...“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 specific Negro, but in his first person commentary, he is speaking for all Negroes. However, he is not just speaking for any Negroes. Considering the allusions to “Mississippi” (9) and “Abe Lincoln” (9) are not only to Negroes but also to America, confirms that Hughes is talking for all African Americans. This poem is a proclamation on the whole of African American history as it has grown and flourished along the rivers which gave life to these people. The diction of “ancient” (3) proves once more that Hughes is talking about the history and roots of African Americans. The word ancient itself means something that is decrepit, old, and primitive, clearly a word to be used when discussing a history and a journey. This word, which was repeated twice in the passage, emphasizes that there has been a long and difficult wait for equality for blacks. That although they have been around since “ancient” (3) times, since so long before, they still are fighting for racial equality. Hughes emphasizes...
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...The Negro Speaks of Rivers Throughout the poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” by Langston Hughes he speaks about four different but specific rivers. The four rivers include Euphrates, the Congo, the Nile and the Mississippi River. Each of the rivers represents something either Hughes has experienced or his African American culture has experienced. Hughes shows his spiritual strength along with his identity to connect with his ancestors. Many of Hughes writings have to do with racial pride and personal dignity. The structure of the poem lists the rivers in order of which historical moments happened throughout history. Robina Winbush says, Hughes writes to remind a people who had been enslaved that their history began long before 1619,when their ancestors who had been snatched from their homelands, survived the horrors of the Middle Passage and were brought in chains to the United States, the Caribbean, Europe, and Brazil (Winbush). The most important part of the poem is when Hughes says: “I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.” (Hughes, 5-10) He goes through each river, each one representing a different part of African American experiences throughout history. The first river, “I bathed in the Euphrates...
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...Langston Hughes had been one of the leading black writers during the time period in which poetry had aided in altering the lives of a nation of African Americans. His works often consisted of racism and prejudice, along with oppression against blacks, the American working class, and since he tended to have traveled quite a bit, the struggle of peoples overseas. [Rose] Hughes is known for having produced many different forms of literature, specifically an original literary form of art known as jazz poetry. One of his more well known poems, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” provided for a solid unity for African Americans in that it responded with issues faced by blacks through a collaboration of music and culture. [Bender] Although some were opposed...
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...The use of first person not only allows the reader to understand the history of African-Americans, but it connects Hughes’s life to the writing. It made the poem more personable and related African-Americans from the past and during the Harlem Renaissance. The first line of the poem is “I’ve known rivers” (“Langston” Magill’s 1169). This suggests the idea that Hughes has seen and experienced many things in his life so far. It could also be Hughes’s way of reflecting through his grandmother’s life. This is also true for all Harlem Renaissance writers. They have all experienced the harsh ideas of segregation. They took their experiences and boldly chose to write about them. In addition to the effect of first person, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”...
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...Both Claude McKay and Langston Hughes were primary contributors to the Harlem Renaissance (This isn’t a very strong start). McKay’s poems challenge white authority and his disdain for racism, whereas Hughes’s poems supply a voice to Black women in society, fighting against injustices they have faced. (He voices for the oppressed not just woman) In doing so, both men faced daunting critique towards their personal conflictions of self and racial identity, although in different ways. This paper will analyze McKay’s and Hughes’ beginnings, influences on their subsequent writings, how their ideals affected their view on society, the differences in their writing, how “The White House” and “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” is typical of McKay and Hughes,...
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...and give hope to the human spirit. Langston Hughes creates not only a poem but a live picture of the history of his people like in the poem “Negro” where he describes himself as “Black like the depths of my Africa” (3). Here he states cultural identity of his people and the pride of being black. One of the most consistent things that we see in Hughes poetry is his use of things that are in motion like: rivers, stairs, and roads to describe things, or people that change. In his poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” the use of rivers is used to describe the passing of time, “I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the / flow of human blood in human veins” (2-3). Hughes word choice in every poem is essential to convey optimism of the human spirit even when he begins to describe the struggles that are faced with, they still have hope. We see this in the poem “Mother to Son” where we see a mother talking to her son and describing her painful life but she tells him, “So boy, don’t you turn back. / Don’t you set down on the steps” (14-15) to remind him that life is hard but you have to keep on moving. In the poem “Negro,” Hughes describes his ethnic background and takes control of the fact that he is colored, “I am a Negro: / Black as the night is black” (1-2). Here we see where he establishes his identity by the use of the word “Negro”...
