Overview
This lecture explores the poetry of Langston Hughes, highlighting his role in the Harlem Renaissance and his innovative use of African American cultural forms to express personal and collective experience.
The Harlem Renaissance
- The Harlem Renaissance was an early 20th-century movement celebrating Black artistic, social, and political expression in America.
- It included contributions from literature, music, drama, dance, and more, centered in Harlem, New York.
- The movement explored the complexities of being Black and American, often blending high and low cultural influences.
Langston Hughes: Life and Influences
- Langston Hughes was born in 1902 in Missouri to mixed-race parents and grew up in Kansas.
- He began writing poetry in high school and was influenced by the everyday language of poets like Paul Laurence Dunbar and Walt Whitman.
- Hughes rejected classical European poetic forms in favor of styles inspired by African and African American oral traditions.
Themes in Hughes' Work
- Hughes sought to authentically represent Black experiences and warned against assimilating into white cultural standards.
- He was criticized both for being "too Black" and for not fully exploring Black experience, showing the complexity of his position.
Analysis of Selected Poems
- "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" connects Hughes to his African heritage, using rivers as symbols of depth and historical continuity.
- The poem's repetition and active verbs emphasize agency and resilience amid oppression.
- Negative adjectives describing darkness and brownness are recast as positive, valuable traits.
- "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred") questions the consequences of delayed dreams, using vivid, negative imagery and shifting rhythms.
- The poem warns of potential social unrest if equality and the American Dream remain inaccessible to Black Americans.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Harlem Renaissance — A cultural movement in 1920s/30s Harlem celebrating Black art, music, and literature.
- Double Consciousness — W.E.B. Dubois's term describing the internal conflict experienced by subordinated groups in an oppressive society.
- Lyric Poetry — Poetry focused on expressing the poet’s emotions or thoughts.
- Deferred Dream — A hope or aspiration that is postponed or unfulfilled, central to Hughes' poem "Harlem".
Action Items / Next Steps
- Read additional Hughes poems: "Dream Boogie", "I, Too", "Dream Variations", "Theme for English B".
- Review W.E.B. Dubois's concept of double consciousness.
- Consider how Hughes blends oral tradition with literary form in his poetry.