I Too Langston Hughes Analysis

James Weldon Johnson’s excerpt argued that African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance were establishing themselves as active and important forces in society whom were also accomplishing great artistic achievements. Langston Hughes, a leading African American poet of the Harlem Renaissance, wrote literature about the pain and pride

In the poem “I, Too”, the author Langston Hughes illustrates the key aspect of racial discrimination faces against the African Americans to further appeals the people to challenge white supremacy. He conveys the idea that black Americans are as important in the society.

In the two poems, “I Hear America Singing,” and, “I, Too,” there are many similarities and differences that show us that know matter what is happening you have to stand up for yourself and do what you love. We see this in the two poems, “I Hear America Singing,” and, “I, Too” when the authors, Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes, both talk about what America was a like in the 1900s, and how people were doing jobs that they had liked to do. We can see how a African American man would stand up for himself and we see this in the poem “I, Too” because we are able to see how he was able to stand up to everyone else and prove he was able to be treated like anyone else.

¨Trumpeter of Lenox and 7th / through Jesse B. Semple,/ you simply celebrated Blues and Bebop / and beling black before / it was considered hip.¨ (Wesley Boone). Although the poems ¨Long Live Langston¨ by Wesley Boone, and ¨The weary Blues¨ by Langston Hughes were written in different time periods and with different purposes, the poems show similarities such as using similar figurative language to express an idea, and differences such as communicating different themes. Here are some examples of the similarities and differences shown throughout the poems.

Comparisons can be made between anyone or anything. This becomes especially true when comparing authors. Langston Hughes emerged in the Harlem Renaissance. He wrote from a of darkness based on his childhood. Lucille Clifton met writers who influenced and encouraged her work. Colleen McElroy spent much of her youth on the move. She began to write and teach to tell her stories. The explorations of cultural heritage in the poems by Hughes, Clifton, and McElroy can be compared and contrasted in many different ways.

The poems “The Harlem Dancer” by Claude McKay and “I, Too” by Langston Hughes, both were written during the 1920s. Something significant happening during this time was the the boom of African American culture which took place mainly around the 20s and 30s in New York. Specifically their literature, art, music and much more. The Harlem Renaissance was going on during the time both poems were written, in fact, they were written because of the renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was the movement of African American culture. Some of the significant subjects were music, literature, poem, and art. The poets Langston Hughes and Claude McKay were some of the most influential poets from the renaissance. The poems “The Harlem Dancer” by Claude McKay and “I, Too” by Langston Hughes will be used to compare and show how two poems form the same era could be similar yet different based on their subject, purpose, style, tone, and rhythm.

He writes, “The Negro said: “We can’t go downtown and sit and stare at you in your clubs While whites got the pleasure to enjoy everything that was offered to them, Negros had the deal with other end of frustrating place of unfairness. Hughes also feels that people made it seem like Negros were given opportunities (“Langston Hughes and Alain Locke’s Harlem Renaissance; African American Black Renaissance Harlem Poetry”). With trends toward interdisciplinary, internationalist, and cross-race scholarship dominating American studies at the end of the twentieth century, subsequent work attends to the journalists, sociologists, historians, and performance artists who were often financed by the patrons, prizes, and grants that have been analyzed only as they affected literary work (“Harlem Renaissance – Credo

Langston Hughes was a poet, author, and civil rights movement leader who was born in Missouri, on February 1st, 1902. His most famous piece of work is his poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”. Hughes tells a story throughout the course of his writing, especially in two other poems called “I, Too” and “Refugee in America”. These three poems play hand in hand in figuring out Hughes life journey. His life journey helps people have an understanding about what others went through as well as reflecting on the past and changing it. There is a sense of underlying determination throughout the poems which carries into our lives, it gives us the message to work hard for what you want and it overall gives us hope for the future.

America is a symbol of freedom. The poems “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes and “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou both describe how America was rather unfair during their times. Langston Hughes was a key figure during the Harlem Renaissance and Maya Angelou did not become famous or recognized until her first autobiography. Even though “I, Too, Sing America” and “Still I Rise” have completely different tones, they both convey the message of how inequality was prevalent in America. Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou both talk about how in the future they will come back and be free.

Poetry, perhaps more than other genre of writing, often sparks controversy and discussion. Authors Walt Whitman and Langston Hughes are two authors in American Literature whose poetry is both debated and praised by critics. "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman and "I, Too, Sing America" by Langston Hughes have sparked many discussions on their controversial content. Walt Whitman was the first of the two authors to write, followed by Langston Hughes who was influenced by Whitman's work. While Whitman's poem, "I Hear America Singing" reflects the happiness of the American people, the poem written by Hughes takes a different approach. While the two authors discuss similar subject matter, there are many differences that can be identified between these two literary works.

“One nation. Under God. Indivisible. With liberty and justice for all”. These are the last lines of what the children of America say every morning during the Pledge of Allegiance. This is supposed to signify the promises America has made to its citizens. But sadly, these promises have only been

Poems can be analyzed in various ways ranging from their complexity to the emotions they convey to readers. The poems, “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes and “The Harlem Dancer” by Claude McKay will be analyzed based on their similarities and differences to name a few. The poems may describe different events; however the overall connection between the two can be identified by readers with deeper reading. Comparisons between the poems may easier to analyze and identify compared to the contrasts based on the reader’s perception. Overall, the concept and much more will reveal how the poems are connected and special in their own way.

The poem I, Too, Sing America written by Langston Hughes shortly after World War II in 1945, is a lyrical poem about the neglected voices in America as a response to the Poem “I hear America singing.” During this time, African Americans were oppressed in society and they did not have equal rights to Caucasians. This poem expresses Langston Hughes hope for the future where black people are not oppressed when equality is achieved between races. This poem helps assert Langston Hughes’ ideas of racial pride, hope, and equality.

The second speaker also reshapes the first two lines of the entire poem into a plea to the majority. Beforehand, the first speaker uses those lines as a call for the old American spirit to be revived: “Let America be America again / Let it be the dream it used to be” (1-2). Both speakers change the meaning of the lines to express their thoughts on America. As a result, the poem expresses the desire for everyone to be treated equally in the land of freedom. The readers can relate to the speaker because they wish that everyone has equal rights in the country that proclaims itself to be the symbol of freedom. And they can also relate to the fighting spirit that the second speaker has to make the majority recognize the hard work and determination of the minority especially

Langston Hughes is an African American Poet who is very closely connected to his culture and expresses his feelings very thoroughly through his poetry in a jazz style. Langston Hughes is a modern poet who ignore the classical style of writing poetry and instead, in favor of oral and improve traditions of the Black culture. In majority of Langston’s poetry, many of his audience seems to take away a very strong message that many can apply to themselves or to others or his poems gives you an educational background of what’s going on in the African American community right now. For example, Langston Hughes writes a poetry piece called Afro American Fragment, which gives you a great breakdown of what an everyday African American person goes through considering that their whole history is basically taken away from them. Langston seems to show his audience that in books we never hear much about what contributions a African American person has done except for being brought to America and being a slave. Therefore, the whole theme about this poem is everything is a mystery and a question and it will take years to potentially to find an answer.