I Hear America Singing Essay

Born ten years after the death of Walt Whitman, there was no possible way for Langston Hughes to ever meet or communication with Whitman, but that did not mean Hughes could not establish a connection to him, or at least his work. In 1925, Hughes wrote a poem titled “I, Too” was inspired by and directed in response to the poem “I Hear America Singing”, which was composed by Whitman much earlier. Whitman’s poem consisted of a variety of different American laborers who “sing” as they do their jobs. This well-known poem never specifically addresses the ethnicity of these singing laborers of the American population, but Hughes sets about to rectify that omission.

In “I Hear America Singing,” by Walt Whitman and “I, Too, Sing America,” by Langston Hughes, the topics of American jobs and unity are analyzed. In Walt Whitman’s poem, the workers of America harmonize in their work song. In Langston Hughes’ poem, the ‘darker brother’ is representing the outcasts of America and showing how he will be seen as an equal and be unified with the average American one day. These poems share similarities and differences in diction, tone, and imagery about Americans coming together.

     The voice of one person can send a profound sound into the hearts of people to help liberate one’s mind. That profound sound is seen through poetry. The creative structure and style of poetry creates a different form of writing that can either have rhythm, alliteration or have a direct message. In the poem “I Too Sing America”, by Langston Hughes had a significant message in that he desired to voice his expression on the issue of black oppression in America. Langston basic themes focused on the American Dream and the possibilities of hope and advancement were constantly present in his poetry. The tension between the unrealized dream and the realities of the black experience in

3. What do you notice about the people in this poem? They are all singing as they work.

In the poem ,“America”, Claude McKay uses figurative language and diction to create a dark tone, a powerful empowering tone, and an optimistic tone. The theme of double consciousness of African-Americans is supported in the poem and the poem itself also connects to the purpose of the Harlem Renaissance which was to fight back racial hate and stereotypes with black empowerment.

Americans before the Civil War came to the United States to acquire self-preservation and to explore the foundation of capitalism. Songwriters such as Stephen Foster, felt the American people needed an image to follow a need for Puritan mentality. Without a doubt, music purposely expressed these movements by the usage of musical lyrics to analyze the discrimination against African American slaves and the secession of the United States, which reflected the turmoil of the separated Puritan communities. In short, after the American Revolution, many Americans feared the idea of self-preservation within communities, expressing that Americans had no real endeavor in working together. Moreover, writers like J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur, practiced to establish a diverse America, not only to separate Americans and show how different they act according to their surroundings, but helped to express how an environment can change one’s self-preservation. Nevertheless, Americans left a deliberate standing point to follow as countless Puritans did before. The purpose of how music can diversify a community and make Americans’ self-preservation move toward their surroundings remained the example left by these idols. Undoubtedly, the environment itself obtained the biggest challenge for American Puritans. In any case, with the help of Foster’s intuition about how Americans should act as a community and the emotions that thrived within the musical lyrics of his songs—Beautiful Dreamer, Oh!

In the poem "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman, the reader envisions a country of people working for the greater good of mankind. These people come together as part of the whole society developing industry and production. Each person has a different occupation, but each job is important to the bigger picture. The bigger picture and theme being that of a country in which everyone is working together to create a successful and harmonious civilization.

Poem Paper We are going to compare the two poems by comparing and contrasting both poems. One of the poems is titled, “I Hear America Singing”. The other poem is titled, “Let America Be America Be America Again.” Let’s keep on reading to find out more information between these two poems. Let’s start off with the first poem mentioned in the introduction.

In the poem “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes, he envisions a greater America, a more inclusive America where all the races can proudly represent themselves as American citizens. Hughes was a leader of Harlem Renaissance, and had tremendous pride of his race as an African American. However, during that time period, African Americans were being considered as second-class race, and they were being segregated in every aspect throughout the country. Hughes could not tolerate seeing his fellow brothers and sisters being treated unequally because of their skin color, he knew that he had to do something to bring a change, and he was determined to make that change become the reality. Hughes published the poem in the year of 1945, about ten years before the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. It was the time where racism and prejudice were still prevalent, and segregation laws were being implemented in many places throughout the country. People needed encouragement to stand up in order to fight for their rights, and this poem perfectly empowers people’s courage and spirit. In “I, Too, Sing America,” Langston Hughes uses sound, diction, and symbolism hoping to awaken people’s dilapidated spirits and that one day people would embrace each other in which African Americans are truly classified as equal Americans.

An American is a loyal, hardworking determined person. They work to benefit themselves along with benefitting the country. When even in hard times they are still pushing through because they know that being in America, they have that opportunity. They don’t stop working until they know they have made it to a successful state. Americans work hard for their success they don’t just sit and think about how they want it, they go and get it for themselves. Being an American means that you share common ideas about being successful. It’s about being loyal and motivated to let the country generate a better you.

The hard working class, that is what this poem praises, the hard working class is happy. He goes through multiple different people who work, from cobblers to smiths, and they are all singing there hardworking song. ” Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and

For example, in “Chicago”, the narrator describes the city as “wicked”, “crooked”, and “brutal while in “I Hear America Singing” young fellows are described as “robust and friendly”. By utilizing contradicting terminology between poems to describe the city of Chicago versus American workers, a false front of contentment is exposed. Moreover, in the poem “Chicago”, the city is described as “stormy, husky, and brawling” while in “I Hear America Singing” workers sing “strong melodious songs”. Here, by utilizing words with contrasting connotations, pride in one’s own nationalistic union derives from an individual’s ability to work past obstacles. Furthermore, Whitman and Sandburg use diction to create a tone of pride within the idea of nationalism that curates a façade in order to disguise the reality in upholding

In “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman, and “I, Too Sing America”, by Langston Hughes both poems have multiple similarities. In “ I Hear America Singing” it’s similar to “ I, too, sing America”, because they both include the same literary devices (repetition and symbolism). In “I Hear America Singing, from stanzas 3-8, they beginning with the word ¨the¨. In ¨I Too Sing America¨, repetition is seen in the first and last stanzas where they both say ¨I am¨ and ¨America¨

In 1861, the American Civil War began, dividing the North and the South. The main disagreement in this war: slavery. While the North fought for the abolition of slavery, the South fought for their main resource in their livelihoods, slave labor. This war became a division of families, friends, and a country. It caused pain to not only those fighting, but to the entire nation. “Can ye not cry,/’Let slavery die!’/And union find in freedom?” (qtd. in Iannone 135). This powerful verse is a plea for the end of the war and the abolition of slavery in John Greenleaf’s poem, In War Time. A devout Quaker, Whittier longed for the end of war and the stop of slavery. Through his articles, letters, and, most of all, poetry,