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c The work of Langston Hughes was highly influenced by the lives of the African

Americans around him during the time of the Harlem Renaissa nce, and also the history that

they all shared in Africa. The Harlem Renaissance was a time of resurgence of traditional African

culture in the community of Harlem, a mostly black neighborhood in New York City, Ne w York

(Celebrate). The time was filled with musical invention and African traditions reborn. The new

sounds of jazz and the blues filled the air and African Americans celebrated the obstacles they

had surmounted and rallied to prepare for the new challenges to come (Celebrate).

Hughes was as much influenced by the movement as he influenced the Harlem

Renaissance itself. During this time of African American revival, Hughes flourished in the arts

and the music of Harlem became one of the major inspirations for his writing style (Meyer).

Langston Hughes͛ poetry brings into a new light the struggles of Africans throughout history

and also during the time in which he lived. Hughes͛ use of diction, tone, symbols, rhythm,

meter, speaker, setting and situation engages the reader his words as he speaks on behalf of all

African Americans to remember the past and push for people of other races to recognize their

struggles as well. ¢



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Langston Hughes͛ choice of diction and tone are both important to how a reader

understands his poetry. His diction is often rather simple and the informal quality of his writing
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is used to make his poetry more accessible to a wider audience. The tone of Hughes͛ work often

reflects the attitude of the speakers he portrays. As a slave he feels subordinate; as himself he

feels strong and influential. ¢



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In his poem ͞Negro,͟ Hughes uses diction and tone to help the reader sympathize with ! "c
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the plight of the black man throughout history. The first and sixth stanza are the same ͞I am a

Negro;/ Black as the night is black,/ Black like the depths of my Africa͟ (Negro). The speaker͛s

diction is flat and factual, and the tone reflects defeat. The speaker has abandoned his thoughts

of freedom because even with the passing of time nothing has changed. The poem talks about

the many ways Africans have been persecuted, beat down, and enslaved. From serving Caesar

to brushing the boots of George Washington, Hughes creates an image that the characteristics

of African life have always stayed the same, no matter which continent they live on. The cruelty

only evolved to fit the needs of their oppressors. The poem͛s diction and tone suggests that

views on race have never changed, and possibly never will . ¢



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In ͞I, Too,͟ the tone is much different; Hughes speaks clearly of the changing times. The  
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first seven lines are about racial inequality during the times of African American servitude. ͞I cc "c

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Hughes refers to the times of extreme racial segregation, when blacks were subordinate to 
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two through four is very morose. But as time passes and the speaker grows stronger, ͞But I

laugh/ And eat well, /And grow strong͟ (I, Too). The tone changes to suit the more powerful,

assertive speaker and the reader feels the strength building as Hughes͛ continues to portray the
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passing of time and the freedom of African Americans through the rest of the poem. ͞They͛ll
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see how beautiful I am/ And be ashamed,͟ says the speaker near the end of the poem. One

day, the speaker will be on even ground, and others will recognize them for who they are and ¢


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their value, and be ashamed of their shared past.

In ͞The Negro Speaks of Rivers,͟ Hughes comments on the prejudices and punishments

Africans have faced in the past. ͞I͛ve known rivers͟ is repeated three times by the speaker of

the poem, and the diction of this line is very important ( The). Because Hughes chose to set this

poem in past tense, the reader can imply that the speaker has made his way out of sla very, that

the time is gone when he knew rivers, and now he has moved on to another place. The tone of

the poem is reflective, looking at the past with reverence for what the rivers of his past have

taught him. ¢



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and change for the reader. In his poem ͞The Negro Speaks of Rivers,͟ They speaker reflects on ¢


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the rivers that have dictated the written history of Africans and othe r blacks, such as the Nile or

the Mississippi. For this speaker, rivers represent the passing of time. There is not a beginning

or ending to African American history, it will always flow forward and change, just like the river.

͞My soul has grown deep like the rivers,͟ the speaker says ( The). Just like life, the river is

continuously moving onward and as it runs its course it carves deeper into the earth, just how

experiences leave imprints the soul. Hughes͛ calls upon his readers to look back on their own

history and be grateful for what they have learned from it. Symbols like this often create a new

level of depth for the reader and invite them to dig deeper into the poem and reveal what the

poem says about the writer or even the reader themselves. ¢


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Due to Hughes͛ background with the Harlem Renaissance, a little of his own personality

is written into every poem. Many of the poems written by Hughes͛ have a jazz or blues like

rhythm when read aloud. The fifth, sixth and seventh lines of ͞I, Too͟ hold the best

representation of how Hughes͛ rhythm and meter add to the meaning of the poem. ͞But I

laugh./ And eat well,/ And grow strong͟ (I, Too). The third word of each of these lines is

stressed, which creates a rhythm that guides the reader through the spea ker͛s growth.

Furthermore, each successive line is slightly longer than the one preceding it. This also builds on

that feeling of growth and momentum that Hughes uses to define his speaker. This feeling of

momentum is found in many of Hughes͛ poems as he c alls his readers to recognize the

continuing trend toward African American independence and equality.

