... other two are that the authors of the previous poems lived during the time of slavery and had personal experience with the peculiar institution. Robert Hayden was one of the best twentieth century poets and was the first black poet to be chosen as a consultant in poetry to the Library of ... Congress a position commonly referred to as the American equivalent of the British poet laureate designation. In "Middle Passage" Hayden uses standard epic conventions and devices and alters and inverts them to his liking. His inversion technique of the epic has been called by some critics ... journ...

• Word Count: 846
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate