James Mercer Langston Hughes was a poet and a novelist from the mid -1900s who began writing poems throughout his high school career. His poems are mainly affiliated with the tough life he had been through as racism reached its peak. In his poems, Langston Hughes discusses his hardships dealing with all the racist people in his schools and the ones around him. And how the experience of life was for someone who was black. He was known as the most versatile writer of the Harlem Renaissance, a time in American history when African Americans became part of the mainstream in both politics and music.
In Langston Hughes’s poem, “Dreams” Langston Hughes illustrates the value of dreams. He believes that dreams serve as the purpose of life and if there are no dreams to achieve then that life is not worth living. The rhyme scheme of the poem is A-B-C-B-D-F-E-F. In line 1 and 2 Langston Hughes uses personification describing how dreams die, giving dreams characteristics of living things. By this he means that if people do not follow their goals/dreams they can never taste freedom and they become incapable of doing anything with their life. From lines 3-4, a metaphor is used to compare life to a broken-winged bird that cannot fly if dreams die. This is the same concept where if there aren’t dreams to pursue in life, there is nothing to be done in life. From lines 6-8, Langston Hughes uses personification again saying, if dreams go, or in other words fade away, life becomes a barren field with frozen snow. This is a metaphor. With this being said, a barren field is used to describe an empty life, still, and alone where there is nothing to be done and where nothing can be done, everything is stable. This barren field being frozen with snow sh...
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...n’t being treated like the white kids are treated.
From lines 3 to 6, Langston Hughes explains how the injustice in his life doesn’t matter to white kids. To white kids, injustice is like unnoticeable, yet it does exist. Throughout the rest of the poem, Hughes questions the promises made by the Pledge of Allegiance. The promise made was, Liberty and Justice for all! This was only for the white kids where when it came to African Americans, they were ignored.
Langston Hughes points out the part in the Pledge where it is said, “for all”, and that really only stands for white people. He says the Pledge of Allegiance has lies written in it. Like a children’s nursery rhyme, treated insignificantly. Langston Hughes discusses how the promises made in the Pledge are only promised, but are not given to all.
The rhyme scheme for this poem is A-B-C-D-C-E-F-G-H-G-I-J-K-L-K.
Both poems address the fundamental theme of having a dream. This is the ever-occurring dream that is explored during the Harlem renaissance period; the dream of justice that is deferred. However, even in having the same theme, it is explored and is envisioned by the poets in different ways. In “A Dream Deferred”, Hughes describes the negative potentials of a dream that is delayed, warning that this may be dangerous. For example, he describes how ‘[it may] fester like a sore and then run’ which shows that if this dream remains unfulfilled, it will get ‘infected’ and lead to a greater, more destructive problem (4-5). Also, the dream may ‘crust and sugar over, like a syrupy sweet’, which describes how if a dream is forced to sit idle, it will lose its original goal, and harden into destructive thoughts that are crusted over with doubt, anger and hatred. It is even brought to a greater extreme; where Hughes describes how this dream may simply ‘explode’ (11). This shows the catastrophe that may result from the impatience of African-Americans who really want to achieve this dream of justice. On the other hand, in “My Little ...
Dream Variations, also by Langston Hughes, is a strong poem that conveys his cultural identity. In this poem, Hughes uses the light and dark hours of the day to represent the cultures of white and black people. Hughes says, “To fling my arms wide in some place of the sun. To whirl and to dance till the white day is done. Then rest at cool evening beneath a tall tree while night comes on gently, Dark like me-That is my dream!” Hughes compares the daytime to the white man 's work day and correlates the night to himself and his race. This poem clearly conveys Hughes cultural
Then the narrator continues to relate nostalgically to the longing for an America built on freedom and equality for all. This could be the dream of the author himself. Wagner states of the author, "Like his first masters Whitman and Sandburg, like his fellow black Toomer, and like so many other American poets of the period, Langston Hughes never tires of proclaiming the absolute necessity for all to do what they can to save the democratic ideal" (371).... ... middle of paper ... ...
Because of that, his writing seems to manifest a greater meaning. He is part of the African-American race that is expressed in his writing. He writes about how he is currently oppressed, but this does not diminish his hope and will to become the equal man. Because he speaks from the point of view of an oppressed African-American, the poem’s struggles and future changes seem to be of greater importance than they ordinarily would. The point of view of being the oppressed African American is clearly evident in Langston Hughes’s writing.
