The darker face of the earth cover

The darker face of the earth

by Rita Dove

A play in verse about a white woman who has a black child by a slave in pre-Civil War South Carolina. The author is a Pulitzer Prize winner and is the present U. S. poet laureate. This verse play, based on the story of Oedipus & placed within the context of slavery, is set on a plantation in antebellum South Carolina.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?