Harlem Renaissance Research Paper

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There are two periods which define American culture and laid the foundation for American writing to flourish into new arenas. Those two periods were the The Harlem Renaissance and The English Renaissance period. These two periods paved the way for the world to emerge out of darkness and flower into a distinctive American expression of writing, literature, art, politics and much more. Without these two movements, American literature would have been a misrepresentation of what American life was and is truly like. While the Renaissance period allowed the world to emerge from darkness and into an era of “divine light” where writers began to imitate art and explore the world of science. The Harlem Renaissance focused on the cultural and political …show more content…

During this time, African Americans were becoming more culturally and politically evolved. They begin to produce novels, poems and plays. A recurring theme of the time was blatant racial pride and the developing idea that through intellect and creation of literature, art, and music they could challenge the pervading racism and promote free-thinking politics. The art and music that was produced was an imitation of life which they had endured. During this time, life had created the canvas of hate which African Americans used to create an artistic portrayal of their history. It was during this time that Langston Hughes penned his famous poem “Mother to Son” (Hughes, …show more content…

Both renaissances brought about a rebirth to their respective cultures. Whereas the Harlem renaissance focused on the birth of African American culture, in respects to music, art, literature and politics; the Renaissance also gave birth to enlightenment and new ideas about science and art. Each period produced epic writers. The Harlem renaissance created Langston Hughes, Wallace Thurman and a plethora of other artist. African Americans began to see the beauty of “themselves” through artistic pieces and “black love”. As time progressed, the style of art, music and writing deviated into different mediums. African American music was based on the blues and jazz; poetry began to be set to music and thus gave birth to what was known as hip hop. A good example of this would be artist such as, Mos Def or Talib Kweli. These poets are deemed as rappers who put the “black plight” to

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