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Major themes in langston hughes poetry
Langston hughes literary styles
Major themes in langston hughes poetry
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Langston Hughes is a critically acclaimed African-American poets who wrote poetry about the struggles and injustices in which occurred throughout the average life of an African-American. He used uncommon literary devices in order to poetically convey his messages in such a way that solidified himself as one of the greatest African-American writers, who didn’t shy away from the problems which were set before him, but instead chose to write stories and poems which captivated many due to his prolific styles of painting vivid imagery of worldly struggles of African-Americans through his literary works. Langston Hughes has an extensive catalogue which contains numerous short stories, poems, and even actual theatrical plays.I believe Langston Hughes …show more content…
resume of work has solidified himself as a major contributor to American literature. Langston Hughes style of writing differed from any black poet of his time and the time set before him.
He used uncommon literary devices during the period of time were poets were using a more abstruse forms of writing which could only be understood by few, and by doing so, Hughes was able to reach his black audience as well as anyone who could read for that matter. Although the messages in which Hughes was trying to convey were serious, He often used a more humorous approach to which made the information easier to be received by the reader. Langston Hughes insightfully and creatively portrayed the lives of African-Americans through his poetry from the roaring twenties all the way up to 1960’s, which solidified him as one of the greatest poets ever to live. Before I go in to depth on some of his works, in order to breakdown the messages in which he was attempting to convey, I believe I should give you the reader a backdrop of the biography of Langston …show more content…
Hughes. James Mercer Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. At the age of thirteen, he moved from living with his grandmother to live with his mother and her husband in Lincoln, Illinois where he first began to write poetry. After high school, Hughes would eventually attend Columbia University of New York for a year before moving to Washington, D.C in 1924. Two years later, Langston Hughes’s first book of poetry was officially published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1926 titled The Weary Blues. After going back to school to obtain his degree from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, Hughes first novel that was composed titled Not Without Laughter won the Harmon gold medal for literature. On May 22, 1967, Hughes passed away due to complications of prostate cancer, leaving the world with beautifully constructed pieces of literary works. Now that you have an understanding of who Langston Hughes is, it is time to dig into some his literary works to gain further knowledge of the messages that he was attempting to convey to the reader. The first piece of Langston Hughes literary work I’m going to be breaking down and analyzing, in order to get a better understanding of the thoughts and emotions felt by Langston Hughes expressed through poetry is one of his famous poems "Let America Be America Again." Langston Hughes created this poem in 1935, and would eventually be published in the July 1936 issue of Esquire Magazine. With this poem, Langston Hughes begins to openly outline his thought process in regards to what he believes to be the American Dream. Through the duration of this poem, Langston Hughes takes and outlines what his hopes for America are and contrast his thoughts with the reality of life for those who don’t fit within certain racial, religious, and ethnic groups. He believes that the original pioneers ventured to the United States because they viewed America as a safe haven from the religious and political persecution they suffered from while living in their previous countries, but according to Langston Hughes, those dreams of America have never came into fruition. Langston Hughes begins the poem by asking for America to be the America it once was, even though he doesn’t believe that this view of America ever existed. It is no secret that the earliest of Americans practiced slavery and oppression, and thrived off destroying the native’s homelands for self-gain. Due to action such as these, Langston Hughes believed that this country, which was re-titled the United States of America, wasn’t built on the foundation of what the dream of this country was supposed to be. He believed that it was built upon the cruel savage behavior that has been displayed by crude greedy individuals only interested in the benefit of themselves. Langston Hughes even goes as far as to acknowledge the dreamers who came to America with the vision of creating country that was built around a foundation of equality in regards to wealth and acceptance. He would then go further to address a nation of people such as the African slaves, who were brought to America bound and chained against their own will. He believed slaves such as these actually built the strong nation which we live in today, but due to the views of the people of our country, those African slaves and their descendants would never receive the proper reparations for the work that they contributed to America as a whole. In conclusion, Langston Hughes felt that negros, poor people, and also immigrants should redefine the American dream which was horribly tainted by those who came before us. The next piece of Langston Hughes literary works that I will be analyzing is one his most famous works that is titled “Harlem”. Langston Hughes wrote "Harlem" in 1951, and the purpose of this short poem was to address the theme he most commonly used which dealt with the limitations that are presented to the majority African American citizens while attempting to possess the American Dream. Lanston Hughes battles with the issues of African American equality in many of his literary works, which brought