The speaker Hughes chooses for each of his poems is very important to the meaning of

the poem. Many of his poems take place in the past or in distant lan ds and his choice of speaker

helps the reader sympathize with the less than subtle meanings behind his racially charged

poems. Hughes͛ poem ͞Negro͟ is can be spoken by anyone with darker skin. The poem speaks

of the hardships faced by the African race and its descendants. ͞I am a Negro,͟ starts the first

and sixth stanzas while all the stanzas in between state the different roles African Americans

have played throughout history, ͞I͛ve been a salve͙/ I͛ve been a worker͙/ I͛ve been a singer͙/

I͛ve been a victim͟ (Negro). The speaker of ͞The Negro Speaks of Rivers͟ is also of African

American descent. ͞I͛ve known rivers,͟ the speaker states. Unlike the speaker of ͞Negro͟ , this

speaker is looking back on the past with reverence and a respect for his or her race. The

speaker puts his or herself in the proverbial shoes of his ancestors; ͞I bathed in the

Euphrates͙/ I built my hut near the Congo͙/ I looked upon the Nile͙/ I heard the singing of
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the Mississippi͟ (The). Each of these locations were important to the readers past, and in turn

his or her present. Hughes call upon all readers to recognize the hardships and challenges of the

shared past of all African Americans. ¢



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The locations chosen by Hughes for the setting and situation of each of his poems are

very important because each designates a specific point in African American history that the

audience should reflect upon during their readings of his poetry. In Hughes͛ ͞Negro,͟ the

setting often changes but the situation remains the same throughout each stanza . Hughes

starts and ends the poem with ͞I am a Negro:/ Black as the night is black,/ Black like the depths

of my Africa͟ (Negro). This emphasizes that nothing has changed over the course of time, nor

does it matter where the speaker is geographically, the color of their skin will always dictate

how people view and treat him or her. ͞Under my hand the pyramids arose./ I made mortar for

the Woolworth Building͟ (Negro). Here Hughes emphasizes the inequality that Africans have

faced throughout time. In ancient Egypt, the African slaves built great pyramids under the name

of their pharaoh. But even in modern ( modern to Hughes) New York City, nothing has changed.

The Woolworth Building was the tallest building in the world when ͞Negro͟ was written, and as

stated in the poem, the building was constructed by mostly black, underpaid workers (Matlins).

Hughes compares these two structures to stress the frustration and disappointment felt by

African Americans that went highly unrecognized by other races, and emphasize that nothing

yet had changed.

Although the speaker of ͞The Negro Speaks of Rivers͟ is also looking back on the history

of mistreatment against Africans, rather than living it, the speaker sees how the setting never

effected how Africans were treated . No matter the situation they were always looked down
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upon and ill-treated. But, unlike ͞Negro,͟ the speaker of ͞The Negro Speaks of Rivers͟ can see

progress as time goes on. Lines five through ten show the succession of time and setting as the

speaker moves out of Africa and into the United States. ͞ I looked upon the Nile and raised the

pyramids above it./ I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln/ Went down to New

Orleans,͟ says the speaker (The). These lines, seven, eight, and nine, show the speaker͛s

progression through slavery in Africa to the emancipation of American slaves by Abraham

Lincoln. It is important that Hughes does this in the poem; the building progress shows that the

future is even brighter for the African Americans of Hughes͛ time.

͞I, Too͟ features two different pairs of settings and situations, one brighter and more

promising than the other. ͞I, too, sing America,͟ says the speaker in the first line of the poem.

This line sets the tone for the second stanza. Africans, as well as blacks in America, are known

for singing through their sorrows and bad times. In Hughes͛ day, jazz and the blues, musical

genres that were innovated to better emphasize the feelings of sorrow within the musicians

and artists, were the sound of the stre ets in Harlem (Celebrate). The speaker informs the reader

that in a time where ͞They send me to eat in the kitchen/ When company comes,͟ the speaker

is sorrowful and has no voice against his or her oppressors (I, Too). In the third stanza, the

situation changes, but the setting remains the same. Now looking into the future the speaker

can see a time when ͞I͛ll be at the table/ When company comes͟ (I, Too). The speaker can see

the progression and the poem ends with ͞I, too am America͟ (I, Too). It is importa nt that this

change is made from the first line of the poem. Now, rather than singing the sorrows of slavery

and servitude, the speaker too has a true voice in a more racially equal society. The settings and ¢

 
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speaker and how the audience sympathizes with the African Americans of the time period

within the poem.

Hughes͛ influence on the black community of Harlem, as well as African Americans

across the country was extraordinary. His poetry epitomized the work linked to the Harlem

Renaissance and brought back the feelings and emotions associated with the struggles of

Africans throughout history and also during the time in which Hughes himself lived . ͞They͛ll see

how beautiful I am/ And be ashamed,͟ Hughes wrote in ͞I, Too͟ (I, Too). African Americans as

well as other races in the United States now sympathized with Hughes͛ speakers and saw the

cruel mistreatment and amazing growth of African Americans throughout history.

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ác The Central idea of this paper is a claim that Hughes poetry
was purposefully written to give readers and idea of the
struggles and hardships of African Americans through the
recognition of what happened in their past.
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ác pecific evidence that makes the essay persuasive is Gabriellaǯs

use of specific lines in the poetry and the relationship to
specific literary elements (example: paragraph 2 page 3
). uggestions: 1. Elaborate more on specific points made such
as paragraph 2 p3 last sentences and the 1st full paragraph on
p6, o that there are no questions to exactly what you mean. 2.
Continue to tie your analysis back to your central idea.
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ác ntro: Brief background information of the poet. Body
paragraphs: the three poems and analysis. Then specific
poems and how they relate and contrast to each other.
Conclusion: Ties in the central idea to close up all the points
made. The paper is mostly organized well. The problem  ran
into was when you started to compare the poems at certain
times in the paper and  hadnǯt recognized you were talking
about two different poems.  would suggest that you give better
transition sentences during this part in the paper so that it
known that you are talking about specific parts of different
poems.
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ác The paper does not need to delete any specific material
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