ipl-logo

Analysis Of Langston Hughes The Negro Speaks Of Rivers

715 Words3 Pages

Langston Hughes’ The Negro Speaks of Rivers is a poem that dramatizes the conflict that occurred during the Harlem Renaissance era. I am able to see that Hughes had an dynamic and intense meaning for this specific poem. We are able to see that African Americans played a vital part in history. In this poem we are able to see our speaker break down the heritage and history of African Americans. There are many different references made throughout this poem starting with the Middle East civilization and ending with images of slavery viewed from the Mississippi River. There are many historical grounds covered throughout this short poem, we are able to gain all of this information he is able to speak on from experiences and stories from those around him. We see that Hughes is able to make connections with the African American society and rivers, we are able to see that because both have endured and have been able to withstand the good and the bad. Both forms have been through many different overpowering situations that eventually made them more knowledgeable. Throughout this entire poem we see the speaking for his ancestors and the historical importance they have had all over the entire world..
However, the poem begins with several oddities that suggest the speaker is saying more than what he seems to say …show more content…

After reading this poem multiple times I am able to see that the repetition does in fact add more meaning to the sentence. Repetition in this poem helps the reader see the dual meanings that make reference to the roots and the history of African Americans that work to intertwined this poem. I feel that Hughes is able to convey multiple messages in his poem because of the particular writing style he chose, repetition, and

Show More
Related

  • Images Of Oppression In Walt Whitman's Song Of Myself

    887 Words  | 4 Pages

    Langston Hughes uses images of oppression to reveal a deeper truth about the way minorities have been treated in America. He uses his poems to bring into question some of Walt Whitman’s poems that indirectly state that all things are great, that all persons are one people in America, which Hughes claims is false because of all the racist views and oppression that people face from the people America. This oppression is then used to keep the minorities from Walt Whitman in his poem, “Song of Myself”, talks about the connection between all people, how we are family and are brothers and sisters who all share common bonds. He says, “ And I know that the spirit of God is the brother of my own,/ And that all the men ever born are also my brothers,

    Read More

  • Harlem Renaissance Research Paper

    1487 Words  | 6 Pages

    Writers and poets emerging during that time were recapturing the African-American past. Topics such as southern roots, new urban living, and African heritage were a few of their focuses. Langston Hughes was one of these poets transforming the Black image to the rest of the world. He was largely known for the raw emotions he emitted into his poems. Laced with Jazz and Blues undertones, Hughes’ poems that forced you clearly think about what he said.

    Read More

  • 'Rhetorical Analysis Of That Word Black' By Langston Hughes

    125 Words  | 1 Pages

    In his writing piece, “That Word Black” (1958), Langston Hughes accentuates the issue over the negative connotation of the term ‘black’, and how its usage associates black individuals with immoral concepts, implying that they are terrible people. By providing imagery, a series of examples of black’s adverse use, and juxtaposition between that of the white’s, the writer heightens pathos. Langston Hughes’ purposes is to reveal the abysmal correlation of the word ‘black’ in order to demonstrate the underlying racism and disparity between black and white people. Because the author uses AAVE to show the ethos and sincerness that he is a black person, and discusses an educational, racial topic, he appeals to the white people who hold a cultural stereotypes

    Read More

  • How Did Langston Hughes Make A Change

    686 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Some African American literary critics did not like Hughes’ work though. They thought he was painting the African American culture in a bad light by exposing the everyday struggles of African Americans” (PebbleGo). Some thought the opposite of the critics. Hughes didn’t care what they thought though. He just wanted to write about what realistically happened.

    Read More

  • Comparing Langston Hughes And Maya Angelou's Poetry

    458 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both poems shed light on the true feelings of African Americans everywhere and show that these people are tired of being treated differently and that these people know that things will change. Hughes’s poem has a laid back approach, almost expecting things to get better on their own. But Angelou’s poem is a bit more attacking. Instead of accepting that things are the way they are and that they’ll get better, Angelou tries to make her oppressors seem less oppressive to her and more scared of her by saying things such as “Do you want to see me broken” and “Does my sexiness offend

    Read More

  • How Did Langston Hughes Influence The American Dream

    922 Words  | 4 Pages

    The culture of most blacks was unwanted during this time. For this reason Hughes desired to make a change and illustrate such cultural identities in his poems. In doing this he caused a shift in ideas among all people. Although the change didn’t happen immediately it did eventually occur. With that said the African American people were given less of an opportunity at jobs, schooling, and most importantly culture.

