that along with the rhyme scheme.