Speaker

Although the speaker is anonymous, the poem is told through his subjective perspective and sense impressions. The reader “see[s]” and “hear[s]” Harlem through the speaker’s gaze. It is ambiguous, however, what the speaker’s personal relationship to Harlem is. It would seem initially that the speaker clearly is familiar with Harlem and likely lives there. This said, the speaker’s shock and dismay at the moral degradation he sees could suggest that he is an outsider and unfamiliar with the social space of Harlem. The dramatic response in the last stanza indicates that the speaker potentially does not understand Harlem, and so imposes dominant moral standards onto it. It is also possible that the speaker is the voice of the African diaspora itself. Thus, the “weary, weary feet” are at the “heart” (17) of the diaspora, or the “race” (16).

The "Feet"

“Harlem Shadows” is entirely populated...