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Maya angelou literary critique
Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes
Maya Angelou and Langston Hughes
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When it comes to black literature, I only can connect to three writers May Angelou, Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks. All three of these writers talk about things I can relate to. All three of these writers wrote poems, so people can see their pain and what they were going thru. Maya Angelou was a famous black poet and an award-winning author. She had a lot of talents such as screenwriting, dancing, singing and being a civil rights activist. She was known for a famous poem I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings. Maya Angelou wrote a lot of beautiful poems for the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Arts Movement. Langston Hughes was a black poet that was a novelist and playwriter. Langston was one of the first poets to use the art form of jazz poetry. …show more content…
Langston poem I, Too, talked about racism and how one day he will be able to eat at the main dining table. He talks about how he has darker skin, but he's still American. With Maya Angelou Still I Rise, in the poem she talks about how people belittle black people but she still trying to rise. With both poets the discuss oppression and how they both want to be accepted in Americas society. On the other hand, Gwendolyn Brooks and Maya Angelou had something in common the way they talk about women in their poems. In the poem Phenomenal Woman, Maya Angelou talks about how a woman's body is special from every curve to the way she walks. She describes why a woman is phenomenal. Gwendolyn Brooks poem The Mother talks about how the challenges that a woman must go through with they decide to give up a child. She describes the love that she could've had with the child that she gave up on. When these poets talk about woman, they are looking at the women in two different lights. First Maya talks about how great a woman is, and then Brooks talks about how it's hard to deal with abortions as a woman and
In "Langston Hughes and the "Other" Whitman", George Hutchinson summarizes the similarities between Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman. Although Walt Whitman wrote during the American Antebellum Era and Hughes wrote during the Harlem Renaissance, both used their works to advocate for African Americans. Hughes greatly admired Whitman and felt that he had been ignored and underappreciated as a writer. Hughes’ admiration and respect for Whitman allowed him to develop his own unique style of writing and encouraged him to be a voice for those living in Harlem. Analyzing Whitman’s poetry enabled Hughes to find ways to incorporate aspects of Jazz and Blues into his poetry. Whitman and Hughes both integrated their opinions into their poetry and used
Dudley Randall and Langston Hughes have both wrote poems on the same topic, the Birmingham Bombing of 1963 at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Besides the fact that the two authors published their poems at different times, a two-year difference to be exact, the poems have other considerable differences in how they present their versions of the bombing.
Frederick Douglass and Langston Hughes were both talented African-Americans authors in their time, both were known for their impressive influence works. Douglass's is known to use storytelling to bring the themes and his readers in focus in his writing. Douglass is more of a narrative writer who likes to bring a humor in his writing to make it interest for his readers, like Douglass, Hughes is said to be a more skillful and enduring storyteller than he is being a poet. So both Douglass and Hughes are both good at using storytelling in their writing. Langston Hughes is also said to be a genius writer that captures and utilize the realities of the beauty and the relative importance of African-American heritage while Douglass on the other hand
During the time period of the emancipation proclamation multiple black authors were becoming educated enough to write works of poetry. Such works have influenced and persuaded the minds of white people all over America to this very day. It also gave their own people a work of art to turn to for their own history. The poets have ventured into modern day eras also, and still have the same topics at hand. The main idea of these poetry pieces was on their ancestors in Africa but also of course of the modern problem of slavery. Langston Hughes was the first influential black poet. Lucille Clifton and Colleen McElroy are modern poets but is a black woman who has other views on slavery but also very similar looks on their historical past. All of the poets all mentioned their historical background in Africa. Langston Hughes, Lucille Clifton, and Colleen McElroy all wrote about their ancestors and of slavery, and some of the same references were of the rivers, and the connection between the people even though they are literally worlds apart; a difference between the poems was the desire for freedom and the freedom that was already existing in the modern day poetry of Lucille Clifton and Colleen McElroy.
“The Mother” (Gwendolyn Brooks) has three stanza has and aabbccdd etc. rhyming scheme that is called couplets. The first stanza The first stanza started of “abortions will not let you forget” (Gwendolyn Brooks) this is a strong statement that supported the theme of this poem. Then Brooks go on and telling how the mother did not get to hold the child that she aborted and how sad it was for her.
Born to a decaying marriage and unstable household, Maya Angelou thrills her poetic intentions through her dominant and eloquent words. Maya Angelou, center of mysterious and descendants of the broken, like a champion, she rose out of the ashes and into the lights of the stage. An American author and artist who has been called “America’s most visible black female autobiographer” by dozens of people, has made remarkable recognitions all around the word. She is best known for her sequence of six autobiographical stories, focusing on her childhood and early adulthood. Her writing, through the eyes and experiences of a black woman, can lend a structure to the study of racial relations and culture in the 20th century America. Angelou’s work is then, a presentation of the life of a black woman who has lived in the South and in the urban North, who has lived in Africa, and has traveled Europe. She has gone through poverty and despair and she has been granted high honors. Her work is the expression of those experiences and sensations through the eyes of a black woman. Due to specific events in Maya Angelou’s life, her style of writing was exceedingly pretentious.
Poetry served as another form of self expression for African-Americans, similar to that of Jazz and the Blues. This form of media served the same (or a very much similar) as music did, Some notable poets include the likes of Langston Hughes, who is considered by some to be one of the most important and influential Harlem Renaissance poets of the time, James Weldon Johnson, and Claude McKay. Most notable of the three is, poet and intellectual, Langston Hughes who, in addition to writing books and plays, served to spread the emotions of African-Americans as well as himself and to make clear the ambitions and dreams of the American people within the United States. As stated by Concordia Online Education, ”Hughes wrote novels, plays and short stories, but it is his emotional, heartfelt poems that expressed the common experiences of the culture of black people for which he is most remembered”.
