Langston Hughes The Negro Speaks Of Rivers

To me, Langston Hughes is a fearless poet, who is not afraid to speak his mind. Growing up during a time where racial discrimination was prevalent, Hughes, who was a victim of racial injustice, clearly has strong feelings about this topic. This strong emotion is throughly convey throughout most of his poem. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” is one of those poems, but what makes it stand out is the amount of angry and passion the poet convey throughout this poem.

One thing that is quite interesting about this poem is the persona the poet choose. Instead of using himself as the speaker, the poet uses the whole African American community as a whole to voice his message, making this poem all more powerful. This message of peservance is evident throughout …show more content…
The poet use a literary device called anaphora to highlight the importance of his speech. With the phrase “I bathed,” “I built,” “I looked,” etc being repeated on each line, the speaker was able to give power into those lines by enacting a feeling of being preached (Dickinson). Each phrase hits you hard and by doing so, the poet successfully highlights the importance of each line. First, he mention the Euphrates river, which is though to be beginning of civilization. Next, he mention the Congo river where many great African kingdoms has flourished. Then he referenced the Nile river, where the great pyramid were made. Lastly he referenced the Mississippi river, which he links to American slavery and Abraham Lincoln. By doing this, the poet ultimately traces important locations for African and African American history. Despite these rivers being in separate locations, they are all alike in which they give support and life to their surroundings. This in a way highlights the richness and importance of the African culture. There is nothing to be ashamed of being black, because like everyone else, they help to contribute the foundation of early parts of