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Eric Mitchell III

Mrs. Woodward

AP American Language and Composition

4/1/16

Langston Hughes was born in Missouri, but would move to Cleveland, Ohio and attend

high school there. He started to dabble in writing in high school, and would refine this skill as he

traveled the world. He would eventually become one of the leading voices of the Harlem

Renaissance movement in New York. (Bio.com) As a black man in 1920s segregated America,

Langston Hughes addresses his struggles with racism and poverty and expressed these

frustrations through his poetry.

The poem "Dream Variations" describes a black person, most likely a child's, reality

versus dream day. To wake up and fun and then rest by a tree as night approaches. He or she

repeats this sentiments in second stanza but with very minuscule differences or "variations".

These subtle changes are just a replacement of a word or restructuring of a line but conveys more

passionate and honest feeling than the first stanza.

"Till the quick day is done," (line 13) stood out to me because of its reference to the first

stanza, "till the white day is done." The speaker subtly changed the line giving a slight change in

meaning, one of optimism. Changing "white" to "quick" is what the author dreams would

happen, this slight variation, hence the name "Dream Variations."

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The purpose of this poem was to express Hughes desires and dreams for a different

world. A world free of racism, segregation, and persecution. He wishes just a small variation in

the world to fit his dreams.

Richard Bizot begins the criticism summarizing the poem "Dream Variations". He then

tries to identify the speaker, settling upon a "childlike", "androgynous" African-American. Bizot

then describes Hughes' diction and its intricacies and symbolism. He finishes the criticism

identifying the meaning and reasons for Hughes writing it.

When Bizot says that "the poem's sexual overtones are subtle; the speaker in the poem

seems not to be fully conscious of them," I was totally caught off guard by his insinuations. It

seems to me he was totally off with this interpretation. I in no way can see how one can draw any

sort of sexual thoughts from Hughes' lines.

I found Bizot's criticism rather peculiar. At some points it was extremely convincing and

intelligent. It would then devolve with odd interpretations then shift back to smart analysis.

Bizot's ideas on the symbolism between contrasts were strong arguments I agreed with.

However, his ideas on the diction and the speaker were very odd to me, and for that reason I did

not agree with those points.

In the poem "Harlem [2]" the speaker wonders what happens to a deferred dream. They

describe various forms of decomposition, such as drying up or rotting or even exploding.

"What happens to a dream deferred?" (line 1) By opening the poem with this question,

we instantly feel wonder and a darker tone than normal. This question has a sense of bitterness to

it, and make us ourselves wonder the answer. We search the poem, expecting to find the answer
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where there is none. The only thing pointed out to us is that a dream deferred does not simply

vanish, rather it undergoes some form of physical decay.

The purpose of this poem was to express Hughes' bitterness, and the bitterness of

millions, of being black in America, where commonly your dream is "deferred." He expresses the

frustration by pondering what happens to that dream when it is deferred, and by extension how

do we feel about it.

Henry Phillips opens his criticism quoting a blues legends opinion on Langston Hughes.

He then quotes another critics opinion on the poem. Next he summarizes the poem. He finally

gives his own opinion-sort of- discussing the historical background the poem took place in.

One of Phillips only thoughts, the poems final line contrasts mightily with tone of

earlier questions (page 70) is very truthful. I found that line very conflicting with the rest of the

poem and found it interesting to see my sentiments shared.

I was very disinterested with Phillips criticism. He rarely gave an original idea of his

own, instead citing others thoughts and opinions upon Hughes and the poem. This left me very

dissatisfied.

"Mother to Son" opens with an older mom talking to her son. She has obviously endured

a long hard life. She used the metaphor of life as "not a crystal stair." She goes on to describe it

as very rundown and rough. She then tells the son that she still has climbed and tried to follow

wherever it goes. She ends the poem encouraging the son to not give up on life, but to keep

climbing because she still is.

The opening lines to the poem "well son I'll tell you/Life for me ain't been no crystal

stair," (line 1-2) grabs the readers' attention by creating the perception of the narrator speaking to
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the audience by speaking to her so . This also serves to set up the closing line which repeats

"And life for me ain't been no crystal stair."

The purpose of this poem was Hughes attempting to convey the struggles and hardships

of life as a norm. He is telling the reader about the difficulty of life and it's normal to feel

discouraged about it, but you need to keep pushing on because life is naturally hard.

Adam Wesley begins his criticism summarizing the poem Mother to Son. He then

describes how Hughes writing involves the audience. He then attempts to speculate on Hughes

reasoning behind the characteristics in the poems. He next connects the poems with allusions to

later poems, jazz and blues, the Bible, and Greek mythology. He finishes the criticism defining

what he believes the mother in the poem symbolizes.

I found Wesleys ideas on how Hughes uses his diction and style to involve the reader to

be accurate. As I read, I indeed found myself imagining to be the son and listening to the

mother. When Wesley tries to connect Mother to Son to another Hughes poem The Negro

Mother, I did not appreciate this connection especially when he states in The Negro Mother,

which was some years after Mother to Son. This heavily annoyed me because I feel that an

earlier work should only be connected to later works when it is the later works being analyzed. I

furthermore did not agree with his other attempted allusions, especially to the Bible and Greek

mythology, and found them to be rather forced.