awareness to the struggles of African Americans throughout our country. One writer went as far to say that “Hughes was intimately aware of the challenges he faced as a black man in America, and the tone of his work reflects his complicated experience: he can come across as sympathetic, enraged, hopeful, melancholy, or resigned.” Hughes names this poem “Harlem” after the large neighborhood within the northern section of the New York City borough of Manhattan that would eventually become the center of the Harlem Renaissance, which was known as a major African-American residential, cultural and business center during the 1910s up until the 1920s. A lot of African American families viewed the neighborhood of Harlem as a safe haven from the common discriminatory problems they grew custom to facing in other parts of the United states of America. Unfortunately, Harlem’s glory days would eventually come to an end during beginning of the 1930s due to Great Depression, once again leaving African Americans who were beginning to flourish destitute without homes. Langston Hughes basis of the poem “Harlem”, which consists of eleven lines and four stanzas, deals with the issues which come with what he describes as a “dream deffered”. Hughes uses an outline of questions to explain his view point on why he doesn’t believe that African Americans are capable of dreaming, even though he doesn’t list a specific dream. Langstong Hughes goes further to explain that he doesn’t believe that African Americans can dream due the oppressive environments in which they can be located in. He also believes that even if the African American were able to compose a dream within their minds, their plans will slowly but eventually rot away due to them not being able to achieve that certain dream, which in my opinion, summarizes this short poem. The next short poem I will begin to analyze in order to give you better idea of the thought process in regards to Langston Hughes is poem he compose titled “My People”. The other poems in that I have chosen previous to this one have to deal with the struggles of African Americans, and their ability to reach their full potential and dreams due to the oppressive state of their lives and environment. These poems outlined and painted a picture of sadness, struggle, and hopelessness in regards to African Americans state of mind. I chose to analyze this poem he composed titled “My People” to show his happy radiant thoughts of the African American race. Even through all the trials and tribulations the African American race has faced, Langston Hughes still found the time to display what he perceived to be the beauty of the African American race. In three two line stanzas, Langston Hughes states that the night and his people (whom are African American) are beautiful. He states that the stars are beautiful, and so are the eyes of his people, and he also states that the sun is also beautiful, as well as the souls of his people. All though most Langston Hughes literary works deal more with states of mind, this piece outlined the beauty of the African American race, which was previously conditioned to believe that being black couldn’t be perceived as beautiful. The next piece of Langston hughes’s extensive catalogue of poetry I will be analyzing is his poem titled “Life is Fine.
“Life is Fine” may not be one of Langston Hughes’s most notable poems, but the subject matter of this poem is quite comparable to his other literary works. The poem outlines a story of a man who is able to maintain an optimistic happy spirit during what most would perceive as rough times. Throughout this poem, which is shaped by six stanzas, Langston Hughes uses the literary device of repetition in order to bring light to his message. Most would compare the structure and texture of this to poem to a blues
song. During the poem Langston Hughes illustrates the scene of a man going to the river to clear his mind of the emotional relationship turmoil that he was currently going through, but soon finds out that he is unable to do so. In the midst of despair, the man decides that he doesn’t want to live anymore and attempts to commit suicide by drowning himself in the river. Due to the freezing temperature of the water, the man in the poem couldn’t stay under the water long enough to actually commit the act of suicide that he was attempting. Even though he couldn’t come to grips with death in the instance of suicide he proceeded on to the next setting of the poem. In the next scene of the poem, the man journeys up sixteen floors via elevator while he contemplates about his dear loved one. Once he reaches the top of the sixteenth floor, he considers jumping down in a second attempt at suicide. Due to him coming to the realization of how high he actually was from the ground, he finds himself not able to muscle up the courage to take the jump. Just as the cold temperature of the water defeated him from committing suicide in his first attempt, so did the fear of the height of the building he was contemplating jumping off. In the conclusion of the poem, the man decides that since all of his attempts at suicide had failed, he will no longer attempt to kill himself and continue his journey of life. All of the situations leading up to that decision help redefine his new found outlook of life. He accepts that he may never completely get over the emotional turmoil he has been faced with in regards to him and his previous lover, but he has decided to remain strong , keep his hope alive, and live on to see another day. This poem outlines the struggles of someone who needed extreme situations to occur in order to redefine the purpose of why they should live.
Langston Hughes wrote during a very critical time in American History, the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes wrote many poems, but most of his most captivating works centered around women and power that they hold. They also targeted light and darkness and strength. The Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son, both explain the importance of the woman, light and darkness and strength in the African-American community. They both go about it in different ways.