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...Birth of a Civilization An analysis of “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes 5/26/2008 American Literature 2328-8448 Deah N. Mitchell The violation of the African civilization that is known as slavery is defined as “a submission to a dominating influence” by Merriam-Webster. There are many accounts of this practice, and many more attempts to rectify its toll on African-Americans and its long-standing consequences. One such effort is the rhythmical reflection of ancestry through artistry- specifically poetry. During the Harlem Renaissance era several African American writers emerged. One of the most prominent and successful authors was James Mercer Langston Hughes. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” was written by Hughes at the tender age of 19. This poem is reflective of four central topics: African-American ancestry, racial pride, slavery and spirituality. The most obvious use of literary art, symbolism, plays a tremendous role in this poem and is effortlessly laced throughout the seams of this intricate ode. “I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.” According to the most widely accepted theories on the origins of man, homo sapiens’ appear to have originated in Great Rift Valley in Africa. Above the “rivers” can be interpreted as ancient African ancestry. The writer knows from handed down accounts the story of his people’s lineage. If Africa is home to all of our births then...
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...created many opportunity for black people to be inspirer to speak out. This allows poets to express them feeling against racism and that equality should be given to the black community. The literature of the Harlem Renaissance gave black people a chance to allow themselves to be heard. This gave hope to the black people an idea to use the (“cultural uniqueness through literature and art”). The Harlem Renaissance wanted the concentration to be on the literature which was used with creativity by the black people to portray black people life. The Renaissance made African American in a way that got them to a higher level to use music, and art to form the start of their own literature which created the new Negro movement. Everything was progressing for the black community as African American started using the visual of art which led them to the creation of jazz music and the approach of literature that shook the cultural into new ideas. With the Renaissance getting the recognition, Langston Hughes was a upcoming writer who would seem to become one of the best writer, poets of his time. Mr. Hughes was an inspire writer in which he wanted African Americans to feel good about themselves. Langston Hughes career as a writer, he talks about the “hardship, poverty, inequality” of the black people in the community. Langston Hughes describe the experience of what African American people went through in his poem “The Negro Speaks of River” Hughes defines the black people as bathing in “Euphrates...
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...Harlem Renaissance Poets Hum 112 June 4, 2013 Harlem Renaissance Poets The Harlem Renaissance was the time period that immediately followed the First World War. During the great migration a vast number of African Americans left the southern states to relocate to northern states such as Chicago, New York, and Washington DC. They were in search of new employment and artistic opportunities. This was the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance era where African American artist (musicians and poets) called themselves the “New Negro”. The two Poets I chose to discuss throughout this essay are Langston Hughes and Claude McKay. I will be discussing their roles during the Harlem Renaissance, The elements of double consciousness within their poetry, and the primary themes seen in poetry during this time period. Langston Hughes Langston Hughes was one of the most influential writers during the Harlem Renaissance. His unique style of writing incorporated Jazz and Blues music into poetry. Langston Hughes played a significant role during the Harlem Renaissance period, his work became the voice for the average African American struggling to deal with the stress / pressures of being racially discriminated against. His poems encouraged them to love their brown skin and accept who they are and not how they are seen by their white counterparts. Instead of African Americans sacrificing their identity (culture) to blend into the white society he encouraged Negroes to have a sense of pride in...
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...deemed as the “New Negro Movement” by Alain Locke, aggrandized the creativity in literature and music from the African American culture. Much of the art from this era mostly portrayed their experiences of inequality and their search for better quality of life in the North and Midwest, henceforth the Great Migration. Some of the most prominent names during this time was African American poets Langston Hughes and Claude McKay, both playing an essential role to the literary movement. As stated by McKay, “their poems are full of hushes, whispers, sighs, songs, tongues, throats, wails, moans, voices, speech, music, hymns, blues, sobs, cries, lashes, yowls, jazz, scatting, drums, thunder, drones, shouts, trumpets, trains, whistles, choirs, horns, and all sorts of other raucous sound” (1926). Langston Hughes was notably known as the leader of the Harlem Renaissance and also deemed as the “Father of Harlem Renaissance poetry”. Hughes solidified his legacy in the Harlem Renaissance subsequently after the publishing of his first poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, which is one of his most notable poems. The Negro Speaks of Rivers, which was influenced from his time passing the Mississippi River to visit his family, was later published in 1926 in his first book of poetry, The Weary Blues. In regards to the poem, Phillipson describes it as “grounding itself specifically in a diasporic consciousness that embraces the Euphrates, the Congo, and the Nile as rivers of Black geography”...
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...winning the “Witter Bynner Undergraduate Poetry Prize“ in the mid twenties he came in contact with Carl van Vechten, who obtained approval by his publisher Alfred Knopf to release Hughes first volume of poetry: “The Weary Blues“. The two words „Weary and Blues“ already hint at the subjects on which Langston Hughes focused on. „Blues“, a musical genre invented by African-Americans highlights his black origin, while „Weary“ expresses his tedium of society, demanding a change. In one of his most famous poems „The Negro Speaks of Rivers“ Hughes shows his pride by glorifying the splendour of Africa. As point of reference he chooses large rivers: For Hughes rivers are symbols of eternal life. They accompanied manhood for thousands of years. Humankind settled at these rivers, built their homes and created monuments, which are still of relevance in modern times. In the second part of the poem Hughes alludes to the African-American history. The Mississippi, the river at which most of the cotton plantations were located is a symbol of suffering and life of the black population in America. With a reference to Abraham Lincoln Hughes indicates to slavery and its imminent...
