Influence of Harlem Renaissance on Langston Hughes
Harlem Renaissance, in other words, the cultural awakening of African American culture, remains as the most influential movements in African American literacy history. The movement took place between the 1920s and the 1940s, when there was a rapid growth in support for modernism and the civil rights movement. Therefore, the modernism movement, that encouraged people to break the norms and the civil rights movement, which tried to bring equality between races heavily influenced the Harlem Renaissance. New York was the main location where the movement took place. Even until today, Harlem remains the home of African American culture in the urban areas. The group that led the movement consisted mostly of African American writers, poets, singers, artists and dancers. Before the 1920s, the recognition given towards the Black writers’ and artists’ talents were very low. After this phenomenal movement, there was a boost in confidence among the Black artists and writers and it encouraged them to create and embrace the …show more content…
In both poems “I, Too, Sing, America (1945)” and “Harlem (1951)”, the two poems are very simple in style, layout and use of words. This is influenced by modernism where the poet consciously doesn’t follow the traditional styles of poetry. Langston Hughes aimed to write accessible, familiar language and it that he was influenced by poets like Paul Laurence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman, all of whom wrote in vernacular, everyday language in hopes that their work could appeal to a larger audience. This is what makes Hughes such an important poet. He brilliantly combines formal poetry with the oral tradition, and he refuses to draw a bright line between fine art and folk art. The readers can sense the brevity, free verse, short, but to the point work, which prevails the sense of
Harlem Renaissance, in other words, the cultural awakening of African American culture, remains as the most influential movements in African American literacy history. The movement took place between the 1920s and the 1940s, when there was a rapid growth in support for modernism and the civil rights movement. Therefore, the modernism movement, that encouraged people to break the norms and the civil rights movement, which tried to bring equality between races heavily influenced the Harlem Renaissance. New York was the main location where the movement took place. Even until today, Harlem remains the home of African American culture in the urban areas. The group that led the movement consisted mostly of African American writers, poets, singers, artists and dancers. Before the 1920s, the recognition given towards the Black writers’ and artists’ talents were very low. After this phenomenal movement, there was a boost in confidence among the Black artists and writers and it encouraged them to create and embrace the …show more content…
In both poems “I, Too, Sing, America (1945)” and “Harlem (1951)”, the two poems are very simple in style, layout and use of words. This is influenced by modernism where the poet consciously doesn’t follow the traditional styles of poetry. Langston Hughes aimed to write accessible, familiar language and it that he was influenced by poets like Paul Laurence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman, all of whom wrote in vernacular, everyday language in hopes that their work could appeal to a larger audience. This is what makes Hughes such an important poet. He brilliantly combines formal poetry with the oral tradition, and he refuses to draw a bright line between fine art and folk art. The readers can sense the brevity, free verse, short, but to the point work, which prevails the sense of