Analysis Of Let America Be America Again By Langston Hughes

“I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek.” In the poem “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes, the reader hears from two different speakers, and how they both separately want America to change. One of the speakers wants America to go back to what it was before, while the other responds in small comments, building up to say the quote above. The author is also very smart in how he lays out the poem, and what messages he’s trying to convey. In the poem “Let America Be America Again” the author has two separate speakers with contradicting thoughts, the author relates to problems that were happening in

the real world, and how the author’s rhyme scheme is a vital component to how the poem reads.
In the poem “Let America Be America Again” there are two speakers who both have very separate thoughts, and whilst one has the literal meaning for half of the poem, the other morphs it the last half.

In the beginning, the speaker begins talking about how they want America to revert to its state previous to what it was in the present. The tone of the first speaker is very relaxed and calm but shows that they are eager for something to change. The speaker states,”Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be.” The second speaker replied in a bitter tone and whispers,” America was never America to me.” After that, the speaker states,”O, let my land be a land where Liberty is crowned with no false patriotic wreath.” What the author is doing here is personifying liberty and is symbolizing that in America the citizens actually have liberty and are very proud

of that. The first speaker then says that equality is in the air we breathe, being a metaphor for that equality is everywhere in America. After this, the second speaker responds in a harsh manner, stating that he has never had equality and mocks the phrase “homeland of the free.” Next, the first speaker finally addresses the other voice, asking him,“Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark? And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?” As a result, the second speaker responds with a forceful tone, saying that they are the poor white, the slave who is scarred, the native American who had their land taken, and the immigrant who only has hope. This is a very influential part of this poem for this is when the second voice takes over for the most part. After, the second voice then goes to say that all people want is money and power. Greed consumes everything, and that it is an endless game of dog eat dog, which is an idiom which means that no one is trusted and one can be turned on if another is offered something better than one’s trust. Further, the second voice continues on saying they are bound to the land, or sold to the machine. They say they are the servant to all, and the man that never who never got ahead. Finally, the first voice contradicts what the second voice is saying, by commenting,”Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream… O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas. In search of what I meant to be my home… To build a ‘homeland of the free.’” Lastly, the second voice questions them and asks how America is the home of the free. They say that they have never thought America was free with all of the people unemployed and killed in battle. Onwards, the second voice tells the first, to change America to what it has never been. Where every man is free and the land belongs to all. From all men’s hard work built this country just to live a dream that never was true. Finally, the second voice ends the poem by saying that through all of the horrid and beastly events that have taken place in this country, we can finally make America again. Overall, the literal message of the poem is that we all need to come together as a country and make an America that has never been, a “homeland of the free.”
Even though the literal message in the poem was that we need to come together as a country and have equality for everyone, the message can relate even more to our real life.

This poem was written by Langston Hughes and an African-American man who was alive from 1902-1967. Obviously, times were a lot different to what rights certain groups had. His writing definitely reflects on opinions of that time period. The poem starts out with the first speaker saying that we need to revert back to our ways before. That we needed to let America be America again. The first speaker represents the more conservative majority of that time period. Of course, the majority wanted things to go back to how they were before. After the first speaker says this, there is a small comment that says that America was never America to me. From this, I assume that this is intended to be a comment from a minority. It is not loud enough or a strong enough comment to be heard yet, but it is definitely there. The first speaker then speaks about how great America was before, while the small comments become longer, and more powerful statements. The first speaker continues by saying that everyone has liberty and equality. The second voice then makes an even longer and more powerful statement by saying,”There’s never been equality for me. Nor freedom in this ‘homeland of the free.’” This is when the first speaker stops and acknowledges the smaller voice. This symbolizes the Civil Rights Act in a

way, for the majority wanted things to go back to how they were, while others wanted more freedoms and equality. It also symbolizes the minority standing up to the majority of the comments start small, get a little bigger, and get even bigger until it is too loud to ignore. Next, the second speaker responds saying exactly what the minority would say at that point. That they need more freedom, there is not enough equality, and they demand an America where no one has more rights than others. Of course, the first speaker buds in and tries to make themselves look better by saying they were the ones who came to America and even dreamt the dream, but the second speaker comes back even stronger and definitely gets their point across. Overall, this poem symbolizes the struggle between two groups, one with much more power than the other. The minority starts small but becomes stronger when pushed over and over. The minority finally lets out a shout so loud that it has to be heard. They then bring their point across making sure everyone hears it, the majority tries to fight back, but it has no effect against the words of the minority. In the end, the minority is ahead and makes the last remark, telling the reader to let America be America again.
The rhyme scheme in this poem is a vital part of how the reader is supposed to interpret it. In this poem, the author has three stanzas that use a normal ABAB scheme. What’s unique about this is that between each stanza is one line in parentheses. This shows the reader that this line in parentheses is another voice speaking. Also, from that line, you can tell that this voice is not as prominent as the one that is formally speaking in the stanza. After the third stanza and third line in parentheses, the first speaker asks the second speaker a few questions. These two questions are both italicized and has no type of form. The author does this to show that something has changed for the first speaker has broken his common form and said something much different than they usually would. After this, the second speaker takes control and begins speaking using an ABAB scheme that is a bit longer than the first speaker's stanzas. I think this is supposed to symbolize that the second speaker's views and opinions are starting to become more common and not as unorthodox as they once were. The second speaker continues with this for three stanzas before the first speaker cuts them off and uses the extended ABAB form. I think this symbolizes that the first speaker has made a comeback and is trying to make the second speaker look as uncommon as possible. The second speaker then replies with a question, showing that it doesn’t matter that it is unusual, it only matters that they are getting their point across. They then start conforming back into a common ABAB form before changing into a more free verse form. This symbolizes that new ideas and new concepts are being accepted. It is showing that times are changing and not everything has to be what everyone is used to to be accepted. At the end, the speaker wraps up what they have said by using a normal ABAB form, showing that their ideas have become normal.
In the poem “Let America Be America Again” the author has two separate speakers with contradicting thoughts, the author relates to problems that were happening in the real world, and how the author’s rhyme scheme is a vital component to how the poem reads. The author showed how one speaker has one point of few while the other has entirely different. He also showed how it related to his real life and how the rhyme scheme helps tell the entire story. Through his rhyme scheme and similarity to reality, Langston Hughes opened up many’s eyes through fantastic literature.