Langston Hughes Let Usa Be America Again Literary Devices

Makayla Long Professor Van Epps ENGL 1102 13 February 2023 How Poetry affected America during the Harlem Renaissance Langston Hughes wrote the poem “Let America Be America Again” (1935) during the Harlem Renaissance period. Hughes used this poem to reveal his feelings towards the inequality in America. He used literary devices such as metaphors and repetition to show more about his theme of freedom and equality. Using these metaphors and repetition, Hughes gets his theme and feelings across in a very descriptive way.

Walt Whitman, in “I Hear America Singing,” describes America as a place with diverse opportunities and freedoms; in Langston Hughes’s poem “I, Too” he describes how America is divided; however, he is hopeful for a better America. In “I Hear America Singing”, Whitman describes America as harmonious, beautiful, and full of hardworking people. America

When an individual supports their values and beliefs, they understand the results of standing behind them. This, however, is not the case for the citizens of the United States. Many Americans say that they are fully behind certain causes, but when they see their beliefs turn to reality, they are often surprised and shocked at the consequences because they initially never understood them. It is understood that we as citizens stand up for a country that honors truth, liberty, freedom and justice. But what if we are persuaded to think how they would like us to?

and he’s want America be again. This poem is expression of the human soul and very emotional, moving poem. So, this poem is grab my attention the most. He wrote this poem in 1936’s.

The Harlem Renaissance was a period in American history, which occurred in the 1920s in Harlem, New York. The cultural movement was an opportunity for African Americans to celebrate their heritage through intellectual and artistic works. Langston Hughes, a famous poet, was a product of the Harlem Renaissance. One notable piece of literature by Hughes is “Dream Deferred”. However, the discussion of African American culture isn’t limited to the 1920s.

African American poet, Langston Hughes (1902-1967), born in Joplin, Missouri, was a passionate writer and thinker that used jazz and black folk rhythms of the Harlem Renaissance that helped shape American literature and politics. The Harlem Renaissance that traversed from the 1920s to 1930s, was a name given to the cultural, social, artistic, literary and intellectual movement sought to celebrate black life and culture, as well as “reconceptualise ‘the negro’ apart from the white stereotype.” Skilfully conveyed through the utilization of numerous poetic devices, mainly through the device of imagery, Hughes died of prostate cancer at 65 in 1967 but his legacy lives to today from his work of celebrating the lives of black people and the words that spoke out against their struggles. The power of poems such as Harlem (dream deferred), mother to son and Let America be America again keep relevance and interest to audience of the current age as they inspire and teach the story through the themes of struggle of the African American race that is still a resistance in this generation through movements such as black lives matter and the continuous themes of many African American singers/rappers but with the legacy

The purpose of Whitman’s poem is to celebrate workers and success. This poem also has a patriotic tone because of the author’s love to the country. “Let America be America Again” has a rhyming style. Hughes’ poem was created in the mid 1900s during the time of the civil rights movement. He writes about how he is feeling left out of the American Dream.

Langston Hughes was first recognized as an important literary figure during the 1920s, a period known as the "Harlem Renaissance", because of the number of black writers that was coming up. Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form called jazz poetry. Hughes was best known for describing the black life from the 20s to the 50s, in novels, short-stories, plays, and poems. He was also known for the influence jazz had on all of his creative writings.

He says, “Who said the free? Not me?/Surely not me?” He talks in first person to show how black people were not free and there was a problem with the equality of the US. Even though this poem is relatively old, it still can relate to the US today. Although striving for overall equality is impossible, we should treat everyone with respect, no matter their backgrounds.

The tone of Langston Hughes’ poem “I, Too, Sing America” is determined and talks about how “tomorrow” he will do what he pleases instead of doing what his master

In the poem “I, Too”, the author Langston Hughes illustrates the key aspect of racial discrimination faces against the African Americans to further appeals the people to challenge white supremacy. He conveys the idea that black Americans are as important in the society. Frist, Hughes utilizes the shift of tones to indicate the thrive of African American power. In the first stanza, the speaker shows the sense of nation pride through the use of patriotic tone. The first line of the poem, “I, too, sing America” states the speaker’s state of mind.

The culture of most blacks was unwanted during this time. For this reason Hughes desired to make a change and illustrate such cultural identities in his poems. In doing this he caused a shift in ideas among all people. Although the change didn’t happen immediately it did eventually occur. With that said the African American people were given less of an opportunity at jobs, schooling, and most importantly culture.

The character of my collection of Langston Hughes poems is the ubiquitous exploration of dreams and their importance. Hughes’ covet for equality evident in ‘Let America Be America Again’ and his attempt to enlighten further emphasises his idyllic dream for America. Disillusionment is the discovery that something is not as good as it was believed to be, In ‘Let America Be America Again’ we get a feeling of this in the title.”again” implies Hughes wants America to return to something it once was, therefore insinuating America is not what it once was. ”Let it be the dream the dreamers dreamed” is an obvious allusion to the American Dream which inspired optimistic African-Americans to migrate from south to northern states in the 20th Century. However Hughes states “America was never America to me” he goes from speaking in general to being definitively specific (‘me’) elucidating the impression that the dream was glamorized like many African-Americans deemed it to be as they were not progressing and were repressed.

Langston Hughes was an American poem born in the early nineteen hundreds, who became known as the leader of the Harlem Renaissance. He published many poems that brought light to the life of people of color in the twentieth century. There are three poems that the speakers are used to portray three major themes of each poem. Racism, the American Dream, and Hopes are all the major themes that Hughes uses to highlight the average life of a person of color. Theme for English B,” “Harlem,” and “Let America Be America Again” were three of Hughes’s poems that was selected to underline the themes.

Langston Hughes was a poet well known for his Harlem Renaissance poetry. "I, Too" by Langston Hughes is a wonderful example of a piece of poetry from this time period. Hughes speaks of a Negro who is not equal to the whites of the household, and when company comes calling, he is not allowed to sit at the table as their equal but instead has to eat in the kitchen. The powerful tone of the poem shows how much the narrator dislikes this form of discrimination, but is not going to throw too big of a fuss. Instead, he patiently waits for the day when he, too, can sit at the table with whites when company comes calling.