“Politics can be the graveyard of the poet. And only poetry can be his resurrection.”
The often-crowned laureate of Harlem, Langston Hughes through his literary works faithfully recorded the authenticity and nuances of the African American experience. The opening line draws attention to Hughes internal struggle that had followed throughout his artistic career, as he was attempting to seek out whether art could be free of any involvement of political propaganda and to be left as pure poetry, during this cultural explosion termed as the Harlem Renaissance. Literature in the form of poetry can be used as a powerful tool in the exploration of the historical past as it captures the essence of a phenomenon by revealing an insight into the thoughts …show more content…
In his time, Hughes was often criticized by his contemporaries, although his legacy remains fairly embedded within the African American community due to his ever-strengthening commitment in portraying the realities of African American lives and their frustrations. The two poems written by Hughes, being The Weary Blues 1926, and Montage of a Dream Differed 1951, will be used simultaneously to examine the clashing portrayals of Harlem, whether it was a cultural hub in this Renaissance period or merely a ramshackle ghetto that was oblivious during this era of exuberance. Ultimately, this leads one to question the roles of the Harlem Renaissance artists; as either being social protestors whose goal was to intertwin with mainstream culture, or the path that Hughes was travelling …show more content…
However, there existed challengers in the depiction of the African American experience as the black writers had to overcome what Hughes had deemed as a figurative “Mountain”, and called upon Afro Americans to establish their own cultural framework. These artists merely wanted to be recognised for their talents without the racial card hanging around their necks. Hughes wanted to embrace both the beauty and rigour of the black community, regardless of whether it had appeased the white society or not. Furthermore, the tensions surrounding Hughes was inlaid in the purpose of his work, grappling whether poetry should function as art or as a political tool. In 1926, Dubious voiced his concerns that the Renaissance writers have neglected the opportunity to use their platform for striving to gain racial equality, asserting that since all forms of art have a message to portray, the writers should at least be conscious of their works and its political intent. Alternatively, Hughes had the belief that pure art was devoid of any connection to propaganda and could still have merit regardless of the subject matter and its creator. Therefore, Hughes championed the notion that creative individualism would function as the guiding principles of the emerging Afro American
The often-crowned laureate of Harlem, Langston Hughes through his literary works faithfully recorded the authenticity and nuances of the African American experience. The opening line draws attention to Hughes internal struggle that had followed throughout his artistic career, as he was attempting to seek out whether art could be free of any involvement of political propaganda and to be left as pure poetry, during this cultural explosion termed as the Harlem Renaissance. Literature in the form of poetry can be used as a powerful tool in the exploration of the historical past as it captures the essence of a phenomenon by revealing an insight into the thoughts …show more content…
In his time, Hughes was often criticized by his contemporaries, although his legacy remains fairly embedded within the African American community due to his ever-strengthening commitment in portraying the realities of African American lives and their frustrations. The two poems written by Hughes, being The Weary Blues 1926, and Montage of a Dream Differed 1951, will be used simultaneously to examine the clashing portrayals of Harlem, whether it was a cultural hub in this Renaissance period or merely a ramshackle ghetto that was oblivious during this era of exuberance. Ultimately, this leads one to question the roles of the Harlem Renaissance artists; as either being social protestors whose goal was to intertwin with mainstream culture, or the path that Hughes was travelling …show more content…
However, there existed challengers in the depiction of the African American experience as the black writers had to overcome what Hughes had deemed as a figurative “Mountain”, and called upon Afro Americans to establish their own cultural framework. These artists merely wanted to be recognised for their talents without the racial card hanging around their necks. Hughes wanted to embrace both the beauty and rigour of the black community, regardless of whether it had appeased the white society or not. Furthermore, the tensions surrounding Hughes was inlaid in the purpose of his work, grappling whether poetry should function as art or as a political tool. In 1926, Dubious voiced his concerns that the Renaissance writers have neglected the opportunity to use their platform for striving to gain racial equality, asserting that since all forms of art have a message to portray, the writers should at least be conscious of their works and its political intent. Alternatively, Hughes had the belief that pure art was devoid of any connection to propaganda and could still have merit regardless of the subject matter and its creator. Therefore, Hughes championed the notion that creative individualism would function as the guiding principles of the emerging Afro American