    Read More

  • We Have Tomorrow Like A Flame By Langston Hughes Analysis

    1179 Words  | 5 Pages

    It talks about how yesterday was a thing of the past and that it cannot be changed. He talks about how each day, African Americans must march on towards their dreams. Despite prejudice, oppression, and poverty that African Americans faced at this time, Hughes points to a positive in that the only way their dreams will come true is if they focus on the present day and what they can do to fix things. They cannot be looking at the past and what has happened. His message to the audience in this poem is towards the youth, in particular African-Americans.

    Read More

  • The Negro Speaks Of Rivers Analysis

    1409 Words  | 6 Pages

    Langston Hughes poems “Harlem” and “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” are two poems that have a deeper meaning than a reader may notice. Hughes 's poem “Harlem” incorporates the use of similes to make a reader focus on the point Hughes is trying to make. In “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” Hughes shows how close he was to the rivers on a personal level. With those two main focuses highlighted throughout each poem, it creates an intriguing idea for a reader to comprehend. In these particular poems, Hughes’s use of an allusion, imagery, and symbolism in each poem paints a clear picture of what Hughes wants a reader to realize.

    Read More

  • Three Major Themes In Langston Hughes's Poetry

    1089 Words  | 5 Pages

    Langston Hughes was an American poem born in the early nineteen hundreds, who became known as the leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He published many poems that brought light to the life of people of color in the twentieth century. There are three poems that the speakers are used to portray three major themes of each poem. Racism, the American Dream, and Hopes are all the major themes that Hughes uses to highlight the average life of a person of color. Theme for English B,” “Harlem,” and “Let America Be America Again” were three of Hughes’s poems that was selected to underline the themes.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Devices In The Negro Speaks Of Rivers By Langston Hughes

    1413 Words  | 6 Pages

    Throughout much of his poetry, Langston Hughes wrestles with complex notations of African American dreams, racism, and discrimination during the Harlem Renaissance. Through various poems, Hughes uses rhetorical devices to state his point of view. He tends to use metaphors, similes, imagery, and connotation abundantly to illustrate in what he strongly believes. Discrimination and racism were very popular during the time when Langston Hughes began to develop and publish his poems, so therefore his poems are mostly based on racism and discrimination, and the desire of an African American to live the American dream. Langston Hughes poems served as a voice for all African Americans greatly throughout his living life, and even after his death.

    Read More

  • Langston Hughes Poetry Analysis

    761 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • I Too Sing America Analysis

    997 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the poem, Langston Hughes outlines the African American, as not being recognized as having a place within society, and being an oppressed group of people. This is shown in the first line of the poem when he says “I, too, sing America. ”(Hughes, 1) By saying, “I, too, sing America,”(Hughes, 1) the audience can interpret that, Langston Hughes sees society as a choir, all ‘singing’ together. This is saying that he, is also part of that ‘choir,’ and has an equal voice within this society. The audience can also see how he is not equal, as he is

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis Of Langston Hughes's The Weary Blues

    1552 Words  | 7 Pages

    Biography/Context: Langston Hughes (1902-1967) is widely considered as one of the most successful African-American poets of all time. He was also a columnist, playwright, novelist, and social activist for African-American rights. Consequently, Hughes wrote all sorts of literature about 20th century African-Americans living in Harlem--a major black residential within the Manhattan borough of New York City--and soon became an extremely influential figure in the Harlem Renaissance, which was the rebirth movement of African-American culture in the arts during the 1920s. Hughes also had great admiration for music, and was inspired by a variety of genres/musicians such as boogie, Bach, jazz, and blues. His special love for blues music caused

    Read More

  • Let America Be America Again, You And Your Whole Race, By Langston Hughes

    698 Words  | 3 Pages

    Langston Hughes uses imagery in his poems in order to convey his ideas of hardships and difficulty people dealt with at his time. For example in the poem “The Backlash Blues” Hughes writes, “You give me second class houses/Seconds class schools/ Do you think colored folks/Are just second class fools?” (lines 4-8).

    Read More

  • What Is The Tone Of The Negro By Langston Hughes

    155 Words  | 1 Pages

    This poem truly intrigues me on the grounds that racially particular . Most perusers experience no difficulty seeing the racially particular components: the speaker in the poem is "The Negro" The rivers are named in a particular order: in the order of their relationship with African American history. By utilizing numerous inferences, the setting of which Hughes needs to attract regard for is clear. He starts "when dawns were young" , which alludes to a period when African Americans were utilized as slaves along the Euphrates in Western Asia, and closures with the Emancipation Proclamation of "Abe Lincoln" when slaves were at long last freed men. Hughes additionally suggests the time of slavery, where African American men were compelled to "raise

    Read More

More about Analysis Of Langston Hughes The Negro Speaks Of Rivers

Open Document