Evelynn Pauls Mr.Germain Honors English 10 B 26 April 2024 Problems in society through poems The Harlem Renaissance, what comes to your mind when you think about this period of time? Well, the Harlem Renaissance was a very influential time for American poets. These poets used their life-changing experiences in their poems and wrote about it. During the Harlem Renaissance, many poets rose and became famous and well-known. Claude McKay, James Weldon Johnson, and Georgia Douglas Johnson used their poems to shed light on problems in society. These poets used writing as a creative outlet to share their life experiences and what they had/were going through during this time. The first poet is Claude McKay, born in 1889 during the Harlem Renaissance. …show more content…
In the second poem “If We Must Die” McKay uses “If we must die, O let us nobly die,”(McKay, line 5). McKay says he wants to die with a legacy and be remembered. McKay uses these two lines to shed light on problems in society. In addition to McKay, another Harlem Renaissance poet was James Weldon Johnson. Johnson used his poems to shed light on problems in society. In Johnson’s poem “Lift Every Voice And Sing” he uses “May we forever stand, True to our God, True to our native land”(Johnson, line 31-33). Johnson also uses “Lift every voice and sing, til earth and heaven ring”(Johnson, lines 1-2). In lines 1-2 and lines 31-33 Johnson is saying to lift up your voice so our native African Americans are not forgotten. In the second poem “Go Down, Death” he uses “and God said: Go down, Death, Go down, Go down to Savannah, Georgia, Down in Yamacraw”(Johnson, line 32-34). Johnson also uses “Weep not-- weep not, She is not dead; She’s resting in the bosom of Jesus”(Johnson, line 74-76). Johnson uses these lines to explain how African Americans die all the time working in the fields in the south, but he tells them not to worry because they are with Jesus
By 1921, McKay had become the associate editor of a magazine called, The Liberator, a socialist magazine of art and literature. In 1922, Harcourt, Brace and Company published a collection of seven poems called, Harlem Shadows. This made him receive the status of being the first significant black poet. Even though he was considered an African-American icon, McKay said he still considered himse...
Originally referred to as the “New Negro Movement”, the Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement during the early twentieth century. It was started by the Great Migration of blacks to the North during World War I. This period resulted in many people coming forth and contributing their talents to the world, inspiring many. One of the poets of this time, Jessie Redmon Fauset, was one of those who wrote about the life of blacks and life in general during this time period. She used her good and bad past experiences as influences for her works.
“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.
“Poetry, like jazz, is one of those dazzling diamonds of creative industry that help human beings make sense out of the comedies and tragedies that contextualize our lives” This was said by Aberjhani in the book Journey through the Power of the Rainbow: Quotation from a Life Made Out of Poetry. Poetry during the Harlem Renaissance was the way that African Americans made sense out of everything, good or bad, that “contextualized” their lives. The Harlem Renaissance, also known as the Black Renaissance or New Negro Movement, was a cultural movement among African Americans. It began roughly after the end of World War 1 in 1918. Blacks were considered second class citizens and were treated as such.
Poetry is a versatile avenue from which waves or ripples can be made potentially. A writer of poetry has the ability to make their readers feel a while wide array of emotions and situations synonymous with the human condition. I, at first, was completely turned off to the idea of poetry at first because all I was exposed to early on by way of poetry were bland professions of love or lust or seemingly simple poems I was forced to process down to a fine word paste. Edgar Allan Poe was interesting, but it was a tad bit dry to me. But, after reading poems the Harlem Renaissance gave me a bit of hope for poetry. To me, the poetry written during that time period has a certain allure to it. They have serious depth and meaning that I, myself and empathize
The Harlem Renaissance inspired, and was inspired by some of the greatest poets, musicians and artists of the century. Among these great minds, were the poets Langston Hughes, and Claude McKay. Though motivated by the same hardships, people, and events, the works of both Hughes, and McKay show glaring differences in the perspectives of the authors. Upon reading “Harlem” by Hughes, the audience may easily see the author’s more peaceful call to action. In contrast, after reading “If We Must Die,” one can infer that McKay prefers to call his audience to obvious (physical) action. Langston Hughes’s poem portrays a more passive overtone, while Claude McKay’s poem is more aggressive. There are, however, a few similarities between the two works of
The Harlem Renaissance gave African American women new opportunities in literature. “The Harlem Renaissance was the name given to the cultural, social, and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem between the end of World War 1 and the middle of the 1930s.” (Wormser) It was a challenge for women poets during the Harlem Renaissance because they were both black and women. (Walton) Jessie Fauset, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Regina Anderson, and Nella Larson all played important roles in the Harlem Renaissance. (Lewis) These women inspired many generations of women to come. (Walton)
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.
