An Analysis of Langston Hughes's Poetry
Stephanie Torres
Touro College
Bibliography websites 1) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes Wikipedia
2) www.slideshare.net/yuntfuschia/democracy-poem-14526256
3) www.slideshare.net/KathrynManuel/i-too-and-langston-hughes-life
4) www.poets.org/poetsorg/.../langston-hughes
Stephanie Torres
Poet, novelist and playwright, Langston Hughes was the leading voice of Harlem Renaissance. He was born in Joplin, Missouri on February. 1st, 1902 and died on May. 22, 1967 of Cancer. In many ways he used his talents to spoke to, for and about black people in America, and captured everyday life of black people through his poems. Two of Mr. Hughes poems, “I, too” and “Democracy”, one expresses feelings from an African American man’s point of view at a time when they weren’t allowed to have a voice to have a point of view. The other poem basically saying they would never see democracy with the huge cloud of injustice that rises.
In Hughes' poem "I, Too," the speaker is not an individual as the word "I" implies. In fact, the "I" represents the African-Americans as a whole living in the United States. Hughes also writes "I am the darker brother" instead of "we are the darker brothers" is no accident. The use of the word "I" as to not using "we" are words of a lonely individual, who doesn’t see a winning chance. The speaker says "They send me to eat in the kitchen," enforcing they are the enemies. As used in this poem, the first-person voice highlights the weakness of the African-American people. However, this is not the only way that Hughes uses "I" in his poetry.
The speaker claims that he, too, sings America. He is the “darker brother” who is sent to eat in the kitchen when there are guests visiting. However, he does laugh and he eats well and grows bigger and stronger. Tomorrow, he will sit at the table when the guests come, and no one will dare to tell him to eat in the kitchen. They will see his beauty and be ashamed, for, as he claims, “I, too, am
Touro College
Bibliography websites 1) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes Wikipedia
2) www.slideshare.net/yuntfuschia/democracy-poem-14526256
3) www.slideshare.net/KathrynManuel/i-too-and-langston-hughes-life
4) www.poets.org/poetsorg/.../langston-hughes
Stephanie Torres
Poet, novelist and playwright, Langston Hughes was the leading voice of Harlem Renaissance. He was born in Joplin, Missouri on February. 1st, 1902 and died on May. 22, 1967 of Cancer. In many ways he used his talents to spoke to, for and about black people in America, and captured everyday life of black people through his poems. Two of Mr. Hughes poems, “I, too” and “Democracy”, one expresses feelings from an African American man’s point of view at a time when they weren’t allowed to have a voice to have a point of view. The other poem basically saying they would never see democracy with the huge cloud of injustice that rises.
In Hughes' poem "I, Too," the speaker is not an individual as the word "I" implies. In fact, the "I" represents the African-Americans as a whole living in the United States. Hughes also writes "I am the darker brother" instead of "we are the darker brothers" is no accident. The use of the word "I" as to not using "we" are words of a lonely individual, who doesn’t see a winning chance. The speaker says "They send me to eat in the kitchen," enforcing they are the enemies. As used in this poem, the first-person voice highlights the weakness of the African-American people. However, this is not the only way that Hughes uses "I" in his poetry.
The speaker claims that he, too, sings America. He is the “darker brother” who is sent to eat in the kitchen when there are guests visiting. However, he does laugh and he eats well and grows bigger and stronger. Tomorrow, he will sit at the table when the guests come, and no one will dare to tell him to eat in the kitchen. They will see his beauty and be ashamed, for, as he claims, “I, too, am