Langston Hughes Poetry-Harlem
Langston Hughes is a renowned African American poet, with his most common works being the Harlem Renaissance. His influence on Native American ancestry influenced his writing skills. According to Hughes, his writing skills were affected mainly by the hardships he experienced during his childhood. When he was young, his parents divorced, forcing his father to move to Mexico. Although Hughes’s Dream of writing was supported mainly by his mother, his father was against his writing dream but instead wanted him to study. Born when black people were classified as second-class citizens, Hughes was determined to follow his writing dream about the dignity and history of Black people. In this paper, I will analyze Harlem, one of the most renowned poems by Hughes.
Harlem is one of the oldest Langton Hughes poems, also known as The Dream Differed. Hughes wrote the poem to shed light on the plight of African Americans post-World War 2. Being one of the African Americans, the author relates to the poem because he understood the plight of fellow African Americans. He was born and raised in a system that demeaned Africans, leading to widespread inequalities and injustices. Justice for Africans was a different dream, and African Americans only lived on expectations that their rights would be attained. Therefore, being an African American, Hughes relates to the poem Harlem because he had felt the pain of African Americans.
The poem employs poetic devices such as similes and metaphors to shed light on the consequences of a dream. The poem is short and consists of only fifty-one words. This makes the poem meaningful, with every word carrying meaningful information. This is because, at the time of the writing, African Americans experienced discrimination leading to the elimination of opportunities. For example, the poet uses terms such as, like or as to compare two black racism and how Whites were privileged. For example, when the author says, “Does it dry like a raisin in the sun?” (Hughes,1099). Additionally, imagery has been used to describe what happens to Blacks due to a dream differed.
The poem is about the pain and suffering African Americans experienced after World War 2. The basic meaning of Harlem is that when people are denied their rights, they cannot fulfill their dreams, which can be harmful. The author, therefore, urges the US Government to allow African American people to live free from discrimination and fulfill their dreams because failure to do so might lead to people acting against the authorities due to unhappiness. For example, at the poem’s beginning, the author states, “What happens to a dream differed, like a raisin in the sun” does it explode?” (Hughes, 1099). Therefore, this poem focuses on the frustrations of Blacks due to widespread racism and how this could lead to enmities between races.
Although the poet has employed few poetic devices in the poem, Hughes indicates hope to African Americans. However, he urges African Americans that to achieve their freedom and justice, they must embrace pain and suffering in their fight towards gaining civil liberties. Hughes emotionally appeals to readers, especially Blacks, urging them to wake up and fight against widespread discrimination. For example, Hughes used figurative language to convey the consequences of oppression on African Americans and their generations. As such, these devices emphasize the need for Africans to unite against a common enemy.
Living with people who are discriminated against is dangerous because their pain may explode and harm innocent citizens. The poem Harlem indicates oppression targeting Blacks after World War 2. They were subjected to discrimination because they were considered not citizens of America. He urges Africans to unite and fight against racial inequalities’ that made their lives unbearable. Hughes’s poem empowers Africans and lets them know that they are equally important people and that their voices must be heard.
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Question 
Langston Hughes Poetry Discussion Forum
Langston Hughes Poetry Discussion Forum
How to read a poem
-Discuss the author and how he or she relates to the poem
-Copy and paste the poem in your PowerPoint
-Describe how the Poem looks on the page
-Regularize (analyze it) the poem. What is not being said?
-Discuss the poem’s anomalies
Provide a Works Cited Slide
Now, you are to present one of the poems you selected in PowerPoint form. You can be creative, and I want you to keep your text concise and to your point (no less than 7 slides/no more than 10 slides). Address the five elements of how to read a poem in your presentation. To earn full points, you have to address the elements of how to read a poem, you have to keep your presentation to 10 slides, and your presentation needs to be submitted as an attachment.
Langston Hughes Poetry-Harlem
If you do not know how to create a PowerPoint, you can use the blank template below.
To earn 100%, you are to use imagery with short keywords per slide. Do not type paragraphs per slide. If you submit paragraphs, you will lose points.
Blank Powerpoint
Have fun!
If you do not have the book, you can google the poems. You will use one of the poems to complete the assignment.
At this point, you should know my expectations for this assignment. Be creative and keep it short and interesting.
Do not upload your assignment to your OneDrive or Google Drive. I cannot open it. You will have to save it to your desktop and then upload it.
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes Assignments:
Read these poems in your Norton Anthology: “Harlem” p. 1099; “The Weary Blues” p. 1097″ and “I, Too” p. 1099.
If you do not have the book, you can google the poems. You will use one of the poems to complete the assignment.
Look through this interesting information regarding the life and works of Langston Hughes!
View and listen to Langston Hughes’ reflection and reading of his poem, “I Too”.
View and listen to this unique rendition of the poem “The Weary Blues”.
Google and read the history of Harlem it should help you to better understand the literary work. (The poem is also referred to here, as “A Dream Deferred”.)
Google analysis of “I Too” and then this one on “The Weary Blues”.
Links to the poems are below:
“Harlem” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46548/harlem
“The Weary Blues” http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/176785
“I, Too” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47558/i-too