An Analysis of The Negro Speaks of Rivers Essay

Langston Hughes uses both Harlem and The Negro Speaks of Rivers to evoke responses from his readers. Both of these poems are profound in and of themselves when simply read given the political and racial tensions at the time, but when read and digested, they can speak to any race, creed, or color. The use of figurative language in both of these poems is what makes them so easy to identify with. He uses blood, deep rivers, rotten meat, and other nouns to allow the reader to process what each of his or her own rotten meat or deep river is. Interestingly enough, when read passionately, the reader could get lost in his or her own story, but it is of upmost importance to remember that Hughes is chronicling the story of African American plight in such a way that allows anyone to identify with it. It is through this identification that allows anyone to develop pride and sensitivity for Hughes and his people.

In "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," Langston Hughes mentions four famous rivers, and I believe he specifically names them so people will think of the history that comes along with them. When Hughes says, "I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it" (6). He relates the Nile river with the building of the pyramids. He also names the Euphrates, the Congo, and the Mississippi rivers. He talks of each river in a different manner. Each time also a different part of history.

In this poem Langston Hughes uses the rivers to show the journey of of African Americans from the dawn of time to the Emancipation Proclamation. In the beginning of the poem he mentions the Euphrates, where mankind began. Then he mentions the Mississippi and Abe Lincoln, this is hinting toward the freeing of the slave. This shows change over time from the beginning of time to the time of freeing of slaves. The river represents the journey of African Americans through history and the changes they when through.

Hughes starts with Euphrates River for a reason; this river dates back to 4 BC. “I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young,” (line 5), the way that reader explains “I bathed in the Euphrates” means that his ancestry, Africans, have been there since the beginning of civilization. With the nearest river it states, “I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.” (lines 6), the interpretation of this quote highlight how African has grown as the community to built home for themselves, and made a settlement next to another river. In the first river, you can express it by the beginning step of this community, and how the next river is the stepping stone for the race. In the next river, “I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.” (Lines 7), starting for this period, the African race were made to into slaves, and the creation of freedom started. Hughes did not what the readers to interpret the pyramids as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, but the difficulty of a peasant, who actually helped to create the pyramids. Finally, the Mississippi River is the last stop of the journey for the African race. “I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.” (Lines 8-10), the trip down to the Mississippi was a dream for many African-American. One of the hugest steps for this community was when

“The Roaring Twenties”, “The Nonsense Age”, “The Jazz Age”, these are just a few names that sums up 1920-1929. Babe Ruth was hitting home runs,, we had just won “The Great War”, we overcame influenza, Cinemas were opening and playing full colored movies. There were dance clubs and dance contests, skimpy shinny dresses and lots of make up. Two famous novels “The Great Gatsby” was written along with “The Sun Also Rises”. Women were being more provocative and were on the covers of magazines, they were receiving jobs and going to big universities, prostitution was becoming popular, everything seemed to be happening at once, ideas were flying high, innovation was being accepted. Everything seemed perfect. With big parities and such until October 29th, 1929, when everything abruptly ended.

A big message in Langston Hughes poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, is the message of freedom. This poem talks and explains a lot about rivers, but thinking deep down it begins to focus on African Americans and their lack of freedom. A river flows easy and is free to do whatever. This is referring to what blacks should be able to do, like a river, flow and have freedom to do what they want. In Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” is speaking about the path that African Americans had to take to get to where they are and how he too has faced and seen many things in his lifetime. He uses repetition in his statement “I’ve known rivers”, which he uses three times throughout the short poem. Reminding the reader to pay attention to the long journey they overcame. He first speaks on how the struggles of African Americans began in ancient times. Referencing them going back before the beginning of man, “…older than the flow of human blood in human veins”. He then uses a simile to draw himself into the struggle; “My soul has grown deep like the rivers”. Boldly stating that he has seen and been through so much in his life that his

