Langston Hughes The Negro Speaks Of Rivers

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.

Langston Hughes was the leading voice of African American people in his time, speaking through his poetry to represent blacks. His Influence through his poems are seen widely not just by blacks but by those who enjoy poetry in other races and social classes. Hughes poems, Harlem, The Negro speaks of rivers, Theme for English B, and Negro are great examples of his output for the racial inequality between the blacks and whites. The relationship between whites and blacks are rooted in America's history for the good and the bad. Hughes poems bring the history at large and present them in a proud manner. The injustice that blacks face because of their history of once being in bondage is something they are constantly reminded and ridiculed for but must overcome and bring to light that the thoughts of slavery and inequality will be a lesson and something to remember for a different future where that kind of prejudice is not found so widely.

“I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young” (Line 5). Although, the Speaker is not explicitly discussing the history behind the Euphrates, he uses it as the beginning of his story because the Euphrates river was the site of one of the first civilizations (McCannon). Moreover, he uses dawns to relate to the rising of the sun alluding to the beginning of time. He connects the Euphrates river to the beginning of his ancestry and the being of time. After traveling forward through his ancestry from the beginning of time the speaker takes us to the Congo, another great river, which is in Africa where he connects to his people. “I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it” (Line 7). He is suggesting that the Nile, which is another great river is ever flowing maintaining its fluidity, just as his ancestors have acclimated to new circumstances. The pyramids, though great, allude to slavery, determination and ingenuity. Even though his ancestors who build the pyramids were slaves, they persevered to build a wonder of the world. Finally, he speaks of his ancestors in America, “I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to” (Line 8-9). The Mississippi river for Blacks embodied pain and humiliation because they were going to be sold as slaves (Hughes). Lastly, the speaker speaks of Abe Lincoln, which to the Negro people of his

In the fourth line of the poem Hughes speaks of the Euphrates River. This river symbolizes the birth of life and the beginning of civilization. This river represents the youth of the African American people. It speaks of their beginning. Then Hughes talks of the Congo River in Africa. This is an image of home for many African Americans. It represents a place of peace and tranquility in their lives. Hughes writes about the Nile River and the great pyramids in Egypt. The pyramids can be viewed as a symbol of slavery to many people due to the slave labor that it took to create these grand structures. Finally the great Mississippi River is written about. Many symbols arise from this river of the South. To many whites it represents prosperity, especially in the time of the Civil War when slave trade was one of the bases of economy. To many African Americans this river may represent the oppression of their people. The image of Abe Lincoln riding down the Mississippi can be seen as a symbol of hope and freedom to the slaves of the South. The very fact that he is on this particular river represents the times of change about to come.

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.

The poem ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers’ by Langston Hughes is about a man with a vast knowledge and understanding of rivers. The first two sentences of the poem are similar, as in both Hughes states, ‘I’ve known rivers’. From this the reader gathers that this man has been around rivers and probably lived around rivers. He talks about different experiences he has had on four different rivers. For example he says, ‘I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young’ and this gives the impression that he was around long ago when the river was just starting to form. Another quote, ‘I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans’ shows a passage of time from

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

The text of the poem can be found at the bottom of this page.          In Langston Hughes' poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," Hughes makes use of some interesting poetic techniques. This poem is written in free verse, and seems, at first glance, to be very unstructured. Hughes repeats words and lines, but does not make use of repeated sounds. Hughes' rivers are very rich in symbolism, and are not just simple bodies of water. Finally, some of his word choices near the end of the poem help to bring the message of the poem across more strongly. These poetic techniques contribute greatly to the quality of the poem.

One of his earliest poems, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, was written in 1921, long before Hughes would actually travel the world. However, without knowing the authors background and history, one might think it was written by a wise man of old age. Having only lived in various places in the United States, Hughes wrote this poem of an African American man who has seen the world, full with things many people never get to see, that nourished his soul and formed bonds with humans' deepest roots. The four rivers the narrator is mentioning, the Euphrates, the Congo river, the Nile and the Mississippi river, are all of great importance not only in the lives of all human beings, but slaves in particular.

The opening line “I’ve Known Rivers” (1) describes the narrator of the way a grandpa tells a grandchild a story. This gives the impressions he has lived a long life and spent quality time on the river and is about to share his story. One could argue that he has grown wise and intelligent because of his age and known what life had to offer. The narrator uses a simile to compare the age of the river to the age of the earth “ancient as the world” (2). This comparison establishes the river being as old as the planet. Next, there is a metaphor that tells the reader that the world and rivers are older than human beings “flow of blood in human veins” (3). The reader can make the correlation that we are the same as rivers. Human veins have the same look as rivers and blood flow through the veins just like water flowing down a river. The narrator compares the depth of his soul with the depth of water with “My soul has grown deep like the rivers” (4). We can refer to the depths of African Americans history and their overall existence on the earth. Rivers take years to erode the soil below and is always becoming deeper and deeper. The narrator is telling the reader that after all the racism he has seen has taken something out of him mentally and physically. His thoughts become mentally exhausted and just keeps flowing just like rivers. The idea of

Langston Hughes: The Negro Speaks of Rivers “My soul has grown deep like the rivers”. This is a quote from The Negro Speaks of Rivers. This quote shows the connection between people his own race and the rest of human civilization (Osborne). “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” is written by Langston Hughes and written in 1920. This poem focuses a lot on racism back in the day.

Throughout America’s history, blacks and whites have always been at odds with each other. This is mainly due to the belief by whites that blacks are inferior to them. This type of white hatred led to the forming of the radical hate group the Klu Klux Klan. The group’s activities peaked in America in 1920 during the Modernism period and much harm was done to blacks. In that same year, as if answering the cruelty against the African American, young African American poet Langston Hughes wrote a riveting poem that put the African Americans in a very positive light just when great intolerance, injustice and inequality was rampant. Entitled, “The Negro Speaks of River”, the poem tells the story of roots, experience and history. In it, the persona speaks of knowing rivers for as long as time has been. He walks us through his life experiences journeying symbolically across four important rivers those being, the Euphrates, the

One part of “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes that interests me is “I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins” (Lines 2-3). In this line there is a simile, metaphor, tone, and a universal truth. A simile is a comparison of one thing with another thing using like or as. In this line Hughes utilizes a simile by comparing accent rivers with the age of the world. I think Hughes compared the ancient rivers to the age of the world to show how deep and old his African roots are. Rivers are old and carved into the world. Also, like the rivers, the world is old. So by comparing these two a reader can feel that the rivers show the history and wisdom of the African people.

In Langston Hughes “The Negro speaks of Rivers”, the speaker sets a tone while makes a connect between himself and the earth he lived on. Rivers have