The Harlem Renaissance was a period of great rebirth for African American people and according to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, the “Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s.” Wikipedia also indicates that it was also known as the “Negro Movement, named after the 1925 Anthology by Alan Locke.” Blacks from all over America and the Caribbean and flocked to Harlem, New York. Harlem became a sort of “melting pot” for Black America. Writers, artists, poets, musicians and dancers converged there spanning a renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was also one of the most important chapters in the era of African American literature. This literary period gave way to a new type of writing style. This style is known as “creative literature.” Creative literature enabled writers to express their thoughts and feelings about various issues that were of importance to African Americans. These issues include racism, gender and identity, and others that we...
The Harlem Renaissance refers to a prolific period of unique works of African-American expression from about the end of World War I to the beginning of the Great Depression. Although it is most commonly associated with the literary works produced during those years, the Harlem Renaissance was much more than a literary movement; similarly, it was not simply a reaction against and criticism of racism. The Harlem Renaissance inspired, cultivated, and, most importantly, legitimated the very idea of an African-American cultural consciousness. Concerned with a wide range of issues and possessing different interpretations and solutions of these issues affecting the Black population, the writers, artists, performers and musicians of the Harlem Renaissance had one important commonality: "they dealt with Black life from a Black perspective." This included the use of Black folklore in fiction, the use of African-inspired iconography in visual arts, and the introduction of jazz to the North.[i] In order to fully understand the lasting legacies of the Harlem Renaissance, it is important to examine the key events that led to its beginnings as well as the diversity of influences that flourished during its time.
The Inspiration Behind Harlem Renaissance Literature The United States of America was founded on morals of white supremacy. From the country’s inception, wealthy white men have been in control, leaving those who don’t fit that category exploited and oppressed. Unfortunately, with the rise of slavery, African Americans dealt with mass oppression throughout America’s history. When African Americans were finally granted the freedom that they deserved, their culture rose with art, music, poetry, and academics. This free expression of culture was known as the Harlem Renaissance.
Langston Hughes a great poet during the harlem renaissance would fight for the fair treatment of African Americans. He did this through his poetry and writing that usually talked about racial injustice and the encouragement for African Americans to fight for their rights. Hughes was well known for his jazz poetry and being very straightforward with his poetry. Three poems are tied into Hughes fight against racial injustice and his life experiences. These three poems are Harlem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, and Let America Be America Again.
Langston Hughes was a phenomenal poet, whose poem not only gave a glimpse into the injustices, discrimination, hardship and frustration that African American s faced during the Harlem Renaissance. The way he was able to capture those attributes and makes that the main themes of his poems; showed his ability to give the African Americans a voice and share the same issues . In his poems he uses styles such as imagery, slangs, and “analogies to emphasize the main themes of his poem and to allow it to be relatable to anyone. In the poems I too, sing America, Theme for English B, The Weary Blues, and Mother to Son they all share the common theme of discrimination and hardship that African Americans faced during the Harlem Renaissance.
He also uses metaphors e.g. “bark the mad and hungry dog” and also he uses rhetorical questions e.g. “what though before us lies the open grave?”. At the very start of this poem Claude McKay begins with a conditional statement (if we must die). With this he sets up the rest of his poem with the conflict between the antecedent (the black race) and the consequent (the racism that come with being black). He then asks that if we must die to reach our goals we must die with dignity.