While reading Langston Hughes’ poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” the theme of roots is predominant throughout the reading, this theme raises question to the whole meaning of the poem. Although the word “roots” itself is never in the actual text, it contains strong details of the poem promoting deep imagery and depiction of veins, tributaries, and the roots of the plants and trees. Hughes wanted to give the reader the illusion of a timelessness in these objects. While through his depiction of language and imagery, Hughes manages to be able to implement two meanings into his poems on the theme of roots. A reader can interpret the understanding of the theme is that the roots are referring to the deep roots of trees have or “roots” in a family or as also in History. Through these imagery and representation used by Hughes, the reader begins to comprehend the intricacy of the reading and is clarified as it focuses on the themes that are enormous as opposed to a simple river or blood flowing through a human veins, rather it is an account to African-American history as it has thrived along rivers, Hughes writing “My soul has grown deep like the rivers.”(Line 10) giving life and allowing “human veins” (Line 3) to flow with the rivers and strengthening their strong historical roots.

Kamel Alghiryafi ENGL 2328 Rachel Hebert 2 December 2017 Diction, Images and Irony in Hughes’s “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" is Langston Hughes' most anthologized poem. It is one of Hughes' most punctual poems, and its subject built up the accentuation of a lot of his consequent poetry. " The Negro Speaks of Rivers" fixates on African and negritude themes. Hughes' composition dependably indicates recognizable proof with Africa, and his later poetry on African subjects and African themes demonstrates his developing refinement and learning of the history and issues of Africa.

Smith, Nicole. Poem analysis of “The negro speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes. 6 Dec. 2011. Web.

In “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, the speaker joins himself to his ancestors, immovably setting them in essential historical, religious, and cultural locales everywhere throughout the world. The speaker starts by asserting a connection to the world's ancient rivers that originated before human creatures, and that has influenced his soul to develop profound like the rivers. This canny and eloquent portrayal shows the speaker's gigantic judgment, and enables him to make a complete connection between individuals of his race and whatever remains of human civilization. In the mid twentieth Century, white Americans regularly saw their darker-cleaned partners as not as much as human, and here, Hughes offers solid verification of historical equality. As compared to this poem, McKay’s Poem “On a

The Harlem Renaissance was a boom in cultural, artistic and social matters within Harlem. This renaissance contained several black writers that had been couped up from sharing their talents due to the overbearing social system and race issue. This period was not only a period of upward mobility for the African American culture but it was also a liberating one. For example when the Negro in the poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" speaks he says freely, "I bathed in the Euphrates" , when he did not actually do so. The speaker is speaking in a metaphorical sense that would not of been accepted due to the color of his skin before the Harlem Renaissance. Also when the speaker mentions that he had seen Abe Lincoln, he did not actually do so. He experianced

“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” was the first poem Langston Hughes wrote. With personification, “Hughes associates the ceaselessness of the might river with the eternal, life-affirming endurance of Africans and African Americans” (The Negro Speaks of Rivers). In the fifth line, Langston states, “I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young”; this is an example of personification because Hughes personifies the Congo River by saying how it “lulled” him to sleep as if the river was an actual human signing him to sleep. Langston also personifies the Mississippi River as he states “I heard the signing of the Mississippi”. In the poem, “the river’s singing invokes both the slave spirituals and songs of celebration after the slaves were freed”

The Negro Speaks Of Rivers” by Langston Hughes argues the fact that rivers are a symbolic representation of Africans enslavement and their freedom, he conveys this message by using literary devices such as repetition, simile, symbolism, and personification. Throughout the poem Langston Hughes conveys his message by demonstrating the freedom and slavery through different forms. The writer demonstrates it by showing that freedom is what Africans have always had, freedom being a part of them, history and their tribulations. All these factors tie to the meaning of the rivers and their purpose in this poem. Langston Hughes uses repetition to demonstrate that freedom is something they have had, but have have been deprived of it.

Rivers by Langston Hughes sets in a troubling mood and message of the struggle African Americans had to face while they were in slavery and the freedom Abe Lincoln got for them.The poem starts out talking about seeing many rivers. After then hughes states many different river that had slavery