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Analysis of harlem langston hughes
Analysis of harlem langston hughes
Literature and movement in harlem renaissance
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Langston Hughes is the author of the poem ‘trumpet player’ among other poems that weaves in the contemporary ideas relating to racial issues, past memories and jazz music (Alexander and Ferris 55). Essentially, his themes centered on African- American made him an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. The poet was born in Joplin, Missouri in the year 1902. His first work on poetry was published in the year 1921 (Baird 599). From there on, he wrote innumerable works of poetry, plays as well as proses (Baird 599). The poet died in the year 1967 out of prostate cancer complications. The trumpet player is one of the most important works done by Hughes. The title of the poem introduces the scene but it is quite figurative. At its face value, the title …show more content…
It is apparent that the past pain will always be with individuals as a reminder. The musician has ‘dark moons of weariness’/ beneath his eyes’ (3-4) with a ‘memory of slave ships and/ the crack of whips’ (6-7). This implies that he has bags beneath his eyes as he is recollecting about the difficulties of being a slave and the discernment against his race. Showing that the trumpet player has bags beneath his eyes indicates that the man dwells in the anguish of his past and probably the sleepless nights are the source of his weariness.
Finally, a plausible theme that has also been presented by Hughes is the theme of music and its importance. He goes into discussing about how music helps the man to soothe the suffering and hardships of his past. The music from the trumpet is compared to ‘honey mixed with liquid fire’ (19-20). Hughes notes that the music is hot and sweet, which indicates that music is great as opposed to weary suffering. In the last stanza, music is compared to ‘hypodermic needle/ to his soul’ (39-40). He points out that music is under the man’s skin and in his souls where it soothes him softly and relieves his burden.
Works
In the poem, “The Was of Things,” (P 14) by Willie Perdomo, the poem is a free verse, no rhyme scheme, has 10 lines, and one stanza. The poem includes different techniques such as symbolism, personification, imagery, alliteration and so forth to illustrate different themes in the poem. The speaker uses enjambment in the poem to make readers think of what comes next. The beginning word of the poem is capitalized, the speaker trying to emphasize the first word in the poem or just followed a pattern. The purpose of the poem is to identify one theme in the poem, hence, what can be a theme captured in the poem “The Was of Things?” In this essay, I discuss the theme speculation and use structure, word usage, imagery, alliteration and symbolism to demonstrate the speculation throughout.
Based on the text "song of the Buffalo boy" The theme of the text is accept who you are or accept the life is given. In the beginning of the story Lou feels like no one is accepting her and feel she doesn't belong. Most importantly she doesn't like herself. "Why do you call me beautiful. when … I want to look like you and your family"Page 18.her father was Americans so she look different from other Vietnamese and people call con-lai."she hated that word, con-Lao!"pg(28). She hate being different. Later in the story Lou doesn't want to stay in the Village, she wants to run away with khai, A buffalo boy who is the only person that accept her, to America because she has to marry officer Heip, someone she doesn't Love. She want to be with khai
All of humanity suffers at one point or another during the course of their lives. It is in this suffering, this inevitable pain, that one truly experiences life. While suffering unites humankind, it is how we choose to cope with this pain that defines us as individuals. The question becomes do we let suffering consume us, or do we let it define our lives? Through James Baldwin’s story, “Sonny’s Blues”, the manner by which one confronts the light and darkness of suffering determines whether one is consumed by it, or embraces it in order to “survive.” Viewing a collection of these motifs, James Baldwin’s unique perspective on suffering as a crucial component of human development becomes apparent. It is through his compassionate portrayal of life’s inescapable hardships that one finds the ability to connect with humankind’s general pool of hardship. James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” makes use of the motifs of darkness and light to illuminate the universal human condition of suffering and its coping mechanisms.
In his poem “The Weary Blues” Langston Hughes’ is written in free verse to mimic the patterns of natural speech and music. This poem, as the title suggests, focuses on the blues, a musical style invented for the expression of deep pain; Blues songs are typically performed by individuals to create a feeling of loneliness in the grief-stricken lyrics. Hughes’ verse creates a natural rocking to the somber tune as the musician rocks on his stool; the speaker describes the song as “melancholy”. Interestingly “melancholy” describes the ending of the poem perfectly. As the musician thumps his foot and Hughes repeats that beat the singer sleeps like a dead man. Simply by communicating through music with ...
...nd the narrator supports him by listening to the music which seems to provide solace for suffering souls. This shows a new bond that has been created.
“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.” –Edgar Allan Poe. Poetry is one of the world’s greatest wonders. It is a way to tell a story, raise awareness of a social or political issue, an expression of emotions, an outlet, and last but not least it is an art. Famous poet Langston Hughes uses his poetry as a musical art form to raise awareness of social injustices towards African-Americans during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. Although many poets share similarities with one another, Hughes creatively crafted his poetry in a way that was only unique to him during the 1920’s. He implemented different techniques and styles in his poetry that not only helped him excel during the 1920’s, but has also kept him relative in modern times. Famous poems of his such as a “Dream Deferred,” and “I, Too, Sing America” are still being studied and discussed today. Due to the cultural and historical events occurring during the 1920’s Langston Hughes was able to implement unique writing characteristics such as such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues that is demonstrative of his writing style. Langston Hughes use of distinct characteristics such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues helped highlight the plights of African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance Era.
