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Symbolism in langston hughes
Comparing langston hughes poems
Langston hughes on the road symbolism analysis
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In life a person will have dreams to follow and choices to make, but they should never live in regret. By analyzing how Langston Hughes and Robert Frost use diction, imagery, and metaphor, it is clear that their poems reflect on life choices, dreams and regret. Though both poems have similar topics, their conclusions are somewhat different. Langston Hughes concludes that without dreams, life is meaningless, empty. On the other hand, Robert Frost concludes that life goes on because people usually don’t travel backwards. When someone makes a choice, he or she can’t usually go back in time and make a different choice. Frost is saying that people should never stick to the past but move forward with their lives and never look back. Both poems, …show more content…
The diction in both poems is very descriptive. In Dreams, Hughes repeats the phrase “Hold Fast” to stress that it is very important to hold on to dreams and never let them go. The repetition of of this phrase emphasizes on its meaning, and sounds more dramatic than just saying “hold on to.” The word frozen could just mean frozen but it could also mean that without dreams your life is frozen. In other words, saying that without dreams a person doesn't have much to live for; they don't have a life. Hughes also uses the phrase “barren” which means much more than just an empty field, it means that life without dreams will be unproductive, and people will become couch potatoes with nothing going for them. On the other hand, in The Road Not Taken, the diction describes the poem in great detail and is pretty straightforward. On example of diction is in stanza one, when Frost writes “long I stood.” This phrase implies that the speaker is having a hard time making a decision, for which road to take. It also implies that in life people will have times where making a choice won’t be easy. In stanza two, line two, he says “And having perhaps the better claim.” This phrase perhaps suggests that he is not really sure. In life people will not be sure with what choice to make, but will just have to go with what there guts are telling them to do and go with the flow. If the choice turns out not to be so great, they need to move on with their lives and make new and better choices. Later in stanza 3, he writes “I doubted if I should ever come back”. In other words meaning he’s not sure if he would go back. Frost uses more imagery than Hughes does. Imagery is important in The Road Not Taken because the setting of the poem. Most of imagery is seen when he is telling people about the scenery. For example when
In "Langston Hughes and the "Other" Whitman", George Hutchinson summarizes the similarities between Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman. Although Walt Whitman wrote during the American Antebellum Era and Hughes wrote during the Harlem Renaissance, both used their works to advocate for African Americans. Hughes greatly admired Whitman and felt that he had been ignored and underappreciated as a writer. Hughes’ admiration and respect for Whitman allowed him to develop his own unique style of writing and encouraged him to be a voice for those living in Harlem. Analyzing Whitman’s poetry enabled Hughes to find ways to incorporate aspects of Jazz and Blues into his poetry. Whitman and Hughes both integrated their opinions into their poetry and used
Dudley Randall and Langston Hughes have both wrote poems on the same topic, the Birmingham Bombing of 1963 at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Besides the fact that the two authors published their poems at different times, a two-year difference to be exact, the poems have other considerable differences in how they present their versions of the bombing.
The views expressed by King and Hughes are similar because, they are both fighting for African American rights and both disagree with the government. “Let America be America again”, Hughes is referring to how great america was back in the day, but now wishing it was that way again. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."- Martin Luther King Jr, is not so happy with the government also, he is confessing to the holy bible to override the government.There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.- Galatains 3:28. This bible verse means the same thing MLK is trying to say.
Elie Wiesel, the author of Night, and Langston Hughes the author of “I,Too” display many differences throughout their work. Each author's use of imagery and tone allow the reader to understand what both author’s experienced during these events.
Imagine, for a moment, that a complete stranger is chasing a group of kids down an icy street in the dead of the winter. Now imagine a pre-teen sitting in the middle of a Southern Baptist revival service. The scenarios described above are the basis of short stories by Annie Dillard and Langston Hughes. Dillard writes about an early childhood memory of tossing ice balls at passing cars on a blustery, winter afternoon that turned into a footrace with a complete stranger. Hughes recalls a childhood memory as well. His being that of sitting in a revival service with his aunt, frantically searching for God in the pews. As in any case, the writer’s share striking similarities and stark differences in their composition. None of the similarities
The Harlem Renaissance brought forth a new type poetry by African Americans about their lives and the injustices they faced in the northern part of the United States. Many poets arose from the Harlem Renaissance, two of these poets being Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen. There are tons of different poets, however these two poets, Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen, remain amongst two of the most important and famous poets of the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance itself remains one of the most important times in the history of the United States, especially for African Americans living in the United States..
