“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.” –Edgar Allan Poe. In Langston Hughes’ Literary Works, he reflects a true picture of the episodic events revolving around his life. The most famous poems that significantly changed the landscape of literary art during the "Harlem Renaissance.” Hughes’ critics claim that he reached the highest level of prominence because most of his works was a reflection of his life’s experiences, irrespective of whether they were good or bad (Gates and Anthony 358). In light of this, his devotion to the cause of social justice must have been inspired and influenced by the enormous experience he had acquired in life. This research aims at analyzing Langston Hughes’ three prominent poems “As I Grew Older,”
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The title of the poem itself is the national anthem of the United, and therefore it symbolizes unity throughout the nation. The first line of the poem brings out patriotic tone; “I, Too, Sing America” (line 1). However, in the poem the poet’s tone is dynamic changing from patriotic, anger and strength which signifies his enraged feelings of the outrageous acts off injustices. His strength is captured in the line, "But I laugh,/ and eat well,/ And grow strong." In the rest of the stanzas, the persona puts on the tone of caution and warning in which he warns that he “will become powerful and that no one will dare to harm him in the future.” His statement in the last line that “they 'll see how beautiful I am/ and be ashamed," is an indication that Hughes was irritated with the racial injustices that were inflicted on the blacks. The philosophies of the role of life are clearly visible in the works of this outstanding American poet. The decision to write about the culture and the difficult times of the black people was influenced by his vast experience when he stayed in Harlem and the role he played when he was a leader of the young Negro movement. Simply put, Hughes wanted to present the injustices of racial discrimination to the society and perhaps give hints on how to correct these problems some day in …show more content…
Furthermore, he writes that “Freedom is a strong seed” and argues that one becomes a free man once the people surrounding him are non-racists. According to the poem “Democracy,” Hughes implies that ending racial segregation needed the intervention of both the blacks and the whites by engaging the liberal ideals that were extant during the “Harlem Renaissance,” (Hughes and Santis 63). The metaphorical idea that the seed will flourish when it is strong enough for the outcome stresses on the significance of staying in solidarity with all the people involved in the liberation of the blacks from the chains of captivity. The core themes in the poem “Democracy” which clearly comes out are freedom and racism and the poet address them successfully using metaphors. In stanza three, Hughes tries to compare himself with the whites to demonstrate the desire and longing for equal treatment in his own country and the value of freedom to him and the rest of the African
The title of the poem itself is the national anthem of the United, and therefore it symbolizes unity throughout the nation. The first line of the poem brings out patriotic tone; “I, Too, Sing America” (line 1). However, in the poem the poet’s tone is dynamic changing from patriotic, anger and strength which signifies his enraged feelings of the outrageous acts off injustices. His strength is captured in the line, "But I laugh,/ and eat well,/ And grow strong." In the rest of the stanzas, the persona puts on the tone of caution and warning in which he warns that he “will become powerful and that no one will dare to harm him in the future.” His statement in the last line that “they 'll see how beautiful I am/ and be ashamed," is an indication that Hughes was irritated with the racial injustices that were inflicted on the blacks. The philosophies of the role of life are clearly visible in the works of this outstanding American poet. The decision to write about the culture and the difficult times of the black people was influenced by his vast experience when he stayed in Harlem and the role he played when he was a leader of the young Negro movement. Simply put, Hughes wanted to present the injustices of racial discrimination to the society and perhaps give hints on how to correct these problems some day in …show more content…
Furthermore, he writes that “Freedom is a strong seed” and argues that one becomes a free man once the people surrounding him are non-racists. According to the poem “Democracy,” Hughes implies that ending racial segregation needed the intervention of both the blacks and the whites by engaging the liberal ideals that were extant during the “Harlem Renaissance,” (Hughes and Santis 63). The metaphorical idea that the seed will flourish when it is strong enough for the outcome stresses on the significance of staying in solidarity with all the people involved in the liberation of the blacks from the chains of captivity. The core themes in the poem “Democracy” which clearly comes out are freedom and racism and the poet address them successfully using metaphors. In stanza three, Hughes tries to compare himself with the whites to demonstrate the desire and longing for equal treatment in his own country and the value of freedom to him and the rest of the African