Langston Hughes and Poetry

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Recommended: Theme of racial descrimonation in Langston Hughes selected poems

“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. Langston Hughes was born of February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. Growing up Hughes didn’t really have a stable and permanent family unit. After he was born his parents separated. His father moved to Mexico, while his mother moved around from place to place, Hughes was predominantly cared for by his grandmot... ... middle of paper ... ...s/2009/articles/vol6_01_36_dean-epps.pdf>. Hughes, Langston. "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain," University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/g_l/hughes/mountain.htm, Accessed 20 November 2013. Hughes, Langston. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 10thed. Boston: Bedford/StMartins, 2013. PAGE NUMBER. Print. Hughes, Langston. “I, Too, Sing America.” Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 20 November 2013. Hughes, Langston. “Harlem [Dream Deferred]” The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 10thed. Boston: Bedford/StMartins, 2013. PAGE NUMBER. Print. Komunyakaa, Yusef. "Langston Hughes 1902-1967: Langston Hughes + Poetry = the Blues." John Hopkins University Press 25.4 (2002): 1140-143. Literature Online. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.

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