Langston Hughes

Zayed Hussain
Table of contents

01 02
Early Life Adult Life

03 04
Adult Life Poem Analysis
(continued)
Table of Contents

Early Life
James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1,
1902 in Joplin, Missouri. At an early age, his parents
separated, and his father moved to Mexico.
Langston was primarily raised by his maternal
grandmother until she died in his teens. From then on, he
lived with his mother, who would frequently move around
the country until they both finally settled in Cleveland, Ohio.
During this time, Langston began to explore poetry and
his teacher introduced him to Carl Sandburg and Walt
Whitman, which would heavily influence him later on.
Langston also frequently published poetry in his school’s
magazine and other poetry magazines, but his work would
be rejected. Central High School in Columbus, Ohio
(where Langston graduated from)
 Adult Life
Table of Contents

After graduating from high school in 1920, Hughes spent the

following year with his dad in Mexico. Langston had his first taste of
success when he wrote and published his “The Negro Speaks of
Rivers” poem in The Crisis, which was highly praised.
Langston then traveled back to the US to study for a short time
at Columbia University, where he soon became part of a flourishing
Harlem Renaissance. Later, he dropped out of Colombia University
and worked at various different jobs throughout New York, eventually
signing as a steward on a freighter that traveled to Africa and Spain. Columbia University

He left the ship and stayed in Paris for a while, continuing to work on
his poetry.
He returned to the US once more and worked as a busboy at a
hotel restaurant. This is where he met another poet, Vachel Lindsay,
who examined some of Hughes’ poems. Vachel was impressed, and
he decided to promote them to a wider audience.
 Adult Life
Table of Contents

In a literary competition hosted by the Opportunity magazine, Hughes

won first place with his poem “The Weary Blues”. He also received a
scholarship to study at Lincoln University. While here, his poetry came to the
attention to the author and critic Carl Van Vechten, who helped get Hughes’
poetry book, The Weary Blues, printed by Knopf.
The book found success, and it helped establish his poetic style and the
themes of Black pride and heritage. Hughes continues to write poetry, and he
published many popular poetry books such as “Fine Clothes to the Jew”, “Not
Without Laughter”, and more. Hughes would frequently travel around the
world to give lectures and sermons. He also wrote two autobiographies, “The
Big Sea” and “I Wonder as I Wander”.
Langston’s first ever
poetry book
Langston Hughes is one of the most influential poets of all time, writing
poems so that he could accurately portray the life of a working-class black
citizen. He was a famous leader of the Harlem Renaissance and helped it to
grow.

“…the only way to get a thing done is to start to do it, then keep on doing it, and
finally you’ll finish it,…”
-Langston Hughes
 Poetry Analysis
Table of Contents
Poem
“Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow. ”
- Langston
Hughes
Analysis
This poem has a rhyme scheme of ABCB DEFE.
The message in this poem is that we should never let go of our
dreams. If we do, our life can be comparable to a disabled bird or
an empty field, which means that we would have a boring
existence with no purpose of living. So, to prevent this, Langston
advises us to always dream about things we want to accomplish,
for this will motivate us to work hard and achieve our goals.
This poem incorporates a metaphor, personification, and idioms.
Though this poem is simple and short, it delivers a powerful
message that motivates us to hang on to our hopes and dreams,
and even if thighs get difficult, to never give up. This poem is easy
to understand and helps us visualize the effects of someone
leading an aimless life without purpose.
 Works Cited
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/langston-hughes#:~:text=He%20sought%2
0to%20honestly%20portray,sentimental%20idealization%20and%20negative%20s
tereotypes.

https://www.biography.com/writer/langston-hughes

https://crespimagazine.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/dreams-by-langston-hughes-tor
res-2/#:~:text=In%20the%20poem%20%E2%80%9Cdream%E2%80%9D%20by,lif
e%20I%20pointless%20without%20dreams.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/150995/dreams-5d767850da976

https://historicmissourians.shsmo.org/langston-hughes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_High_School_%28Cleveland,_Ohio%29 (for
picture)

https://www.columbia.edu/content/columbia-and-new-york (picture)

https://www.amazon.com/Weary-Blues-Langston-Hughes/dp/0385352972 (picture)