Langston Hughes The Negro Speaks Of Rivers

“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.

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

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 Negro Speaks of Rivers In the Langston Hughes’ poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers the speaker uses a vast amount of personification and a theme of roots or beginnings is shown throughout to express the past of African Americans. He uses personification to bring the rivers to life. Although the word “roots” or “beginnings” is not in the poem, the strong words portray this theme. The speaker uses personification “I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins” (2-3), to bring the rivers to life. The way the speaker compares the water to “the flow of human blood” (3) creates an image that the river is alive and moving much like a human would.

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.

Langston Hughes’ style of poetry renounced the classical style of poetry and sought out a more jazz and folk rhythm style. Most of Hughes’ poems were written during the Harlem Renaissance, named after the cultural activity African Americans participated in, such as: literature, music, art, theatre, and political thinking. William Blake, on the other hand, was a nonconformist who was associated with the leading radical thinkers of his day. Although, considered a lyric poet and a visionary, Blake’s poetry was not read by many, yet he still believed that his poetry could be understood by common people and was determined not to sacrifice his vision to become popular.

The poem ?The Negro Speaks of Rivers? by Langston Hughes contains many symbolic meanings about the identity of African Americans. Throughout the poem Hughes uses metaphorical statements to suggest to the reader what the soul of the African American has been through. The symbols of the old rivers from which the African American ideal has risen can be interpreted in many different ways. They represent the birth and growth of the African American culture, and some of the most significant moments of their past. The words written in this poem represent the pride and knowledge of a group of outstanding people.

     Hughes frequently addresses the notion of heritage and the importance of remembering the past in his writing. He elaborates specifically on his own understanding of African American culture and ancestry. In his poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” Hughes compares his knowledge of his people’s past with the depth of a river. The lines “I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the/ flow of human blood in human veins” convey the extreme age and richness of human society, including his own culture. Hughes writes that his “soul has grown deep like the rivers,” indicating that he has learned to respect and admire the customs, beliefs, and history of African Americans and their forbears. His belief in the importance of respect for one’s culture and its past seems especially significant when considered alongside his role as an advocate for African American rights.

Langston Hughes was an African American writer who took the literary world by storm in the twentieth century. Hughes was known for incorporating African American culture into his poems and plays. Langston Hughes did this so much so that per, "Masterplots II: African American Literature" he was "…recognized as the unofficial poet laureate of the African American urban experience…" (Niemi). Hughes has written several poems in his career. Most of them have a theme of racial pride incorporated somewhere in the poems. By analyzing Langston Hughes's writings, it can be inferred that the poems "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", "Negro" and "I, Too" all have the theme of racial pride.

One of the Harlem Renaissance writer was Langston Hughes (1902-1967). He was an American poet who was at the same time a social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was also one of the pioneers of the literature art form jazz poetry. Hughes’ began to write poems when he was still in his eighth grade. Particularly, he wrote “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” when he was passing by the Mississippi River, on board on a train down to Mexico with his father (Shmoop 4). Hughes was a key icon during the Harlem Renaissance because his works has helped the black arts and culture flourish in the 1920s. Hughes’ writing reflected his advocacy that “Black is

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

The quote I chose was from chapter 10, page 118. “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” This quote illustrates the work's meaning because it shows that the pigs are now no different that the humans. They are both greedy for power and would rather let others suffer than share.

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 wanna start this essay by first define what is reading and writing is ,everyone could agree that reading is a process where the student get meanings from everything that they see around.Writing is basically your free choice of words.I was in Preschool when i first realize that i love reading and writing.I remember my mom walking to my class and me not knowing that i would be walking out with knowledge to read and write.My Preschool teacher Ms.Newman was a artistic teacher and she would express herself through her clothes.she would have colorful words on her walls that each letter in the alphabet had a picture to represent it.she would wear different colors sweaters that would have a bunch words on them and she would read to us as a class and it had me really excited to read.I instantly wanted to read anything i put my hand on!Often, I would read the cartoons comics in the newspaper every Sunday and I felt so smart reading it.In class,We would spilt into groups and talk about how we felt about the story Ms.Newman read to us.As the year progressed, we would cut out letters,magazines,and newspapers etc and put them in our journal.This is how my love for reading and writing all begin.