Langston Hughes Poetry Analysis
"Art is the illusion in which we see the truth"- Pablo Picasso
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 spiritual faith and how society viewed the dichotomy of the American Dream culture in the United States. Langston Hughes' poem Life is Fine is a perfect example that demonstrates the notion of hardships that one may encounter in life. Within the poem, we have a speaker that is experiencing the loss of a lover. This loss alludes and questions the meaning of life and whether or not suicide or death is an option. In analyzing and interpreting the poem, the reader is exposed to the changes of emotional phases that the speaker is going through. At first we realize that suicide appears to be the only outlet in which everything makes sense to the speaker." I went down to the river, I set down on the bank. I tried to think but couldn't. So I jumped in and sank. I came up once and hollered! I came up twice and cried! If that water hadn't been so cold, I might've sunk and died"(Conarroe pg 241,1-8).
This passage conveys the willingness of failing and accepting death as the only escape from reality. It depicts the ultimate misery that he is currently experiencing, yet the element of reality sinks in, exposing the character to the nature of life. The mere that fact that the water was "cold" grasps the speaker and focuses him to realize the
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 spiritual faith and how society viewed the dichotomy of the American Dream culture in the United States. Langston Hughes' poem Life is Fine is a perfect example that demonstrates the notion of hardships that one may encounter in life. Within the poem, we have a speaker that is experiencing the loss of a lover. This loss alludes and questions the meaning of life and whether or not suicide or death is an option. In analyzing and interpreting the poem, the reader is exposed to the changes of emotional phases that the speaker is going through. At first we realize that suicide appears to be the only outlet in which everything makes sense to the speaker." I went down to the river, I set down on the bank. I tried to think but couldn't. So I jumped in and sank. I came up once and hollered! I came up twice and cried! If that water hadn't been so cold, I might've sunk and died"(Conarroe pg 241,1-8).
This passage conveys the willingness of failing and accepting death as the only escape from reality. It depicts the ultimate misery that he is currently experiencing, yet the element of reality sinks in, exposing the character to the nature of life. The mere that fact that the water was "cold" grasps the speaker and focuses him to realize the
Cited: Conarroe, Joel. Six American Poets: An anthology.