“Harlem” by Langston Hughes is a poem that talks about what happens when we postpones our dreams. The poem is made up of a series of similes and it ends with a metaphor. The objective of the poem is to get us to think about what happens to a dream that is put off, postponed; what happens when we create our very own shelve of dreams? The “dream” refers to a goal in life, not the dreams we have while sleeping, but our deepest desires. There are many ways to understand this poem; it varies from person to person. Some may see this poem as talking about just dreams in general. Others may see it as African-American’s dreams.
Langston Hughes was an African American poet who emerged during the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance strongly influenced most of Langston Hughes’s writing. In such works as “Dream”, “Still Here”, “Dream Deferred”, and “Justice” you see the clear messages that are trying to be voiced through his work.
... They focus more on the cultural aspects of identity that Hughes is very proud of, while poems “Democracy” and “Theme for English B” touch on some of the social concerns that created a struggle for dignity as a black person in the early/mid twentieth century. The “Democracy” is a slightly stern and direct request to take action and fight for civil rights. The “Theme for English B” is a compassionate and low-key personal anecdote that reiterates the unpracticed concept that “all men are created equal”. Despite the difference in tone and subject, all four poems relate to the central theme that dignity is something that white men may take for granted, but Langston Hughes, as a black man and a writer, sees and feels dignity as a fight and a struggle that he faces and that the black community as a whole faces every day.
The civil rights movement may have technically ended in the nineteen sixties, but America is still feeling the adverse effects of this dark time in history today. African Americans were the group of people most affected by the Civil Rights Act and continue to be today. Great pain and suffering, though, usually amounts to great literature. This period in American history was no exception. Langston Hughes was a prolific writer before, during, and after the Civil Rights Act and produced many classic poems for African American literature. Hughes uses theme, point of view, and historical context in his poems “I, Too” and “Theme for English B” to expand the views on African American culture to his audience members.
Through the exemplary use of symbolism, Langston Hughes produced two poems that spoke to a singular idea: Black people have prevailed through trials and tribulations to carry on their legacy as a persevering people. From rivers to stairs, Hughes use of extended metaphor emphasizes the feeling of motion which epitomizes the determination of the people. Overall, the driving feeling of the poems coupled with their strong imagery produce two different works that solidify and validate one main idea.
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.
Langston Hughes was an activist for the African-American community and made significant artistic contributions to the Harlem Renaissance throughout his career. In one of his most famous poems, “Harlem [Dream Deferred]”, he addresses the limitations and oppression of African Americans after the Great Depression. Many African Americans dreamed of equality, but often times that dream became neglected and pushed aside. In his poem, Hughes responds to a question about a deferred dream with a series of vivid similes, inquiring what happens to a constantly ignored dream.
Langston Hughes’s poem “I Dream A World” grants a voice to any person, who has been exposed to a life in racial prejudice and inequality, including the writer. That voice belongs to any black person, who has lived the poorer than poor life. This life was full of consistent violation of basic human rights, full of frustration, and overflowing with hopelessness. Upon closer examination, the situation of the poem uncovers the painstakingly raw yearning for humanity and equality.
The speaker never let these actions get the best of him. He decided to bide his time where he has been sent and grow stronger and work hard to obtain and enjoy all the rights that all people in the U.S. shall enjoy regardless of their race or ethnicity. As in many of his poems, Langston Hughes, takes a difficult situation and keeps an optimistic perception on the issue.
Everybody has a dream whether they are willing to admit it or not. Some have achieved their dreams, some are still working towards their dream while many have given up. When Hughes asked what happens to a dream deferred, he explored a human consciousness that forces people to abandon their dreams. It is a powerful question which commands a sense of silence after it. With each stanza he evokes powerful and negative images of abandoned dreams. The message is that abandoned dreams do not simply vanish because you are not chasing them. Instead, they go through an evolution which gets worse before exploding. Hughes became frustrated with the number of blacks in Harlem succumb to an oppressive environment. Before he became a renowned poet, novelist,
Langston Hughes once said in his poem, The Black Man Speaks, “I swear to the Lord / I still can't see / Why Democracy means / Everybody but me.” This quotation by Hughes is able to perfectly depict inequality which was just one of many struggles African Americans faced during Hughes’ time. Although literary critics felt that Langston Hughes portrayed an unattractive view of black life, the poems demonstrate reality. Hughes’ poetry contains many issues that typically plagued blacks at the time including racial abuse, lack of opportunity, and segregation.