The Harlem Renaissance was a time in American history when African heritage was not being accepted by not only the white Americans but also by the African Americans. So, two men took matters into their own hands by bringing together Americans of all different races by writing poems that portrayed the horribles times African American were going through. Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen were the two men that fought for racial equality during the 1920s in Harlem, New York.
Langston Hughes wrote his poems with a focus more on rhythm rather than rhyme. He mainly focused on wanting African Americans to be accepted by the American culture. Hughes implemented experiences in his poems of the racial segregation African Americans endured during that …show more content…
He mostly focused on the African heritage. He wanted for African Americans to embrace who they were and where they came from. Cullen showed his idea of racial segregation in his poem “Incident.” “Incident” was written in the 1920s by, Countee Cullen, an African American poet. The poem begins with the speaker describing an experience he has as a child while riding through Baltimore. He starts by describing the way he was feeling on the bus. When then he saw a Baltimorean looking straight at him. The speaker then goes on to state that he was eight years old at the time and that the other boy was not any bigger. The speaker, trying to be kind, smiled at the other boy, but the speaker did not receive a smile in return. Instead, the boy called him a “Nigger.” After this occured, the whole tone of the poem changed. The tone went from happy and energetic to sad. The speaker finishes off the poem by stating that he saw all of Baltimore, but the only thing that stuck with him was that incident he had with the boy. This experience shaped the speaker’s view of the world in that not everyone one was there to be his friend. I feel as if this was the first time the speaker experienced some sort of racism since that was the only thing he took from his trip through Baltimore. This poem is still relevant because racism is prevalent in today’s society. Format wise the poem is a ballad with an abcb rhyme
Langston Hughes wrote his poems with a focus more on rhythm rather than rhyme. He mainly focused on wanting African Americans to be accepted by the American culture. Hughes implemented experiences in his poems of the racial segregation African Americans endured during that …show more content…
He mostly focused on the African heritage. He wanted for African Americans to embrace who they were and where they came from. Cullen showed his idea of racial segregation in his poem “Incident.” “Incident” was written in the 1920s by, Countee Cullen, an African American poet. The poem begins with the speaker describing an experience he has as a child while riding through Baltimore. He starts by describing the way he was feeling on the bus. When then he saw a Baltimorean looking straight at him. The speaker then goes on to state that he was eight years old at the time and that the other boy was not any bigger. The speaker, trying to be kind, smiled at the other boy, but the speaker did not receive a smile in return. Instead, the boy called him a “Nigger.” After this occured, the whole tone of the poem changed. The tone went from happy and energetic to sad. The speaker finishes off the poem by stating that he saw all of Baltimore, but the only thing that stuck with him was that incident he had with the boy. This experience shaped the speaker’s view of the world in that not everyone one was there to be his friend. I feel as if this was the first time the speaker experienced some sort of racism since that was the only thing he took from his trip through Baltimore. This poem is still relevant because racism is prevalent in today’s society. Format wise the poem is a ballad with an abcb rhyme