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Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
Hughes
(1902-1967)
An American poet, novelist, and playwright whose African-American themes made him a primary contributor to the
Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. He told stories of his people in ways that reflected their actual culture.
Poems: Education:
● As I Grew Older (1925) - About the American Columbia University (1921-1922)
dream of equality, rights and opportunities which Lincoln University (1926-1929)
was dreamed by all Americans but denied to African
Americans. Awards and Achievements:
● Dreams (1932) - About the importance of dreams ● Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
and what one’s life would be without them. ● Spingarn Medal
● Let America Be America Again (1936) - About how ● Quill Award for Poetry
racism, greed, and materialism plunged millions into ● Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts
darkness and ruined the American dream.
Metaphorical Comparisons
1. Animal - Mockingjay- Hughes was a social activist, working and rebelling towards ending
social inequalities.
2. Music - Jazz- Hughes would closely represent a jazz-genre song because of the jazzy
rhythm to his poems and the inspiration he gets from the Harlem Renaissance.
3. Color - Blue- Hughes represents blue because his poems have a blues-like rhythm as well as
the emotion that is associated within blues.
5. Word - Determination is the word representing Hughes because his work “Dreams”
reminds us dreams come true eventually with determination.
Metaphorical Comparisons (cont.)
6. Fragrance - Smoke - Hughes was a frequent smoker as well as a Jazz enthusiast, having
the essence of jazz club nights.
7. Natural Phenomenon - Wind - Hughes carried and shifted the momentum of the Harlem
Renaissance towards success.
8. Day of the Week - Monday - Hughes represented a pure form of determinism, showing
his peers that to succeed meant to keep moving forward to new beginnings.
9. Food - sorghum molasses - Hughes was a man of great celebration and jubilee, always
commemorating the success of African Americans.
10. Geometric shape - pillar - Hughes represents one of the main influential people
supporting the Harlem renaissance.
Metaphorical Comparisons (cont.)
11. Landscape - Rivers - Hughes represents rivers because of his work “The Negro Speaks of
Rivers”
12. Appliance/Machinery - Catalyst - Being a very influential writer, Hughes urged the Black
population to embrace their identity and the Harlem Renaissance to take off.
13. Article of Clothing - Coat - Hughes is always wearing a coat or holding a coat, having a
professional persona.
14. Season - Summer - The summer represents a time of celebration and peace, Hughes
highlights this season because of his peaceful and optimistic attitude.
15. Literary Character - Jesse B. Semple - Jesse is a poor, harlem man who blames the white
folks for hardships in his life, resembles Hughes in a stereotype turned to advantage.
Dreams (1932)
Hold onto the dreams of your future, the things you hope
Hold fast to dreams for, or the goals you want to achieve.
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
} Metaphor: Hughes compares life without dreams to a
broken-winged bird
● Life will be harsh and difficult without dreams
● Dreams give life purpose and meaning
Hold fast to dreams Anaphora: Repeats first line “Hold fast to dreams”
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
} ● Emphasizes the importance of having dreams
}
Means not only whites are and be one with the
American, but African When company comes. rest of America.
I, too, sing America. } Americans too.
● They are also citizens and
Nobody’ll dare ● They will be
treated equally
should be treated equally. Say to me, ● No segregation
I am the darker brother. “Eat in the kitchen,"
Although
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
} he is
African
Then. Once African
Americans are
}
American, seen as equal,
But I laugh, he is still Besides, everyone will
And eat well, American.
They’ll see how beautiful I am see how
African Americans do not worry beautiful they
And grow strong. about segregation, because they And be ashamed— are and be
know they will grow stronger from it ashamed of
and know that they will be equal Repetition their prejudice
soon, I, too, am America. } of first
line but
towards them.
uses “am”
Structure, Poetic Devices, SOAPSTONE + Theme
● Free verse poem, 5 stanzas
● Symbolism: “Eating in the kitchen” symbolizes the segregation between African
Americans and white people
● Metaphor: “I am the darker brother” refers to the African American population
● Speaker: Langston Hughes
● Occasion: Harlem Renaissance, Takes place in the kitchen of a white household
● Audience: African Americans, White people that oppress them
● Purpose: To claim African Americans’ rights as an American and to show that the
oppression is making them grow stronger.
● Subject: Oppression of African Americans
● Tone: Patriotic, optimistic
● Thematic statement: By refusing to be affected by the awful pressures of slavery and
segregation, one can grow stronger and move closer to racial equality.
The Negro Speaks of Rivers (1921)
}
★ Immediately presents the symbol of
I’ve known rivers: rivers, representing history or spirit.
★ Rivers are deeply rooted and belong to
I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the
the world alone.
flow of human blood in human veins.
}
- Includes allusions of Africa, the
I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. great natural rivers of the
Continent to show the greatness
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. of the homeland
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. - Gives African American readers
insight into their background and
identity
- Provides a basis for pride in
identity
}
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln ● Symbolizes America as a new
home to African Americans
went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen it's muddy ● Emphasizes the end of slavery
enabling the ability for African
bosom turn all golden in the sunset. Americans to now flourish
● Muddy Bosom represents
Slavery in the South, turning
golden after the civil war.
I’ve known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
}
● Repetition to re-emphasize
My soul has grown deep like the rivers. the unawakened potential
within all African
Americans
Structure, Poetic Devices, SOAPSTONE + Theme
● Free Verse poem, 5 stanzas
● Allusion: Including rivers that are located within the African continent such as the
Euphrates and Nile Rivers, projects the unwillingness of blacks in America.
● Hyperbole: “Raised the pyramids” is significant because it shows the power and intellect
African ancestors possessed, fueling Harlem Renaissance ideas.
● Speaker: Langston Hughes
● Occasion: Harlem Renaissance Influence
● Audience: African Americans
● Purpose: To help African Americans understand their roots and potential
● Subject: African American potential and ancestry
● Tone: Sentimental
● Thematic Statement: Remembering one’s history will allow them to understand their
identity and take hold of their potential.
Let America be America Again (1935)
The poem is in a way pleading for
Let America be America again. America to re-establish the idea of
him.
*Hughes continually makes use of quatrains
to provide familiarity within the poem.
O, let my land be a land where Liberty ● Speaker believes Lady Liberty and the
}
You sing 'em on Broadway ● Alludes to the hollywood
scene, which at the time was
And you sing 'em in Hollywood Bowl, dominated by a white
population
And you mixed 'em up with symphonies ● Shows segregation of Black
people and stolen culture
And you fixed 'em
Yep, you done taken my blues and gone. ● Repetition to emphasize the
}
I reckon it'll be rhythm in this poem
● Exemplifies the theme of
Me myself! roots vs. novelty
www.kansasheritage.org/crossingboundaries/page6e1.html.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Langston Hughes.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica,
www.biography.com/people/langston-hughes-9346313.
hughes.