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...The Harlem Renaissance Poets: Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen Strayer University HUM112 May 29, 2013 Langston Hughes often referred to as the leader of the leader of the Harlem Renaissance or the father of Harlem Renaissance poetry. Pulling from major iconic influences such as Paul Laurence Dunbar, Walk Whitman, and Carl Sandburg; who Langston Hughes referred to as, his “guiding star”, and was ultimately responsible Hughes’ use of free verse. With the completion of his first two books, The Weary Blues (1926) and Fine Clothes to the Jew (1927), Langston Hughes earned his place as a major driving force of the Harlem Renaissance (Rampersad, 2013). One of the major contributions to the Harlem Renaissance was the article called,”The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” in the June 23, 1926 edition of The Nation. In the article is describes as a manifesto in which Langston Hughes “skillfully argues the need for both race pride and artistic independence.” (Rampersad, 2013) Countee Cullen is somewhat viewed as a mystery. Facts about his location of birth, and early childhood life cannot be exactly pinpointed. Originally it was claimed by Cullen on a New York transcript that he was born in Louisville, Kentucky but later claimed New York City as his official place of birth. The way that Countee Cullen contributed to the Harlem Renaissance was through the many talents he displayed as a poet, children’s writer, novelist, translator, playwright, and anthologist; which allow him...
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...Shatika M. Gaines American Literature ANALYZING AND COMPARING PHILLIS WHEATLEY AND LANGSTON HUGHES February 25, 2012 ANALYZING AND COMPARING PHILLIS WHEATLEY AND LANGSTON HUGHES Abstract: The aim of this text is to analyze two completely different poets (Phillis Wheatley and Langston Hughes) who lived in several times, however who shared constant theme in the analyzed works. Our intention is to indicate how society has not developed when it concerns the position of negroes: either as voters or persons. Through two selected poems and their analyses, it's supposed to indicate how the tones may change, however the theme remains the same. 1. Introduction Many things may inspire somebody to write down – be it poetry or prose. it has been like this since communication established itself, through generations and throughout time the writings have had a very important role. for some folks writing is also solely how to establish communication, as newspapers and magazines. For some others, it's an inner pleasure to share feelings and concepts, like in journals and theories. However, for others it is an instrument for additional definite purposes, like awareness regarding movements or a personal catharsis – Sylvia Plath’s poetry, for example. Therefore, the power of words helped mankind to change the globe. Bearing in mind this concept that literature may renew and reinforce a belief or an idea, the theme of the analysis...
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...Langston Hughes was a famous American Writer, Poet, and Novelist he was mostly known for his impact during the Harlem Renaissances. Langston Hughes career took off in 1921 when his poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” was published in The Crisis.” This became Hughes signature poem. Hughes works were more than just words they were hugely influential throughout this time period known as the Harlem Renaissance. Langston and many other writers in that time worked together to create the short lived magazine called “Fire” that was devoted to young negro writers. His first novel “Not Without Laughter” won the Harmon Gold Medal for literature. At this period of time before the spread of Grants, Hughes gained the support of a few private investors two years before the novel was published. Hughe wanted young black writers to be objective about their race, but not be afraid or scared to express their opinion about it. Langston set a tone throughout that era that emphasized the meaning of equality mostly throughout the Negro Race. I chose Langston Hughes as a writer for the Harlem Renaissances because he was a very influential person and leader throughout this era. He was a very famous writer and poet that wrote not only about the time but also about the emotion and deep thought that was going on in this era. I think that he is a very strong willed person and he did a lot in his life that made an impact on the world that we live in today. Citations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes ...
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...includes several past abolitionists, including his two grandfathers, who were both white men from the north. He once stated that his racial status affected his writing. This can clearly be scene in his successful, yet controversial play, “The Mulatto.” Langston first started writing in the 8th grade, but began taking his writing seriously around his high school years. Hughes attended high school in Cleveland. He was known as the class poet, however his father didn’t encourage him to write. His father’s lack of encouragement may have been because it was very hard for a Negro writer to succeed back then. However, Langston once said, “We younger Negro artists now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame.” Langston initially attended college at Columbia University, however, he later dropped out. After Columbia, he began to write most of his known poems, like “The Negro speaks of rivers.” In 1923, Hughes traveled among many places to broaden his view on the world. His visits to D.C. and New York proved the most influential in his career because of the beat from the jazz music he heard in those places. With the newfound rhythm in his work, he began to produce many...
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