Langston Hughes is a writer who help portray the struggles of Black African American while living in Harlem. During the 1900’s majority of the black community are afraid to speak up because of racial discrimination. He decide to be the speaker to inform toward the black community that they do have a voice through writing. Being a communist in the Cold War because if people go against their own government they will faces charge. Hughes was well reserved in trying to denied that he is a communism. Black Arts movement help reconstructed the African American writings. Blacks began to express their voice easily about their struggles and live through forms of writings. Hughes fights for the social equality for blacks that they deserve to be served not ignored. From this article I never knew that Blacks have so much struggle in living in the white society. They were so afraid of speaking up that Hughes had to become the speaker for them. I also didn’t know about the McCarthy committee after reading this article. I didn’t know that being a communist can be a bad thing especially as for blacks. After this article I learn that Langston Hughes is the one who started the black writing and who he
When reading the literature of Langston Hughes, I cant help but feel energetically charged and inspired. Equality, freedom, empowerment, renaissance, justice and perseverance, are just a few of the subject matter Hughes offers. He amplifies his voice and beliefs through his works, which are firmly rooted in race pride and race feeling. Hughes committed himself both to writing and to writing mainly about African Americans. His early love for the “wonderful world of books” was sparked by loneliness and parental neglect.
“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.
Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 and died May 22, 1967. Among many of his other accomplishments, Hughes was primarily known for his contribution to Jazz music in the early 20th century. His colorful, artistic, and descriptive works of literature was published and sold all throughout New York City, making him a contributor to the Harlem Renaissance movement as well. Interestingly enough I got the chance to attend a Jazz band performance by the Jazz Big Band at Westfield State University. This band showcased multiple different styles of Jazz such as swing, cool, experimental, and big band. They also played a lot of blues music, which is its own genre but incorporates Jazz elements into the songs. When observing the performance and reading a few of Hughes poems I can see that there are a few parallels between the two, such as repetition, race collaboration and rhythm.
After slavery ended African Americans began to migrate north in efforts to escape the increasingly violent times in the south. White supremacy and Jim Crow laws made it all but impossible for a person of color to be anything close to equal to whites. During World War I many people were forced to serve leaving many American factories with a shortage of workers. African Americans took this opportunity to move to the North in efforts to have a better life. Harlem became the home of many artists, writers, and musicians. Those who found outlets in group expressions and self-determination as a means of achieving equality and civil rights. This time has been considered as the rebirth of the new negro, a term made popular by Alain Leroy Locke in his publication in 1925. Well known writer and artists such as County Cullen, James Johnson, Augusta Savage thrived in these times. But none were more prominent than Langston Hughes. He was the leading voice of the Harlem Renaissance and was one of the early writers who showed the
Langston Hughes 's stories deal of conditions befalling African Americans upholding in the Harlem Renaissance. His philosophy, dissimilar culture differences between policy and practice of separating people of different races, classes, or ethnicities relations for civil right moment. Hughes 's stories speak of the African-Americans as being overlooked by a biased society. Hughes 's poetry attempts to draw attention to the tragic history of African Americans, both in Africa and the United States, a viewpoints of his family’s diversity, for example, his white grandfather had staunchly insisted on marrying the black woman he loved because of the resistance against mixed relationships with whites and other races among the United States culture,
Poetry served as another form of self expression for African-Americans, similar to that of Jazz and the Blues. This form of media served the same (or a very much similar) as music did, Some notable poets include the likes of Langston Hughes, who is considered by some to be one of the most important and influential Harlem Renaissance poets of the time, James Weldon Johnson, and Claude McKay. Most notable of the three is, poet and intellectual, Langston Hughes who, in addition to writing books and plays, served to spread the emotions of African-Americans as well as himself and to make clear the ambitions and dreams of the American people within the United States. As stated by Concordia Online Education, ”Hughes wrote novels, plays and short stories, but it is his emotional, heartfelt poems that expressed the common experiences of the culture of black people for which he is most remembered”.
Few poets in the twentieth century, and perhaps even in any century, can be compared to Langston Hughes. Hughes wrote with his heart and soul, creating poems that everyone could understand. He expressed love for all races, colors, and religions and did not judge anybody until he had reason to judge them. He wrote to entertain, to inspire, to teach, and to make a point. His way with words made him the most popular and prolific black writer of the twentieth century (Offinoski, 32).
Langston Hughes was a large influence on the African-American population of America. Some of the ways he did this was how his poetry influenced Martin Luther King Jr. and the Harlem Renaissance. These caused the civil rights movement that resulted in African-Americans getting the rights that they deserved in the United States. Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was young and his grandmother raised him. She got him into literature and education; she was one of the most important influences on him. He moved around a lot when he was young, due to his parents divorce, but remained a good student and graduated high school. After this he traveled the world and worked in different places, all the things he saw in his travels influenced him. In 1924 he settled down in Harlem where he became one of the important figures in the Harlem Renaissance. He enjoyed listening to blues and jazz in clubs while he wrote his poetry. The music that he enjoyed greatly influenced the style and rhythm of his poetry. The poem “Dream Variations” by Hughes is about an average African-American who dreams of a world where African-Americans are not looked at or treated differently and they can rest peacefully. Yet in real life this was not so, black people and white people were not equal. And the world was not as forgiving and nice as in their dream. This poem is a good example of Hughes writing because it is typical of three things. The first is the common theme of the average life of an African-American and their struggles. Secondly, the style of his writing which is based on the rhythm of jazz and blues- he uses a lot of imagery and similes. Lastly, his influences which are his lonely childhood and growing up as an Afric...