During the 1920's and 30’s, America went through a period of astonishing artistic creativity, the majority of which was concentrated in one neighborhood of New York City, Harlem. The creators of this period of growth in the arts were African-American writers and other artists. Langston Hughes is considered to be one of the most influential writers of the period know as the Harlem Renaissance. With the use of blues and jazz Hughes managed to express a range of different themes all revolving around the Negro. He played a major role in the Harlem Renaissance, helping to create and express black culture. He also wrote of political views and ideas, racial inequality and his opinion on religion. I believe that Langston Hughes’ poetry helps to capture the era know as the Harlem Renaissance.
Langston Hughes was probably the most well-known literary force during the Harlem Renaissance. He was one of the first known black artists to stress a need for his contemporaries to embrace the black jazz culture of the 1920s, as well as the cultural roots in Africa and not-so-distant memory of enslavement in the United States. In formal aspects, Hughes was innovative in that other writers of the Harlem Renaissance stuck with existing literary conventions, while Hughes wrote several poems and stories inspired by the improvised, oral traditions of black culture (Baym, 2221). Proud of his cultural identity, but saddened and angry about racial injustice, the content of much of Hughes’ work is filled with conflict between simply doing as one is told as a black member of society and standing up for injustice and being proud of one’s identity. This relates to a common theme in many of Hughes’ poems: that dignity is something that has to be fought for by those who are held back by segregation, poverty, and racial bigotry.
Australian poets Bruce Dawe and Gwen Harwood explore ideas and emotions in their poems through vivid and aural poetic techniques, the poets also use symbolism to allow the readers to relate to the text. In Dawes “Homecoming”, the poet explores the ideas in the text using language techniques such as irony, paradox and visual imagery to construct his attitude towards war and the effect. While in Gwen Harwood’s, “The violets”, she uses prevailing imagery and mood to emphasize fertility and growth. Contrastingly, In Bruce daws, “Life cycle”, the poet uses the idea of sport to symbolise and represent religion with the use of clichés and juxtaposition to convey his ideas of religion, myths and Christianity in the language use, similarly Harwood poem
Again, by reflecting on Mozart’s arrangements and the everyday sounds of nature, for example, the simile “dry crickets call like birds” (24), it brings the persona back to her first encounter of love, and the love of music that has been lost due to time. Therefore, as Harwood yearns to become one with her own self through the journey of music, she aims to restore this longing sensation with her spirit and bodily mind with music, but this can only be achieved through time and the journey to understand herself (Beston 1975, p.
... way they are moving from the bad things all around them into the good, that is, the music. In this way they are in a way escaping from the darkness that is around them every day even if only for a short time. It's the only light they have. This is when the author uses the image of darkness for the last time. " For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn't any other tale to tell, it's the only light we've got in all this darkness." This supports that their music is the only thing that is totally good in their lives. With all the violence and despair that is around them all of the time, music is the only way they can free themselves.
As the child is, so will the man be… So it is in music that the songs which a child assimilates in his youth will determine the musical manhood…the musical influence upon his afterlife and also that the melodies which composers evolve in their maturity are but the flowers which bloom from the fields which were sown with the seed of the folk-song in their childhood. (Barham, 9).
James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues tells the story of the narrator and his brother and the hardships that they must endure. As Kahlil Gibran States “Out of suffering have emerged the strangest souls, the most massive characters are seared with scars.” (Gibran). In that very quote the real light is shown as it informs the reader that with suffering comes growth and once the person whomever it may be emerges out of the darkness they may have scars but it has made them stronger. The theme of light and darkness as well as suffering play a vital part in this story. For both men there are times in which they have the blues and suffer in the darkness of their lives but music takes the suffering from them.
The story “Sonny’s Blues” By James Baldwin is about a jazz musician and his brother in 1950’s Harlem. The story centers on Sonny who uses jazz music as an escape from his depression. James Baldwin captures the art of jazz during this time period. The themes in this short story are perhaps varied, but all of them revolve around some form of suffering. One theme shows how music can promote change and understanding within relationships. A second theme reveals suffering caused by guilt. Yet another theme references the results of suffering brought about by searching for ones’ identity and how that leads to misunderstanding. There are also subthemes concerning racism and poverty.
The final two instances demonstrate the extreme emotional power that music holds over the lives of individuals. In defense of his bond with Antonio, Shylock invokes animal imagery as a strong emotional defense against the forfeiture of his bond. Perpetually invoking these images, Shylock also includes a line which states, “when the bagpipe sings i’th’ nose; Cannot contain their urine; for affection; Mistress of passion, sways it to the mood” (4.1.49-51). Shylock recognizes the immense power that music has over emotions. Music is able to bypass all cognitive faculties and permeate the deepest fathoms of our emotional capabilities, thus exploiting them. To find music included in a passage riddled with animal imagery permits a reader to understand the intensity of music, being a conduit that can access an individual’s deepest fears. Fear is the inherent system that drives animals to survive, much like the way it drives Shylock to maintain his way of