The Speaker Of The River By Langston Hughes
The speaker of the poem is by the author Langston Hughes himself. This is a lyric poem because it expresses Langston’s emotions towards the river. By identifying the speaker, it allows the reader to understand that the speaker is using the river as a metaphor for representing life.
In this poem, the speaker and the author are the same.
The subject of the poem is the slavery, and the emotions the speaker expressed is happiness and love because of civilization.
In the poem, the poet used imagery as a technical means when he used words like muddy, golden, and dusty because it provided a visual image for the readers. In addition, beginning in line 2 when it says, “I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in
human veins.” Here, the poet is using a simile to compare the river existence to the Earth’s. One can identify an allusion when Langston is referring to the bathing with the Euphrates when the dawns were young. By the speaker saying that he was bathing with the Euphrates, he would be millions of years old. This statement is beginning to express slave’s civilization. In line two and three, a metaphor is identified when the poet said, “I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.” In this quote, the author is saying that the river is like human blood as it flows. The poet is saying that the river is like his soul, it is a figure of speech.
A simile in the poem can be seen in line 4 when the speaker notes, “My soul has grown deep like the rivers.” One can identify the use of a simile when the poet used the river and his soul to draw a comparison and provide imagery.
The diction of this poem is simple; it is easy for the reader to understand. The syntax allows readers to understand the insight of African Americans experiences in slavery.
I think the poet wrote this poem in order recognize his experience during slavery days. Throughout this poem, the speaker is joyful, which allows his readers to conclude that he is expressing his emotions as slavery is ending. He compares the river to his soul in order to represent him being in a bad situation; however, the experience has helped him see life in a new way.
The language of the poem tells the reader that the poem was written in for any general reader. Langston was writing about the existence of slavery in the African American community as they experienced inequality, injustice, and discrimination.
In this poem, the speaker and the author are the same.
The subject of the poem is the slavery, and the emotions the speaker expressed is happiness and love because of civilization.
In the poem, the poet used imagery as a technical means when he used words like muddy, golden, and dusty because it provided a visual image for the readers. In addition, beginning in line 2 when it says, “I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in
human veins.” Here, the poet is using a simile to compare the river existence to the Earth’s. One can identify an allusion when Langston is referring to the bathing with the Euphrates when the dawns were young. By the speaker saying that he was bathing with the Euphrates, he would be millions of years old. This statement is beginning to express slave’s civilization. In line two and three, a metaphor is identified when the poet said, “I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.” In this quote, the author is saying that the river is like human blood as it flows. The poet is saying that the river is like his soul, it is a figure of speech.
A simile in the poem can be seen in line 4 when the speaker notes, “My soul has grown deep like the rivers.” One can identify the use of a simile when the poet used the river and his soul to draw a comparison and provide imagery.
The diction of this poem is simple; it is easy for the reader to understand. The syntax allows readers to understand the insight of African Americans experiences in slavery.
I think the poet wrote this poem in order recognize his experience during slavery days. Throughout this poem, the speaker is joyful, which allows his readers to conclude that he is expressing his emotions as slavery is ending. He compares the river to his soul in order to represent him being in a bad situation; however, the experience has helped him see life in a new way.
The language of the poem tells the reader that the poem was written in for any general reader. Langston was writing about the existence of slavery in the African American community as they experienced inequality, injustice, and discrimination.