“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes is a compelling poem in which Hughes explores not only his own past, but the past of the black race. As the rivers deepen over time, the Negro's soul does too; their waters eternally flow, as the black soul suffers. Analyzing the poem’s title sets a somber, yet prideful tone for this poem. The fact that the title does not say “I Speak of Rivers,” but instead, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” (1) shows that he is not only a Negro, but that he is not one
I am going to reanalyze Langston Hughes’s poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” I will be analyzing how his use of tone, Symbolism, and metaphors give the reader a greater understanding of this poem. After conducting this additional analysis my understanding of the poem has increased. Moreover, I understood the importance of timing within the poem. This increased understanding has led me to revise my week four poem. Because, the essence of this poem was not correctly explained nor did I appreciate
between his cultural background and society becomes clearer. Due to his eloquence and importance of topics chosen, Langston Hughes is a great representative of the Harlem renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. Works Cited Hughes, Susan. "The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” American Literature Since the Civil War. Create edition. New York, NY: McGraw - Hill, 2011. 166-175. E-Book. Muhesen, Sultan. "The Earliest Paleolithic Occupation in Syria." Trans. Array Neandertals and Modern Humans in Western Asia. New
Suleman Masood Dr. Karen Kappen English 102 15 November 2014 A Negro Speaks of Rivers Essay Langston Hughes’ poem “A Negro Speaks of Rivers” is an inspiring tale about the historical whereabouts of African Americans. Langston Hughes uses the geographical locations of monumental rivers to describe the progress and hardship of African Americans. Written at the age of seventeen, Hughes gave rise to the Harlem Renaissance with his literary work in 1920. The poem was written on a train, and Hughes dedicated
In his well-known poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, Langston Hughes explores a personal, though paradoxically universal, relationship with some of the world’s most notable rivers. The poem essentially describes the speaker (as a representative for the entire African-American culture) as having experienced and internalized various events surrounding rivers over a period of centuries. A river, a natural and ancient entity, is not subject to human wants or desires and therefore can simply exist while
The poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes has the theme of the soul. It is the main theme that gives rise to the ultimate true theme of the poem. The text of the poem itself implies strong imagery related to veins, rivers, and it makes you feel as if these themes are ancient throughout the poem. Also, through Langston Hughes use of words and how they create images, he is able to create two meanings for the theme of soul. On one hand it is referred to the deep roots like trees have
behaviors of racism was treated differently. After talking about “ Negro Speaks Of Rivers” in class it all begins from ancient times of an african american that existed at the time. The word negro basically represents african american person. Well the ancient times are the civilizations and the rivers a symbol of the ancient times. I love how the poem starts the rivers in order continues from Euphrates, Nile, and the Mississippi Rivers. I
Due to the rich land created by the flooding rivers, civilizations first began in Africa. These life-supporting rivers allowed cultures and societies to grow and flourish until European interference led to the enslavement of Africans in the United States and other countries. While generations of African Americans had fought against slavery and for equal citizenship, by Langston Hughes’ time there was still no true equality. Langston Hughes was a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance which took
The poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” by Langston Hughes shows great significance in the Harlem Renaissance Movement and is still relevant in present day. Langston Hughes wrote this poem at the age of seventeen while riding a bus. Hughes was bothered by and subjected to racism, often during his life time, which caused him to write “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” This poem alludes to the history of slavery, importantly that slavery is a large part of our human nature and history, as a society, not
The Negro speaks of rivers is Langston Hughes first mature poem. He wrote this poem when he was seventeen in 1920. Hughes was inspired to write this poem when his train crossed over the Mississippi River, as he was traveling to Mexico to visit his father. It was published in 1921 in the journal the Crisis, a predominantly African American readership. This poem is free verse but has the rhythm of a gospel preacher. He does uses anaphora, which is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning
Langston Hughes “The Negro Speak of Rivers” I found Langston Hughes poems to be like a journey. The progression through which he explains the lives of African Americans seems simple but his poems seem to have an underlying significance or meaning. I found his poem “The Negro Speaks of River” to be almost omnipresent in relation toward African Americans, it was as if Hughes was the holder of knowledge from his fellow people. This collective “I” and the connection towards rivers makes me think of an
first poem “ The Negro Speaks Of Rivers” really was fun to read because he uses his poem as imagery to explain how he raised himself. The term Negro is a respectful way of calling blacks African Americans. I like how the poem uses context clues, it made me think of ideas to understand what he’s talking about. One way of this is when he mentions about the soul was growing deep. I though his life was in severe as the days continued by due to racism. So he compared himself to the rivers because race will
Hughes first published poem was “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”. He
this particular poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, at the age of seventeen while traveling with his father to Mexico (Biography). He had graduated high school and this was one of his first but most well known poems. He does not have much work experience but he does have wisdom and cultural understanding to have wrote this poem. This poem was read out loud at his funeral in 1967. Hughes was only sixty-five when he passed away. The poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” portrays Langston Hughes’
different images that can be extracted but for the purpose of this essay, my emphasis will focus on the three images extracted from two poems “Harlem” and “The Negro speaks of rivers” as we studied in this term. Those three major images express the feeling of frustration, identity and courage. In the two poems “Harlem” and “The Negro speaks of rivers” the reader can easily see all the three images mentioned above. This research paper explores the expression of the writer about the feeling of frustrations
prolific times for black men, especially in the arts, literature, and music. The works from the Harlem Renaissance has this unique soulful charisma that blacks seem to perfect. In his poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, author, Langston Hughes takes on the persona of a universal black man, meaning he speaks for all of them, and this is demonstrated by his use of history, political stance, and the concept of soul. Born in 1902, Langston Hughes had inquired several problems growing up. Between his parents
community as well as black issues. "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" is no exception. In this poem, Hughes is able to capture the soul of the black community. He uses rivers to symbolize the history, struggle, and perseverance of African Americans. By doing this, he paints a picture of the historical journey that is completely unique to Black America. From the first line of the poem, Hughes draws a connection between rivers and Black history. He has “known rivers ancient as the world and older than the
Symbolism in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes 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
writer, and scholar, brilliantly speaks not only to the problems he faced, but also to his hopeful dreams of a brighter future in his works. The harsh racial discrimination he encountered, along with the experience granted to him by his diverse heritage, essentially shaped every aspect of his life. Hughes 's struggles are reflected within his very being, and are seen publically in his beliefs and literary pursuits. Specifically, in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, Hughes uses poetry to protest racism
The Negro Speaks of River. That was one of the poems that stood out to me as the best out of all of them, which was written by Langston Hughes. He wrote this piece while his was a senior in high school, he went on to write many other poems which I will discuss such as: The Negro, My People, and Mother to Son, Song for a Dark Girl, Prayer, Luck, Theme for English B, Harlem [Dream Deferred], Homecoming and Compare. What I find all these poems so fascinating was that they all relate to one person: