¶ … Poetry of Langston Hughes
There are three poems of Langston Hughes' upon which the paper will focus. Those poems are: "I, too," "Democracy," and "Let America be America Again." "I, too" was a poem of focus earlier on in the course. "Democracy" and "Let America be America Again" are other poems with various similarities that the paper will bring to light over the course of the comparison. Some of the elements of the poetry that will be compared include themes, symbols, language, and metaphors. Through comparison of these poems, the paper will demonstrate just some of the commonalities across Hughes' body of work.
"I, too" is written in the first person. There are five stanzas in all. The first stanza and the last stanza only consists of one sentence. Each sentence begins with "I, too" and there is a mention of America. The middle three stanzas consist of several lines, and the fifth stanza only has three lines. The poem consists of words in isolation, phrases, and short sentences. The poem is written from a singular perspective, from that of an African-American male living in a subordinate position in a country dominated by White Americans. Despite communicating racial tensions, the tone of the poem is somewhat hopeful.
There is repetition of language in this poem. The word "I" is repeated the most often. Some key lines from the poem with the word "I" are: "I am the darker brother," "I, too am America," and "But I laugh,/And eat well,/And grow strong." The repetition of the word "I" is significant. The use of the word I reminds the reader of the subjective point-of-view of the writer and the imagined character talking to the reader. Hughes lived during the end of Reconstruction and into the Civil Rights Movement; therefore, as an African-American man, he had lived through segregation and some of the most racially turbulent moments of American history where the perspectives of minorities was not acknowledged or valued by the mainstream culture. Hughes' use of "I" throughout "I, too" is a rebellion to that kind of cultural repression. Repeating the word I throughout the poem is a kind of exercise of personal freedom; it is a declaration...
Langston Hughes' "Democracy" A number of ideas are expressed -- and buried -- in Langston Hughes' 1949 poem "Democracy." The poem is composed in open form and appears to take its cues from the musical jazz movement of the time period. Its lines are short, often punctuated by abbreviated verses and sudden rhymes that indicate a sense of urgency and immediacy, while vibrating with a strong and insistent timbre and tone.
Langston Hughes Poetry A Reflection of the American Dream in Langston Hughes's Poetry The Harlem Renaissance was an artistic, literary, and cultural movement that emerged in New York, specifically Harlem, shortly after World War I and into the 1930s. One of the most prominent poets to arise from the cultural movement was Langston Hughes. Hughes's poetry explores the generational differences that have emerged and how though it may seem that there have
To combat the power of their oppressive circumstances, many would sing to chase away the blue. This tradition is captured in the " Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor" (22). The song is about oppression and an attempt to be happy regardless of setting. Heritage, history and hope merge together in this poem to explore what the African experience must have been like. Hughes' poetry is also
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Hughes seems to indicate that cultural roots are so strong that each gets pulled indifferent directions. In "Poor little black fellow," a similar incident occurs with a white couple adopting their dead servant's black child (they call the child 'it'). Also here we see culture doing things to the Pemebertons that they didn't like and compelling them to act in certain ways. They had to go first class, their adopted
In "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain," Hughes speaks greatly about jazz, noting that the blacks in Harlem are not afraid to be the way that they are, unlike the middle-class blacks who Hughes accuses of constantly trying to act like they are white. One of the aspects of this group that Hughes points to is jazz music, along with gospel music. Thus, Hughes points to jazz as
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