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.
When analyzing the poem, “Life is Fine” by Langston Hughes, at first glance it may seem like a short and simple poem about life. The poem is much more complex. The poem is about the obstacles that some people face in life and how to find the strength to persevere. This poem helps the reader appreciate life and encourages us to triumph over the most emotionally challenging obstacles rather than considering death as a solution. The character in the poem, although weak and confused at first, finds the strength to deal with the issues he is struggling with and comes to appreciate life, rather than turning to a tragic way out. The character makes a half-hearted attempt to take his life twice during the short poem because of the emotional pain of lost love, but fortunately, finds reasons why he shouldn’t. The character, although very confused, sees that there is good in his life and realizes that his lost love is not worth giving his life up for. Hughes had a tough childhood, being raised mostly by his grandmother. His poem “Life is Fine” very possibly was close to his heart considering he may have faced some of the same struggles he wrote of in his poems. Hughes has written other works such as biographies and short stories about life and its experiences and his works are valuable to readers in their lives as well (Norris). Throughout this poem, the character continuously tries to take their life but cannot do so because there are clearly more reasons to live than to die. This poem echoes the thoughts that people have about death when things get difficult and how they consider turning to death as the answer. Learning to deal with obstacles and appreciate every moment is a valuable skill in life. This poem is an inspiration ...
Langston Hughes was deemed the "Poet Laureate of the Negro Race," a fitting title which the man who fueled the Harlem Renaissance deserved. But what if looking at Hughes within the narrow confines of the perspective that he was a "black poet" does not fully give him credit or fully explain his works? What if one actually stereotypes Hughes and his works by these over-general definitions that cause readers to look at his poetry expecting to see "blackness?" Any person's unique experiences in life and the sense of personal identity this forms most definitely affects the way he or she views the world. This molded view of the world can, in turn, be communicated by the person through artistic expression. Taking this logic into account, to more fully comprehend the message and force of Hughes' poetry one must look, not just to his work, but also at the experiences in his life that constructed his ideas about society and his own identity. In looking at Hughes' biography, one studies his struggle to form a self-identity that reflected both his African American and mainstream white cultural influence; consequently, this mixing of black and white identity that occurred throughout Hughes' life is reflected in his poem "The Weary Blues."
Langston Hughes is one of the most famous poets of the Harlem Renaissance. He was born in Mississippi in 1902 and later moved to Ohio where he attended Central High School. When Hughes graduated high school he went to Mexico to visit his father and while crossing the Mississippi River he was inspired to write “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, which was his first published poem when he was eighteen years old. When Hughes returned to the United States in 1924 the Harlem Renaissance was in “full swing”. In 1925 at the age of twenty-three Hughes received an award for his poem “The Weary Blues”, Hughes was famous for incorporating blues and jazz rhymes into his poetry, which is what he did in his poem “The Weary Blues”. Hughes was at a banquet where he received an award for his poem “The Weary Blues” and was asked by a man named Carl Van Vechten if he had enough poems to make a book. Hughes said yes and Van Vechten promised that he would find Hughes ...
When analyzing the poem, “Life is Fine” by Langston Hughes, at first glance, it may seem like a short and simple poem about life. The poem is much more complex. The poem is about the obstacles that some people face in life and how to find the strength to persevere. This poem helps the reader appreciate life and encourages us to triumph over the most emotionally challenging obstacles rather than considering death as a solution. The character in the poem, although weak and confused at first, finds the strength to deal with the issues he is struggling with and comes to appreciate life, rather than turning to a tragic way out. The character makes a half-hearted attempt to take his life twice during the short poem because of the emotional pain of lost love, but fortunately, finds reasons why he shouldn’t. The character, although very confused, sees that there is good in his life and realizes that his lost love is not worth giving his life up for. Hughes had a tough childhood, being raised mostly by his grandmother. His poem “Life is Fine” very possibly was close to his heart considering he may have faced some of the same struggles he wrote of in his poems. Hughes has written other works such as biographies and short stories about life and its experiences and his works are valuable to readers in their lives as well (Norris). Throughout this poem, the character continuously tries to take their life but cannot do so because there are clearly more reasons to live than to die. This poem echoes the thoughts that people have about death when things get difficult and how they consider turning to death as the answer. Learning to deal with obstacles and appreciate every moment is a valuable skill in life. This poem is an inspiration...