The speaker opens the poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers saying that they know of

rivers, very old rivers. He then makes an analogy with his soul as being deep like the river. He,

being the Negro, describes history through the use of rivers. He names the rivers found in the

Middle East, Africa, Egypt, and then America. As he describes the rivers, he describes what he,
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as a Negro, was doing during that point in history. He finishes by describing his soul, again, as

deep like the rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers (line 4,13) was recited near the beginning of the

poem and was later the closing sentence for the poem. Hughes uses the simile between his soul

and rivers to symbolize the amount of history found by the Negro. While this statement in the

beginning alone is powerful, at the end, with the context of the rest of the poem, this statement

takes on a new meaning because we have seen the rivers rich history and how deep they truly

are.

The purpose of this poem was to celebrate the rich history of the Negro. The author talks

about the long rich history of the Negro, tracing their path from the Middle East, to Africa, to

Egypt, and then to America. He seeks to bring this long journey to attention.

Betty Taylor-Thompson begins the criticism discussing the history behind the poem The

Negro Speaks of Rivers and its place in Hughes catalogue of poetry. She then summarizes the

poem herself. After summarizing, she continues to explore the poems themes and meaning and

why Hughes himself wrote the poem.

Thompsons interpretation of the poem, through the images of the river, Hughes traces

the history of the African-American from Africa to America, is exactly as I interpreted his

poem. I believe it to be interpreted this way because of the mention of the river names and my

own knowledge of their location and historical importance to that location.

I agree with the various points and arguments made by Thompson. Her interpretation of

the poem was the same as mine. Her idea on the meanings and themes seemed very accurate to

me as well as her speculations on Hughes reasoning for writing the poem.

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"April Rain Song" opens with the speaker directly talking to the audience. The first

stanza is the speaker commanding the audience to allow the rain to do various things to them. In

the second stanza, the speaker continues to admirably describe the rain. The speaker then ends

the poem with the statement, "And I love the rain."

The line "Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops," (line 2) stood out to

me. It is something amazing about how violent, yet beautiful the sentence is. It contrasts so

perfectly. The violent image made using the word "best" meshes so well with the oddly romantic

"silver liquid drops" creating a rather peculiar feeling in me.

In all honesty I truly believe there is no deeper level to this poem. This poem is exactly as

we see it: Hughes expressing his love for the rain.

The poem "Let America Be America Again" opens with a speaker calling for America to

be America again. As the speaker continues taking about all the great things America represents,

another speaker challenges these claims with "It was never America to me." After ignoring a few

persistent negative comments, the first speaker asks who the pessimistic second speaker is. The

second speaker identified himself as all those mistreated and used to build America. He goes on

to identify the America he dreams for and wants to make by starting America over again.

"Oh let America be America again. The land that never has been yet- and yet must be"

(line 63-64) is one of the most powerful statements I have ever read. These lines has an even

more powerful delivery because of the build up to it. By listing all those who suffered and

struggled to create America, and then to call for something better instead of bitterness, truly

touched me. Its wordplay based off of the first speaker's words further enhance its incredible

message.
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The purpose of this poem was to put to rest the age-old phrase "Let America Be America

Again" uttered by the masses. The masses who enjoy white privilege and do not understand how

America came about. He gives praise to all groups who suffered to create America, and wants the

masses to remember them too.

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Works Cited

"Langston Hughes." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 01 Apr. 2016.

Bizot, Richard Dream Variations. Masterplots II: Poetry Revised Edition
(2002): 1-2. Literary Reference Center Web. 9. Mar. 2016.
Hughes, Langston April Rain Song. The Collected Poems of Langston
Hughes. Ed. Arnold Ramparsad. New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1998.

597. Print.
Hughes, Langston Dream Variations. The Collected Poems of Langston
Hughes. Ed. Arnold Ramparsad. New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1998.

40. Print.
Hughes, Langston Harlem [2]. The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes.
Ed. Arnold Ramparsad. New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1998. 426. Print.
Hughes, Langston Let America be America Again. The Collected Poems of
Langston Hughes. Ed. Arnold Ramparsad. New York: Alfred A. Knopf

Inc., 1998. 189-191. Print.

Hughes, Langston Mother to Son. The Collected Poems of Langston
Hughes. Ed. Arnold Ramparsad. New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1998.

30. Print.
Hughes, Langston The Negro Speaks of Rivers. The Collected Poems of
Langston Hughes. Ed. Arnold Ramparsad. New York: Alfred A. Knopf

Inc., 1998. 23. Print.

Phillips, Henry Harlem. Poetry for Students Vol. 1 Detroit: Gale, 1998: 68-
71. Print.
Taylor-Thompson, Betty The Negro Speaks of Rivers. Masterplots II:
Poetry Revised Edition (2002): 1-2. Literary Reference Center Web. 9.

Mar. 2016.
Wesley, Adams Mother to Son. Poetry for Students Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale,
1998: 184-187. Print.