Poetry plays a role in politics that is often overlooked by the personalities patrolling today’s political battlefield. In prior eras, poetry took a more obvious and up-front role in politics. Poetry influenced some of the most powerful movements throughout American history— perhaps most clearly seen during the Civil Rights movement. Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes became a role model for Martin Luther King that grew from their similar background and heritage. King’s writing process for “I have a Dream,” looked to Hughes poetry for inspiration. Additionally, King made frequent allusion to Hughes’ poetry within his sermons. King viewed Hughes as a role model. Hughes influenced King’s discussion of an equal society, featured in “Dream Variation.”
Langston Hughes and Martin Luther King grew up in somewhat similar environments. Both, as African American men, had to deal with the everyday and very evident racism of an unequal …show more content…
King’s ‘I have a Dream’ speech, was directly Langston Hughes and his poem Dream Variation directly influence King’s ‘I have a Dream’ speech. Upon first glance, the poem’s title, plays on the themes of African American Dreams. Structurally the poem is seventeen lines and divided into two stanzas. Stanza one and two mirror each and compare day and night as a metaphor for race: white and black. The first four lines use imagery of the day and verbs to discuss the white workday in which the white man rules. Line four, “Till the White day is done,” ends the day with a literal period as a brief reflection of the day where the white man rules(Hughes 4). The next lines transition the scene of the poem to evening. Stanza two discusses the night, “Black like me,” and how it is a world where African Americans rule. The poem uses the imagery to express how the two worlds are different, but need each other to balance. It is an overall social commentary on
Langston Hughes and Martin Luther King grew up in somewhat similar environments. Both, as African American men, had to deal with the everyday and very evident racism of an unequal …show more content…
King’s ‘I have a Dream’ speech, was directly Langston Hughes and his poem Dream Variation directly influence King’s ‘I have a Dream’ speech. Upon first glance, the poem’s title, plays on the themes of African American Dreams. Structurally the poem is seventeen lines and divided into two stanzas. Stanza one and two mirror each and compare day and night as a metaphor for race: white and black. The first four lines use imagery of the day and verbs to discuss the white workday in which the white man rules. Line four, “Till the White day is done,” ends the day with a literal period as a brief reflection of the day where the white man rules(Hughes 4). The next lines transition the scene of the poem to evening. Stanza two discusses the night, “Black like me,” and how it is a world where African Americans rule. The poem uses the imagery to express how the two worlds are different, but need each other to balance. It is an overall social commentary on