D.H. Lawrence Versus Langston Hughes

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D.H. Lawrence Versus Langston Hughes

Lawrence and Langston both have been compared to many notable poets. In the poems “Piano” by D. H. Lawrence and “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes both poets use speaker, tone and form as part of their strategy in composing their poems, while they have similarities they also have vast differences. They share likenesses in their poetry, however, when it comes to the form of these two poems and the manner in which they use words; the importance of word usage is different. These poets are innovative and celebrated, who try to unlock sound, song, rhythm and emotions through their poems. The poets poems “Piano” and “The Weary Blues” both use music as a theme, the use of speaker, tone and form are used to portray two different tales. Both Lawrence and Hughes gained their writing influences from their travels. This is evident through their mental conflict within these poems and how they passionately express themselves through language. Both poems use tone effectively to sets up the mood for the reader.

In the poems “Piano” and “The Weary Blues” the poets use themselves as the speaker. Lawrence and Hughes are both obvious with letting the reader know who is telling the poem. For example, in the “Piano” his first line is “Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;”(1). The use of the pronoun “me” pertains to Lawrence proving that he is the speaker of the poem. Likewise, in “The Weary Blues” Hughes uses a personal pronoun to indicate his personal portrayal. “I heard a Negro play”. (3) Throughout each poem, the poets use the personal speaker method to invoke their emotions and experiences on the reader. However, as stated in an article from the Poetry for Students by Dean Rader, Hughes may use the personal pronoun but in many cases he may not have specifically witnessed all the events that he wrote about in his poems. (Rader 1)

Although Lawrence and Hughes use speaker as a similar method to write their poems, their perspectives in which they use personal pronouns is different. Lawrence has a more flashback feel, as though he is going back in time. His image of his mother singing to him when he was a little child is a perfect example of Lawrence setting up the reader to understand where the poem takes place.

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