Your World by Georgia Douglas Johnson

“Your World”, written by American poet Georgia Douglas Johnson, is a remarkable poem with a message of perseverance. This poem describes the journey of a person recognizing their potential in the world, using a bird in flight as a metaphor to represent a person “flying” free from the limitations that would keep them from reaching their fullest potential.

Frayer Model Vocabulary

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Structure and Meaning

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Symbols

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Literary Elements

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Essential Questions for "Your World"

1. What idea is the author trying to convey?
2. What are the parts of a poem, and how can identifying them aid in analysis?

A Quick Synopsis of "Your World"

The first stanza describes how the narrator would follow the “norm” in life and how she never really felt accomplished. The second stanza describes how the narrator decides that she will push to succeed in her goal, no matter what it may be. The last stanza describes how the narrator let nothing stand in her way, and she describes how liberating it feels to be free and able to succeed. The poem starts and finishes in a hopeful, encouraging way. The narrator says that only you can decide how your life should be.