The Poetry Of Langston Hughes

Lucille Clifton was a prolific and widely respected poet, Clifton's work emphasizes endurance and strength through adversity, focusing particularly on African-American experience and family life. (Poetry Foundation, 2017) Lucille mainly talks about her life as an African American. Her view transcends the black experience “ to embrace the entire world, human and non-human, in the deep affirmation she

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

A huddle of horns And a tinkle of glass A note Handed down from Marcus to Malcolm To a brother Too bad and too cool to give his name. Sometimes despair Makes the stoops shudder Sometimes there are endless depths of pain Singing a capella on street corners

This freedom of expression offered by poetry has changed literature as a whole and affected whole communities, such as that of Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance. Langston Hughes’s upbringing in a family that valued and preserved their black culture, influenced his poetry and the way he gave a voice to the struggles and racial oppression of the black people.

James Mercer Langston Hughes, (February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967) was born in Joplin, Missouri, to James Nathaniel and Caroline Hughes in 1902. Hughes’ parents were of mixed-race, and Langston Hughes was of African American, European American and Native American descent. Hughes' father left his family and later divorced Carrie using it as a way to escape the unbearable racism in America. After his parents’ separation, his mother travelled in

Langston Hughes inspired others to reach their true potential in their work by using their own life as a catalyst:

Before I explain my take on what "identity" means in Langston Hughes works, I would like explain a little about a man who happened to be one of the most recognizable names in African- American literature, and the struggle he faced – as a writer and mostly as an African American. A brief glimpse into our darkest days and description of his life and about him will help elucidate the background, and his style of writing. Jordan stated African Americans journey and identity in the Americans started on the wrong no “Over a period of more than three centuries, in the slave ships of the Middle Passage and the plantations of the American South, peoples from many nations of what is now called West and Central Africa, brought together under conditions of extreme brutality, reinvented themselves as one people and they renamed themselves ‘African’, ‘Coloured People’ and ‘Negro’. Later, from end of the nineteenth century to the first few decades of the twentieth century, mostly in northern urban centres of the USA, the descendants of the slaves reinvented themselves again, this time as the ‘New Negro’”(848-891).

Langston Hughes’ poem “Mother To Son” is a twenty line poem that seems to be from the perspective of a prudent mother that is giving her son, and possibly the readers, some helpful and supportive advice, telling them that, no matter how many adversities they may face, they can not give up. I believe that this is the main theme of the poem, perseverance. “So, boy, don’t you turn back./ Don’t you set down on the steps./ ‘Cause you find it’s kinder hard./ Don’t you fall now-/ For I’se still goin’ honey,” (15-17). In these lines, the mother really drives the idea of diligence and perseverance to her son. Also, in these lines, it can also be seen just how much this mother cares for and loves her child. She advises him to emulate her in the sense that she hasn’t given up and he shouldn’t either, so that they may climb the battered staircase of life together. This causes the mood to be overall relatively jovial and hopeful.

This stanza allows the reader to reflect on how the negro sang their songs of sorrow while enduring being moved across sea to a new land in which they would be enslaved. Those songs of sorrow spanned from the beginning of slavery to the civil rights era and often spoke on injustice. Even though there was turmoil and pain at the time there was also hope given through ragtime music. It shows that even through suffering people are also able to give hope and continue thru their journey.

In his poem, the Negro, Langston Hughes discuss what it’s like to be a negro from the very beginning of slavery to his current situation now. This poem is written during 1922 were the African American is fighting the injustice of prejudice and discrimination and fighting towards civil rights and equality something still going on presently in America. Langston Hughes was an African American poet, social activist, novelist and one of the earliest innovators of the then new literary art form called Jazz poet. “Langston Hughes” n.d. During the time this poem was written Langton Hughes was staying in Harlem and was at the center of the African American community and was one of the voices that community looked to for hope during civil oppression. In the poem, the negro the theme takes us from how the negro is treated in the world to how the Negro is treated in America. In his poem, The Negro Langston Hughes states:

Langston Hughes was one of the most influential american poets of his century. His main purpose writing poetry and novels was to promote social and economic equalities for African-Americans during that time period. James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1st, 1902 in Joplin Missouri. As he got older, he moved to New York City to attend Columbia University to study engineering. Langston ended up dropping out of the program and decided to pursue his passion for writing. He traveled to many different places including Africa, Venice, Paris, and Genoa working as a seaman. After Langston’s countless number of odd jobs and many different adventures, he settled down temporarily in Washington D.C at the young age of 22 and published his first

The poem “Oppression” by Langston Hughes was arguably written in the year 1921. In the first stanza, Hughes identifies oppression is a force that disrupts lives. Then in the second, reflects Hughes beliefs of how those dealing with oppression will soon rise above it and gain the equality they deserve. In this reflection I will be discussing ideology, implied author, and mental images of this poem.

Langston Hughes is arguably one of the best known American writers of the twentieth century. He played an important influential part in the Harlem Renaissance, his poetry and other literary works helped pave way to a new wave of African American culture and literature. Hughes had a wide variety of works, he was much more than just a poet; he was a short-story writer, novelist, and playwright (Brucker). He was also very involved in the Black Arts Movement, and had works published in “The Crisis” the official journal of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People the (NAACP). Till his death Hughes continued to be an advocate against racial.injustice through his many works that focused around and celebrated the lives of

struggle of the Afro Americans. It is a dream which has not come true and will

Many poets are well recognized for their poems and live that they lived but, one poet is not all that well known. This poet had a rough live living in persecution just because of his skin color. The famous but forgotten Langston Hughes had an exciting career and very intense writings during the severe segregation era which he had lived in