African American History in the Poems of Langston Hughes

African American History in the Poems of Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was an African American poet who was one of the first

black voices to be heard in America. He was distinct among his

contemporaries with his writing about the blacks' experiences and

history. His pride of his race and history was apparent in most of his

works.

In his poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" his pride of his history and

civilization is apparent by the repetition of the pronoun "I" in most

of the lines. He is proud that his roots go back to the ancient

civilizations which where associated with the great Rivers of Asia and

Africa namely the Euphrates, the Nile and the Congo.

Hughes repeats, "I've known rivers" which indicates the connection of

black people with the beginning of human history. He also

repeats, "My soul has grown deep like the rivers" which suggests the

wisdom that is related to rivers; it also suggests that his soul bears

the imprint of the sufferings of slavery and racism.

The poem implies the whole history of African Americans' slavery

without mentioning the word itself. He narrates this history from the

beginning of time, when he "bathed in the Euphrates" and "built [his]

hut near the Congo" as he was living a normal life. Then he "looked

upon the Nile and raised the Pyramids above it", as the building of

the Pyramids was the act of slaves. Then "Abe Lincoln went down to New

Orleans", this precise line implies the blacks' history of slavery in

America. It tells of existence of the slavery for a long period in

America and of the efforts to abolish it, which ended by the Civil War

in 1865 and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation for freeing the

slaves. Therefore, it is the history of people who were fr...

... middle of paper ...

...

"Dreams". Since dreams are the first step in any act, then black

people have to dream in order to gain their freedom which is

symbolized here by the" bird".

He also hints in the poem at the oppression of white people to blacks.

He considers America a "barren field" that is devoid of warm feelings

and mercy. This" barren field" is" frozen with snow"; this symbolizes

the white people who practise all sorts of oppression on the black

race.

Thus, it is evident that Langston Hughes in his poetry aimed at

sending a message to the audience who most of them were whites. He was

telling them about the history and civilization of the African

Americans. He was speaking of the blacks' sufferings from slavery,

discrimination and racism. He was aiming at showing his pride of his

black ancestry and the contributions of the black people to the

American civilization.