Trumpet Player Poem Analysis
1. Scansion and Analysis
The Harlem Renaissance was a period of revolutionary styles of music, dance, and literature that presented the hardships and culture of African Americans. The “Trumpet Player,” by Langston Hughes portrays the theme of the therapeutic effects of music through the development of an African American trumpeter’s music. The free verse poem “Trumpet Player” epitomizes the Harlem Renaissance and Jazz through the unique use of inconsistent rhymed and unrhymed lines mixed with the use of colloquialisms.
Hughes employs the use of sporadic and irregular patterns of rhyme, meter, line length and use of enjambment to represent the Jazz like nature of the trumpet player’s music. Within the five eight-line stanzas and the four line-coda,
…show more content…
The gender of the speaker cannot be defined since there are no indications to suggest the speaker’s gender.
The main idea of the poem is the integral part of music in African American culture as a “hypodermic needle / to [the] soul” soothing the weariness and pain from the “smoldering memor[ies]” of “slave ships” (6). In stanza 1, the larger theme of social inequality is addressed through the allusion of the slave trade by trumpet player’s memory “of slave ships / Blazed to the crack of whips,” (6-7). The second stanza uses the imagery of the trumpet player’s “tamed down / patent-leathered” (12-13) hair, to represent the forced “tam[ing] down” of African Americans and their culture.
The third stanza includes two metaphors using alcohol to characterize the jazz music as soothing like “honey” but energetic and forceful because it is “mixed with liquid fire” (19; 20). The music’s energetic and powerful rhythm is characterized by “the rhythm [...] is ecstasy / distilled from old desire–“ (21-24). The concept of social immobility resulting from social inequality is exemplified in the fourth stanza by the disparity between “The Negro[‘s]” “Desire / that is longing for the moon” and the reality that his “moonlight’s but a spotlight,” and the moon a “[moon] of weariness” (1; 25-26;
I Am A Cowboy In The Boat Of Ra Analysis
924 Words | 4 PagesComparing and contrasting poems Poetry often takes different forms mainly because different poets have different styles through which they communicate their intended messages. According to Kathy, it is this style that defines the different works by different composers (Kathy 7). This paper hereby seeks to compare and contrast Heaven and I am a cowboy in the boat Ra. The main objective herein is to identify the similarities as well as differences between the two pieces of work.
Dbq Harlem Renaissance
520 Words | 3 PagesThe person in this poem expressed his sadness coming north by using folk art with black speech and compared the south with the north. These poems expressed racial pride and folk
Black Community: The Harlem Renaissance
132 Words | 1 PagesThe Harlem Renaissance was a period of great cultural growth in the black community. It is accepted that it started in 1918 and lasted throughout the 1930s. Though named the ‘Harlem’ Renaissance, it was a country-wide phenomenon of pride and development among black Americans, the likes of which had never existed in such grand scale. Among the varying political actions and movements for equality, a surge of new art appeared: musical, visual, and even theatre. With said surge, many of the most well-known black authors, poets, musicians and actors rose to prevalence including Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Louis Armstrong, and Eulalie Spence.
Charles Amlinson Griffes Poem For Flute And Orchestra Analysis
1210 Words | 5 PagesThe Poem for Flute and Orchestra (1918) originally written for Georges Barrère demands high lyrical virtuosity from the performer. Technical aspects of performance all should serve to interpret the lyrical characteristic of the piece. Poem was first performed on November 16, 1919 by the New York Symphony Orchestra conducted by Walter Damrosch with Georges Barrère as the flute soloist. The atmospheric opening is heard as a refrain throughout the work, there are sections of dense chromatic language, polymetric dance, and enlivening technique.
African American Culture In Langston Hughes And We Wear The Mask
802 Words | 4 PagesThe Harlem Renaissance was a period in American history, which occurred in the 1920s in Harlem, New York. The cultural movement was an opportunity for African Americans to celebrate their heritage through intellectual and artistic works. Langston Hughes, a famous poet, was a product of the Harlem Renaissance. One notable piece of literature by Hughes is “Dream Deferred”. However, the discussion of African American culture isn’t limited to the 1920s.
Harlem Renaissance Research Paper
1545 Words | 7 PagesThe soulful rhythmic sounds of the Harlem streets, flowed within the souls of its people. “Jazz, blues, and spiritual was known as Black Music was very popular” (Watson, p.107). The Harlem Renaissance drew a lot of individuals beyond the black community. In the book, The Harlem Renaissance: Hub of African-American Culture, the author wrote, “Harlem drew… those who sniffed the winds of fashion…
Jazz Influence On American Culture
1090 Words | 5 PagesOne of the defining aspects of the Jazz Age was the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural explosion that took place in Harlem, New York. It was a movement wherein African-American writers, musicians, and intellectuals came together to celebrate their culture and create brilliant works of art that not only transformed black culture, but American culture at large. Jazz, being a predominantly black art form, played no small role. Composer William Grant Still was one of the most important musicians of the Harlem Renaissance movement. The values introduced by the
How Did Louis Armstrong Contribute To The Harlem Renaissance
1263 Words | 6 PagesThe Harlem Renaissance was a burst on African American’s expression of culture, arts, and writings throughout the 1920’s. It was in Harlem, New York, the movement allowed many African American poets, painters, musicians, authors and philosophers to express the beliefs in their people's culture. They wanted to be equal to white people so they showed that through their talents. Louis Armstrong was a key asset to the Harlem Renaissance due to his inspiring music and playing his instruments for African Americans people during this period. Louis Armstrong was a pivotal musician in the twentieth century, but it was his contributions and his role he made during the Harlem Renaissance movement that is most substantial.
