How Does Langston Hughes Make An Effective Use Of Figurative Language

Poet, Langston Hughes, in his poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," hyperbolizes his deep connection with the rivers with African heritage. Hughes' purpose was to express his pride of his african heritage through the language of first-person. Hughes' use of repetition sets the poem to be more nostalgic later on: "I bathed," "I built," "I looked", "I heard". He uses this tone in order to appeal a similar nostalgic feeling in his african american readers.

In his short story “Salvation,” Langston Hughes reflects on the time he lost his religion. The story is set in a church in the Bible Belt region of the United States. In this region Christianity is a staple, and Hughes discovers this first-hand. Although the story is very brief, the reader is still given a glimpse into several traits the pre-teen Hughes possessed. Two of these most glaring traits are his naïve nature and his desire to please others.

Langston Hughes clearly connects with a wide range of audiences through the simplicity that surrounds his poetry. The beauty of this manner in which he wrote his poetry, is that it grasp people by illustrating his narratives of the common lifestyles experienced by the current American generation. His art form expresses certain questionable ideologies of life and exposes to the audience what it takes to fully comprehend what being an American truly means. Each individual poem describes and illustrates the strength and hardships the African American community was experiencing. Through his literature art form of poetry, Hughes was able to convey the common assertions of

“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes is said to be one of his earliest and most anthologized poems to be written (Taylor-Thompson). Throughout the poem, Hughes puts extra importance on the river’s role in African American society. Hughes uses repetition, simile, and metaphor to support the poems theme of memory and the past.

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 Langston Hughes' poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", he examines some of the roles that blacks have played throughout history. Ultimately, the poem asserts that in every one of these aspects the black people have been exploited and made to suffer, mostly at the hands of white people. The poem is written entirely in first person, so there is a very personal tone, even though the speaker symbolizes the entire black race. The examples of each role cited in the poem are very specific, but they allude to greater indignities, relying on the readers' general knowledge of world history. To convey the injustice that has taken place, Hughes utilizes the symbolism of the

Langston Hughes is a famous poet known mostly for his contribution to the Harlem Renaissance. He wrote many inspirational poems that are still read and used for educational purposes. Many of his poems were inspired by his life and his story. One of his many poems entitled “Theme for English B” talks about how his teacher instructed him to write a page about himself and it will be true. In a “Theme for English B”, Hughes uses tone, and characterization to display a relationship between race and writing.

During the Harlem Renaissance, many African Americans were giving up on their dreams of equality due to rejection. However, Langston Hughes poem A Dream Deferred questions what happens to a dream that is deferred. In the poem, Hughes expresses his anxiety over his deferred dreams. The poet mentions how his dreams perished in six theoretical ways, all which are harmful to the dreamer. Langston Hughes used figurative language to explain how a neglected dream affects the

Metaphors develop theme by creating a picture that represents an idea that the author wants to convey to the audience. The picture can be something simple and understandable, and does not even have to be exactly what the author tries to reveal. For example, in Dreams by Langston Hughes, Hughes says “For when dreams go, life is a barren field frozen with snow,” which represents the thematic topic of lifelessness. Hughes does not specifically state that life becomes death, but instead explains it by creating a picture in the audience’s minds that represents something lifeless or dead. Another example of a metaphor developing theme exists in You Begin by Margaret Atwood.

Life is Fine is a poem by Langston Hughes. The form of the poem is rhyming couplets. This poems is about him having suicidal thoughts but not actually doing them. The main idea of this poem is that anyone can say their life is fine but in reality their life really isn't fine.

The use of similes in the poem is extremely effective. This is the first simile that appears, “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” The effectiveness comes from the similes simplicity,

To convey his theme, Langston Hughes relies on metaphors, which appear throughout the poem. The central metaphor is undeniably the most prominent poetic device in “Mother to Son”. Hughes opens this poem by presenting a comparison between the mother’s life and a crystal staircase. A “crystal” stair implies a stairway symbolic of wealth. However, the speaker’s stair, or movement through life, has been associated with few of these traits.

One of the most fascinating things about humans is that we dream. In a dream, we can escape our own personal hell and become whatever we care to be. As a result, dreams are powerful experiences, with tremendous potential. “Dreams” by Edgar Allan Poe, is a lament that we must ever exit the dream world and enter reality. In the poem, Poe writes that “I have been happy, tho' [but] only in a dream.”

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” (Walt Disney) What this extraordinary quote, expressed by Walt Disney means, is that in order to achieve a dream you must be dedicated and focused. Langston Hughes, uses figurative language such as metaphors, similes, and personification, to explain his views on dreams that are much like Walt Disney’s. In “Dreams Deferred”, Hughes writes about how, if dreams are postponed, the possibility of negative things happening to the dream itself is probable. In “Dreams”, Hughes’ view is that, if a person lives a life without dreams, his life will be boring and without meaning. In both instances, however, Langston Hughes emphasizes the negative consequences of either not pursuing

Poetry is a beautiful form of art. It can be written in many different fashions. The author of the poem can choose to take it towards any direction they want to. The types of themes and phrases used in the poem are the backbone of it. One of my favorite literary devices used in poetry is metaphors. Metaphors are one of the best literary devices to be put into a poem. Many poetry writers use metaphors. Modern poets have an interested in the relationship of mind and matter so they use metaphors in their writings to help fill in the gap between them (Getz). The famous poet John Donne is known for using them throughout his writings. He used them so often I think he tries to break his previous record of how many metaphors can I pack into one poem every time he wrote a new one. If that is not the case then he must have had some sort of bet going on. Half of the words that come out of my mouth construct a metaphor but there is no way I could keep up with Donne’s talent of turning almost into a metaphor