English 11 / Unit 5: Modernism and the Harlem Renaissance
5.5 Langston Hughes
Notes
Langston Hughes (1901-1967) was a leading Harlem Renaissance poet who used the rhythms of blues and jazz and the speech of everyday Black Americans.
- "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" (1921) begins "I've known rivers." The speaker links Black history to ancient rivers (the Euphrates, the Congo, the Nile, the Mississippi), expressing deep pride and endurance.
- His poem "The Weary Blues" (1926) imitates a blues musician's song within a poem.
- Later, in his poem "Harlem" (1951), he asks what happens to a dream that is put off, and offers vivid comparisons (a dried raisin, a sore, a heavy load) ending with a warning that it might explode. This is a series of similes about unfulfilled hopes.
- Worked example: repeating "I've known rivers" is a refrain that gives the poem a calm, chant-like voice.
Practice
In "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," the rivers mainly symbolize:
The speaker's soul has "grown deep like the rivers," a symbol of history and strength.
Hughes's poem about a dream deferred uses mostly:
It is built from similes and images.
A poem repeats the line "I've known rivers" several times. The repeated line is a:
A refrain gives rhythm and emphasis, as in blues.
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