Analysis of Langston Hughes Poetry

Steven R. Goodman AASP100 England May 5, 2010 Reaction 2 Langston Hughes Poetry A Literary abstract of The Negro Speaks of Rivers The Harlem Renaissance can be considered as the cultural blast in Afro-American history. Spanning from the 1920s into the mid-1930s, the Harlem Renaissance was an apex in African-American intellectualism. The period is also recognized as the New Negro nominal headnamed after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke. Alain LeRoy Locke was an American educator, writer, and philosopher, who most consider as the drive of the Harlem Renaissance.Historians recall him as a leader and chief interpreter of the movement. In his anthology, he brings out a montage of works by many an(prenominal) well- cognize Africans and African-Americans including such figures as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Jacob Lawrence, Richmond Barth, William Grant Still, Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, Ralph Bunche, and can Dewey (Locke). One of these figures wrote one of the m ost profound poems still read today. Langston Hughes was an American poet whose most prominent works came out during the Harlem Renaissance.The poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers was Hughes first create poem and it was his sig nature too. Only 17 years old when he wrote it, Hughes created the poem while he was on a train headed to Mexico where he would live with his father for a year. As his train crossed the disseminated sclerosis River, he was astonished by how beautiful the river was and the thought of how that river had a exercise in maintaining slavery in America came into his mind and he started writing. permits start off with the title. The title has the term negro in it. Now how can we identify this?Well, the term negro tells us most the time period which curbs us back to the early 20th ascorbic acid when negro was self-identifiable with the gruesome conjunction for that is the term that they adopted. However, we see that the term is wholly use in the title which pla ces emphasis on its overall corporate meaning of the ideas it portrays. Now let us dive into the poem. There ar two metaphorical themes in this poem and they argon rivers and darkness. In derivation one, the Hughes registers, Ive known rivers. In this line, I, the speaker, is standing for the entire black community by dint ofout history.All of the rivers mentioned in the poem constitute as break in of an ex ten dollar billded metaphor that is comparing the souls of black pot to the ancient, wise, and great rivers of the world (Shmoop). In the line two, the simile, as ancient as the world, is constructed to emphasize the comparison of the age of the rivers to the age of the Earth. In line three, we see rivers organism used as a metaphor to depict the rivers of blood that flow through human veins. So the flow of blood in veins is compared to the flow of rivers. In line for, Hughes creates a simile comparing how blockheaded his soul is to how sound the rivers are.Now as we get to line five-spot the story of the avenue of the black community in history unfolds. In line five we start off with the first river, the Euphrates River, which is supposedly where all life began known as the cradle of civilization. Hughes notes that he bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. This symbolizes that there was peace and freedom. account six entails the black communitys journey into central westward Africa. In line six we continue with the second river, the Congo River, where he built his hut and it lulled him to sleep. The black community is still under deviation peace and freedom.They are construction a civilization. In line seven we see Hughes going into the third river, the Nile River. Now in line seven, we can certainly say that freedom hasnt necessarily stopped, plainly history has shown that black people amongst white people, and yellow people were slaves and all participated in the building of the pyramids. Lastly, Hughes enters into the one-four th and final river, the manuscript River. Hughes describes here the moment in history when Abraham capital of Nebraska sailed the Mississippi River and he witnessed the horrors of slavery at its finest.In this same line, Hughes has the river get along alive when he describes the river singing. In lines nine and ten Hughes creates some vision when he tells of how the sun setting on the Mighty Muddy Mississippi R. changed its color to gold. He also personifies the river when he depicts it having a bosom acquiring feminine attributes. The second theme of darkness can only be seen when literally picking away at the poem. We see that Hughes is very descriptive when he introduces darkness and light throughout the poem. In lines nine and ten we see Hughes describing how the Mississippi R. oes from muddy to golden as the sun departs and the darkness arrives. So we can also take from this as muddy being a metaphor for skin color when talking about slavery. one time the river becomes gol den, slavery is abolished and slaves are freed. As we view the word dusky when describing the nature of the rivers, the metaphor can be not just for skin color, but also to remind our reader about the authors recent which haunts him. In line 13 the poem ends with My soul has grown deep like the rivers. What can we take from this?Everytime the black civilization moves to a diametrical point in time, the rivers get deeper, as well as the black mans soul. The author has seen the upbringing of civilizations, he has contributed in building the pyramids, and he has witnessed slavery being abolished. This poem is a time railroad car of events. In conclusion, Langston Hughes was a New Negro because as a piece for the black community, through his poetry he influenced other people to take arrogance in their heritage, culture, and triumphs noting racism when needed while showing pride in the black community. Alain Locke. The 1 Site for African American literary productions Books, Nove ls, Authors, Movies, Resources, Discussion and More African Diaspora. Web. 06 May 2010. http//aalbc. com/authors/Alainlocke. htm. The Negro Speaks of Rivers Symbolism, Imagery & Wordplay. Shmoop landing field Guides & Teacher Resources. Web. 06 May 2010. http//www. shmoop. com/negro-speaks-of-rivers/symbolism-imagery. html.