In Maya Angelou’s third book of poetry And Still I Rise, the personal struggles of the African American Woman are brought to life through poetic works. With inspirations drawn from personal journeys of Maya Angelou herself, powerful poems praise, celebrate, and empathize with the feminine colored experience. Angelou’s writing sheds glaring light on themes of feminine power, beauty, and perseverance, raising the African American Woman to a pedestal that demands respect and adoration. For Angelou’s audience, the everyday woman is presented equipped with all the necessities to thrive and shine in the face of adversity. In Maya Angelou’s works “Phenomenal Woman”, “Woman Work”, and “Still I Rise”, audiences are able to connect to the strength and virtue of the woman that is brought to life through the praising of femininity, and through its power to make an impact on society.
Two well regarded and recognized poets, Maya Angelou and Alice Walker, wrote lots of different renowned poetry that is appreciated for its beauty and its truth. Both poets are African American woman, although in different times, many of their words rang true to one other. Their work can be compared and contrasted by understanding the poems as two separate pieces of work, and then looking at how each are similar and different in their own respects.
“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.” –Edgar Allan Poe. Poetry is one of the world’s greatest wonders. It is a way to tell a story, raise awareness of a social or political issue, an expression of emotions, an outlet, and last but not least it is an art. Famous poet Langston Hughes uses his poetry as a musical art form to raise awareness of social injustices towards African-Americans during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. Although many poets share similarities with one another, Hughes creatively crafted his poetry in a way that was only unique to him during the 1920’s. He implemented different techniques and styles in his poetry that not only helped him excel during the 1920’s, but has also kept him relative in modern times. Famous poems of his such as a “Dream Deferred,” and “I, Too, Sing America” are still being studied and discussed today. Due to the cultural and historical events occurring during the 1920’s Langston Hughes was able to implement unique writing characteristics such as such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues that is demonstrative of his writing style. Langston Hughes use of distinct characteristics such as irregular use of form, cultural and historical referenced themes and musical influences such as Jazz and the blues helped highlight the plights of African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance Era.
Strength, power, and self-confidence are three meaningful words that the poem “Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou illustrates. Angelou uses alliteration, rhythm scheme and her own personal style to convey the meaning of a “phenomenal woman,” which is what she considers all women to be. Angelou, as an example, enlightens readers that not all hardships and tribulations have to be known. One can interpret that every woman experiences a trial in their life that eventually makes them a stronger individual. Moreover, a “phenomenal woman” is different, but beautiful in their own unique way. She states at the end of each stanza, “I’m a woman / Phenomenally. / Phenomenal woman, / That’s me” (line 10-13). The word phenomenal has great significance, which is being extraordinary. Angelou enables women to believe that being their own individual makes them dissimilar to another woman. However, she expresses that one’s inner beauty also contributes to the way a person can differentiate themselves from one another.
Maya Angelou is an award winning American author and poet. Her writing was first published in the 1960’s, a time a racial tension and cry for civil rights. Also, at this time many women did not work outside of the home. However, Angelou’s work revealed the lives of black women who often were sole breadwinners in their households. Much of Maya Angelou’s work was that of autobiography. Many of her poems and books were influenced by her life and addressed the issues of racism, incest, family and identity that many Americans could relate to .
Maya Angelou is a very inspiring and courageous woman who says how she feels through her poems without coming off in a hateful manner, but rather a sophisticated and intelligent way. Her poems varies between subjects such as love, passion,racism and the way of life. However, in her poem “Phenomenal Woman” she speaks for all women around the world who doesn’t feel they fit in with today’s society.
In this essay I will be arguing how Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou similar writing styles affected their community and brought to light a positive way of thinking. Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, and novelist from Missouri. Hughes played an influential role in the Harlem Renaissance era. Hughes was known for being conscious and it echoed in his work. He used music as well as imagery to tell the world the struggles that African-Americans endure in their era. Hughes poems told stories that were relatable and reflected his community. Maya Angelou was an American poet, actress, civil rights activist, along with many other things. As a civil rights activist, Angelou worked alongside with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and
Maya Angelou’s word choice in “Phenomenal Woman” is simple and dull, but it fits the poem perfectly once it is read. The words used in the poem are not powerful but it keeps you reading. It makes the readers a have different opinion on the poem. Also it makes the readers analyze what she is really trying to say. For example, in the poem Maya Angelou states “Men themselves have wondered, What they see in me. They try so much, But they can’t touch, My inner mystery.” It is a little confusing on what she is trying to say because of her word choice and the way the sentences are connected, but reading furthermore into the stanza, it begins to become more understanding. Then too, If she had used a different word choice the poem would not have been so intriguing. For example, if she would have said “Men don’t really understand my personality”, instead of “Men themselves have wondered, What they see in me.” then the readers would not have to put much attention into it and the theme would be completely different. Moreover, another example would be “ It’s the fire in my eyes, And the flash of my teeth, The swing in my waist, And the joy in my feet. I’m a woman Phenomenally’’. She uses simple phrases like “fire in my eyes”, “flash of my teeth”, “swing in my waist”, etc. to show the phenomenal woman she is. The word choice that Maya Angelou portrays in this poem, makes woman realize that