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Langston hughes' symbolism
Theme, imagery and symbolism in the writings of langston hughes
Langston Hughes works
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“Harlem Night Song” is written by Langston Hughes. “Harlem” is also written by Langston Hughes. In “Harlem Night Song”, the speaker asks his love to spend the night roaming through Harlem. In “Harlem”, the speaker wonders what happens if a goal is put off. The speaker in “Harlem Night Song” is a African-American person in Harlem going on a date. The speaker in “Harlem” is an African-American activist in Harlem who is fighting for rights of the African-Americans who live in Harlem. Although written by the same author, “Harlem” and “Harlem Night Song” have similarities and differences in literary devices, tone and mood. In “Harlem Night Song”, Hughes used non-consistent rhyme. In the poem, it states, “The Harlem roof-tops/Moon is shining./Night sky is blue./Stars are great drops/Of …show more content…
So, the poem Does not have consistent rhyme. In “Harlem”, there is also no consistent rhyme. In the poem it states, “Does it dry up/like a raisin in the sun?/Or fester like a sore—/And then run?/ Does it stink like rotten meat?/Or crust and sugar over—/like a syrupy sweet?” (Hughes 2-8). The rhyme pattern is ABCBDED. So, the rhyme is not consistent. In “Harlem Night Song”, Hughes use metaphors. In the poem, it states, “ Stars are great drops/Of golden dew” (Hughes 9-10). Since they are comparing two dissimilar things without using “like” or “as”, it is a metaphor. On the other hand, “Harlem” uses similes. In the poem, it says, “ Does it dry up/like a raisin in the sun?”. Since they are comparing two dissimilar things using “like” or “as”, it is a simile. In “Harlem Night”, there is imagery. In the poem, it says, “Moon is shining./Night sky is blue./Stars are great drops/Of golden dew” (Hughes 7-10). There is nice, descriptive images. When you have a clear night sky, it looks so nice and peaceful.
Calvin Forbes doesn’t use rhyme in “Momma Said”, instead he uses shorter lines that all relate to each other, giving it the same flowy sense as rhythm would give, just in a different arrangement. Rhythm helps to move the poem along and keep the reader alert, which is exactly what Forbes is doing. Most poets use rhythm by having certain lines rhyme after each other which gives the poem a wispy sensation, causing the reader to stay intrigued. Lines 13 and 14 state, “Like a dream that makes you want to go back to sleep.” This uses imagery to help you imagine a good dream.
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.
During the Harlem Renaissance, both Claude McKay and Langston Hughes developed an analysis of their time period through poetry. Each writer has a different poem but allude to the same theme. The White House by Claude McKay and I, Too, Sing, America by Langston Hughes makes a relevant comparison to the racial inequality during the 1900s. Both make a point about how White America has withheld equal rights from Blacks or Black America, making it hard for them to survive. More specifically, The White House speaks about the type of oppression being experienced during racial segregation and trying to triumph over it while I, Too, Sing, America speak about what created their oppression and envisioning change in the future.
1920’s Harlem was a time of contrast and contradiction, on one hand it was a hotbed of crime and vice and on the other it was a time of creativity and rebirth of literature and at this movement’s head was Langston Hughes. Hughes was a torchbearer for the Harlem Renaissance, a literary and musical movement that began in Harlem during the Roaring 20’s that promoted not only African-American culture in the mainstream, but gave African-Americans a sense of identity and pride.
During this era African Americans were facing the challenges of accepting their heritage or ignoring outright to claim a different lifestyle for their day to day lives. Hughes and Cullen wrote poems that seemed to describe themselves, or African Americans, who had accepted their African Heritage and who also wanted to be a part of American heritage as well. These are some of the things they have in common, as well as what is different about them based on appearance, now I shall focus on each author individually and talk about how they are different afterwards.
“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.
Sonnets is a type of poetry that originated in Italy. There are many different types of sonnets, such as the Shakespearean sonnet, Petrarchan sonnet, and the Spenserian sonnet. Despite their differences, these sonnets share some similarities. “Harlem Dancer” by Claude McKay and “In an Artist’s Studio” by Christina Rossetti share many similarities and differences such as the form, the portrayal of women, and the way the woman is objectified.
Harlem night’s intrigued white people to come to the part of town they would never consider visiting. Flashing lights, admirable music, and alluring experiences gave white people an opportunity to seek a different world from what they were used to. In abundance, African-Americans were not fond of white people intruding their neighborhood. They believed white people thought the renaissance was created for their amusement. Noticing the issue, New York native Langston Hughes wrote in his autobiography entitled, “The Big Sea” a passage expressing his animosity, “Nor did ordinary Negroes like the growing influx of whites toward Harlem after sundown, flooding the little cabarets and bars where formerly onl...
the life of Harlem and knew that equality and freedom was definitely not present. The poem portrays
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.
Music plays an important role in a person’s life. In “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin described the story of a young jazz musician from Harlem, New York. Even though music is just a mode of entertainment for some people, it helps others to overcome the sufferings in their life.
“Harlem” was one of Hughes’s popular poems during the 1950’s. The poem itself is short in length, but it has a lot of meaning behind it. During this time, Hughes wanted to make a difference in poetry. He did not want to be labeled as the young man, only speaking to African Americans. He wanted everyone to understand his great work, regardless of color.
It’s 1920 in Harlem New York. Hopeful they were when they moved to the North think they would escape the pain of the South. Only to find that where they went prejudice would only follow. Filling each building with people to the top. There minds and eyes hopeful yet there dreams would soon be crushed. See it was still bad to be African American in a place that preached that all were ‘free’. A very different song would be sung. As I read ‘Harlem Shadows’ by Claude McKay I can see the struggles and pain of a people that only wanted to be free. Claude Mckay states, “stern hard world… of poverty, dishonor and disgrace… has pushed the timid little feet... “ (Stanza 3, lines 1-3). These word bring such a vivid Image of a girl, a little girl running from the struggles of a place she did not
“Harlem” by Langston Hughes is a poem that talks about what happens when we postpones our dreams. The poem is made up of a series of similes and it ends with a metaphor. The objective of the poem is to get us to think about what happens to a dream that is put off, postponed; what happens when we create our very own shelve of dreams? The “dream” refers to a goal in life, not the dreams we have while sleeping, but our deepest desires. There are many ways to understand this poem; it varies from person to person. Some may see this poem as talking about just dreams in general. Others may see it as African-American’s dreams.
In 1925, Langston Hughes, an African-American writer, published a poem called The Weary Blues. The period in which the poem was written was during the Harlem Renaissance, which explains the title because it was a big era of jazz/blues music. The persona throughout this poem is a man who is listening to a pianist perform Blues music possibly at a bar on Lenox Avenue during the Harlem Renaissance. The setting of this poem is important because it gives us the mood of what should be expected as the poem is read. While writing, Hughes allows the natural patterns of speech to be used known as free verse, while using many rhyming couplets.