The Joyous Circle: The Vernacular Presence in Frederick Douglass’s Narratives

College English Mar 2005

The Joyous Circle: The Vernacular Presence in Frederick Douglass’s Narratives

Valerie Babb

Abstract

Tracing the revisions Frederick Douglass made as his Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) metamorphosed into My Bondage and My Freedom (1855) and ultimately into the Life and Times of Frederick Douglass (1881, 1892), the author suggests that, while much attention has focused on Douglass’s seizing a “forbidden literacy” in transforming himself from object to subject, the crucial, and ever-increasing, role of African American vernacular traditions in his writing should be recognized.

Journal: College English
Published: 2005-03-01
DOI: 10.58680/ce20054078
Open Access: Closed
Topics: revision

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