Hughes and King have similar views because they see America promised equality but th3ey don't have it. Hughes’ poem says “Let America be America again Let it be the dream it used to be… America was never America to me” and “Who said the free? Not me?... The millions who who have nothing for our pay--except the dream that’s almost dead today”. These quotes talk about how we should make america into what it was made and said to be: free. Its saying at the moment the might say they're free but the reality of it is that they are not. In addition to that in King’s speech he says “All men are created equal… That is the dream” and “On one hand we have proudly professed the principles of democracy, on th other we have sadly practiced the very antithesis
The intersection of themes in the poetry of Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes is, perhaps, most evident in their poems ‘Lines to My Father,’ and ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers’ respectively. A close analysis of the literal meaning and literary styles employed by both poets show that they drew their inspiration from common images, experiences, and the troubled history of the African-Americans. In the ‘Negro Speaks of Rivers,’ the persona claims that his soul has grown as deep as the rivers. In one way, the image of the river captures the essence of ancestry and the continuity of heritage. Throughout the poem, the poet uses various other images such as blood, veins, and sunset to embolden the push for cultural
Poems have been written for a long time. And part of this poems were written by famous people such as Walt Whitman, Angela De Hoyo, and Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes was an African-American poet who later was recognized for his poems about his people. He was inspired from the jazz. Angela De Hoyos was a chicana women who wrote poems of her people. She was a leader of a movement. She wa inspired to raise her voice from her people. Walt Whitman was a poet who was inspired in part by his travel to the American frontier. All three poets wrote the same topic of their poems. Example is how they wrote “I hear America singing” and “I too sing America” Even that all three poets are different, not just by race, all three create idealism.
A poem by E.E. Cummings and Langston Hughes appeared to share some similarities. The poems are “i sing of Olaf glad and big” and “I, Too” and both are closely related to Walt Whitman’s, Song of Myself. Whitman wrote a long poem celebrating himself. Cummings writes about how war is considered good, but Olaf feels very opinionated about the topic. Cummings express his opinions through this character, "i sing of Olaf glad and big/ whose warmest heart recoiled at war"(1-2). Cummings informs the reader that Olaf recoils at the topic of war which indicates that Cummings too dislikes war. Hughes poem expresses his thoughts about the topic of racism. In the poem hughes says, “I, too, sing America”(1), which goes along with the title of Cummings poem. Both authors talked about touchy subjects around their time period. I think both brought back the whole idea of Whitman’s “Song of myself” of being out of society’s norms of keeping opinions to oneself.
In Frosts poem two themes are isolation and choices. Isolation because the man is alone and wants to be alone, and the weather gives it alone feels because people don’t go out while it’s snowing alone most of the time. The other them in this poem is choices because the man has to choice wither to go home to the village or watch the snow which his horse disagrees with. But, in the end he choices to go home where it warm and where he can keep all his promise. In Poes poem the two themes are madness and love. Madness because the man in this poem is basically insane, he talks to a bird if the bird is even really there. Also love is a theme because he truly loved his wife and all he wants is to be with her. In both the poems there is a man and the real world theme in Frosts poem it’s snowing which kind of entices the man to stay and watch but he stays he could die from the cold. In Poes poem its night time and windy and there are spirits outside and they come in as the form of the raven.
In line one, Frost introduces the elements of his primary metaphor, the diverging roads. Lines two to three expresses the speaker's disappointment with his human limitations; he must make a choice. The choice is not easy, since "long I stood" before coming to a decision. Lines four and five examine the path as best the narrator can. However his vision is limited because the path bends and is covered over. These lines indicate that although the speaker would like to acquire more information, he is prevented from doing so because of the nature of his environment. In the following three lines, lines six through eight, the speaker indicates that the second path is a more attractive choice because it appears as though nobody has ventured down it recently. However, he remains ambivalent, since the traveled path is "just as fair.?Although the poet breaks for a new stanza after line 10, the comparison of the paths continues in lines nine through twelve. Here, the speaker states that the paths are "really about the same." Neither path has been traveled lately. Although he's searching for a clear logical reason to choose a single path, not one presents itself. In lines thirteen through fifteen, the speaker makes his decision. He tries to rationalize that he will be able to traverse both paths one day. However, he is quick to dismiss his hopes. Ending line thirteen, the exclamation point conveys excitement, but that excitement is quickly undercut by the admission contained in the following lines. In the final four lines, the only stanza beginning with a new sentence, the tone clearly shifts. The speaker imagines himself in the future, discussing his life. What he suggests, here, though, appears to contradict what he has said earlier. At the end of the poem, in the future, he will claim that the paths were different from each other and that he, courageous, did not choose the conventional one.
Symbolism embodies Hughes’ literary poem through his use of the river as a timeless symbol. A river can be portrayed by many as an everlasting symbol of perpetual and continual change and of the constancy of time and of life itself. People have equated rivers to the aspects of life - time, love, death, and every other indescribable quality which evokes human life. This analogy is because a river exemplifies characteristics that can be ultimately damaging or explicitly peaceable. In the poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” Langston Hughes cites all of these qualities.
Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost both think that individuality is very important to a person equally like Ralph Emerson. Although they may have a lot in common these poets are different in many ways. Both Frost and Dickinson were American poets and were both from New England. A big similarity between Frost and Dickinson both talk about death. Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost both talk about the power of nature in their poetry. Frost and Dickinson have a reasonable evidence on why human beings should live life to their own agenda but, what if that person cannot stop living somebody else dreams? How can these poems help people break away for society and become a strong confidence individual person?
In this essay I will be arguing how Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou similar writing styles affected their community and brought to light a positive way of thinking. Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, and novelist from Missouri. Hughes played an influential role in the Harlem Renaissance era. Hughes was known for being conscious and it echoed in his work. He used music as well as imagery to tell the world the struggles that African-Americans endure in their era. Hughes poems told stories that were relatable and reflected his community. Maya Angelou was an American poet, actress, civil rights activist, along with many other things. As a civil rights activist, Angelou worked alongside with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and