Harlem Renaissance Influence
1645 Words | 7 PagesThe Harlem Renaissance was a black literary and art movement that began in Harlem, New York. Migrants from the South came to Harlem with new ideas and a new type of music called Jazz. Harlem welcomed many African Americans who were talented. Writers in the Harlem Renaissance had separated themselves from the isolated white writers which made up the “lost generation” The formation of a new African American cultural identity is what made the Harlem Renaissance and the Lost Generation unique in American culture because it influenced white literacy and it was a sense of freedom for African Americans.
Harlem Renaissance Dbq
756 Words | 4 PagesHannah Parra Ms.McCall APUSH, 3rd Period 3 March, 2015 Question 1: A) The argument established in the excerpt asserted that during the Harlem Renaissance, blacks proved themselves to be active and important forces in our nation and the creation of an American cultural identity, the Renaissance did exactly that. The Harlem Renaissance was an important cultural outpouring for African Americans in Harlem, New York throughout the 1920’s. During this time, blacks advanced in art, literature, music, drama, and dance.
Jazzonia Poem Analysis
948 Words | 4 PagesThe final poem of significance is Jazzonia, in which Hughes experiments with literary form to transform the act of listening to jazz into an ahistorical and biblical act. Neglecting form, it is easy to interpret the poem shallowly as a simple depiction of a night-out in a cabaret with jazz whipping people into a jovial frenzy of singing and dancing. But, the poem possesses more depth, when you immerse yourself in the literary form. The first aspect of form to interrogate is the couplet Hughes thrice repeats: “Oh, silver tree!/Oh, shining rivers of the soul!” Here, we see the first transformation.
The Harlem Renaissance: Civil Rights Movement
1516 Words | 7 PagesThe Harlem Renaissance was a movement that reflected the culture of African Americans in an artistic way during the 1920’s and the 30’s. Many African Americans who participated in this movement showed a different side of the “Negro Life,” and rejected the stereotypes that were forced on themselves. The Harlem Renaissance was full of artists, musicians, and writers who wrote about their thoughts, especially on discrimination towards blacks, such as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Langston Hughes. The Harlem Renaissance was an influential and exciting movement, and influenced others to fight for what they want and believed in. The Harlem Renaissance was the start of the Civil Rights Movement.
How Did The Harlem Renaissance Affect The Civil Rights Movement?
1800 Words | 8 PagesThe Harlem Renaissance was a “outpouring of writing, music, and social criticism” (Baker, 1987) aimed at destroying the ever-present racism of the 1920s. Langston Hughes, an artist of the Harlem Renaissance, was a big contributor to change, inspiring those of his own time and later on to stand up for African American rights. Penning the 1926 manifesto The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, Hughes encapsulated the thoughts of Harlem, and urged African Americans to be proud of their own culture, “without fear or shame” (Hughes in Bernard, 2011).
Song Analysis Of Aint No Mountain High Enough
1148 Words | 5 PagesThe high frequency tambourine play through out the mix and give a mellow, relaxed feel to the song prior to the buildups, once again possibly conveying the message of calm during tense circumstances. The most important compositional technique however was the powerful duet. Terrell complements Gaye’s gospel grit throughout the verses, possessing a striking alto tone, with Gaye pulling back to let her powerful voice soar over his during the commanding chorus. This gives off the notion of togetherness, compatibility and makes listeners feel a yearning to love. Now it is important to understand the background in which this particular piece was composed and how this makes it a message-conveying
Duke Ellington's Music Analysis
869 Words | 4 PagesIn the 1920s and 1930s, a large movement of art and literature took place in the city of Harlem. Many African American authors express their thoughts and ideas through anyway possible. Whether it be music, art, or literature, its impact gave the African Americans a new place in society. One composer of music was very influential to all people. His name is Duke Ellington.
More about Trumpet Player Poem Analysis
I Am A Cowboy In The Boat Of Ra Analysis
924 Words | 4 PagesDbq Harlem Renaissance
520 Words | 3 PagesBlack Community: The Harlem Renaissance
132 Words | 1 PagesCharles Amlinson Griffes Poem For Flute And Orchestra Analysis
1210 Words | 5 PagesAfrican American Culture In Langston Hughes And We Wear The Mask
802 Words | 4 PagesHarlem Renaissance Research Paper
1545 Words | 7 PagesJazz Influence On American Culture
1090 Words | 5 PagesHow Did Louis Armstrong Contribute To The Harlem Renaissance
1263 Words | 6 PagesHarlem Renaissance Influence
1645 Words | 7 PagesHarlem Renaissance Dbq
756 Words | 4 PagesJazzonia Poem Analysis
948 Words | 4 PagesThe Harlem Renaissance: Civil Rights Movement
1516 Words | 7 PagesHow Did The Harlem Renaissance Affect The Civil Rights Movement?
1800 Words | 8 PagesSong Analysis Of Aint No Mountain High Enough
1148 Words | 5 PagesDuke Ellington's Music Analysis
869 Words | 4 Pages