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Transcript

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

By: Langston H ghes

Sarah Orth

Ruth Morgan

  • 1902-1967
  • African American
  • Wrote "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" while on a train just after graduating high school
  • Contributed significantly to the Harlem Renaissance- cultural African American movement which began in Harlem, New York
  • "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" was one of his first poems, written at the age of 17 in 1920
  • Was inspired by the Mississippi River as his train crossed it as well as Carl Sandberg and Walt Whitman
  • Was published in "The Crisis" an African-American based magazine

I've known rivers:

I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the

flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

  • Rhetorical Devices used:
  • Repitition: "I've known rivers..."- The author's use of repeating the phrase draws immediate attention to the rivers, which are the main symbol of the poem. It also tells the reader how well the author knows the rivers and gives the effect that the author is old and wise.
  • Diction: "older" and "ancient"- Emphasizes African American heritage which will later be more referred to in the poem.
  • Symbolism: the river and blood-The river symbolizes human blood. The rivers are ancient, as are humans, which all have blood within them. During this period, blacks were still treated as less than human. The blood shows that blacks are just like everyone else regardless of skin color.
  • Allusion/Symbolism: the rivers, historic rivers- Hughes alludes to history through the four different rivers he named.
  • Represent important events in history and their locations, African people had played a major role in all
  • Illustrates ancestry of Africans and emphasizes historical equality
  • Euphrates: known as the "beginning of civilization"
  • highlights that African Americans are traced all the way from the beginning of society
  • African Americans are just as important as whites and there is "historical equality" between them
  • Congo: where many African kingdoms had been successful
  • proves that African Americans are worthy of equality due to their ability to hold societies together
  • Nile: river of Egypt where the pyramids, one of the 7 wonders of the world, are located.
  • People of African descent helped build the pyramids, emphasizing importance to civilization
  • Mississippi: in the South, where slavery was prevalent
  • Word choice: "Muddy" vs "golden"- The word "muddy" relates to darkness, which is a symbolism for the dark skin of African Americans and the dark times of enslavement of blacks. "Golden" is representative of the time when blacks were freed from slavery.

I've known rivers:

Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

  • Meter:"Free Verse"
  • has no rhyme or specific rhythm to it, random and detached.
  • adds to river effect, causes the poem to read smoothly in some parts and disconnected in others
  • Repetition/similar wording: "ancient" "dusky"
  • "My soul has grown deep like the rivers" 2x- over time rivers get deeper by weathering ground beneath it; The Negro's soul has become deep because African Americans throughout history have faced trial and hardship and continue to do so.
  • Throughout history, blacks have always stayed unified
  • Whites have been separated into upper, middle, and lower classes, but African Americans have almost always been below the lower class, as a whole
  • The river signifies freedom, hardship, and history that blacks have

Langston Hughes

Analysis:

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.

I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.

I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.

I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln

went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy

bosom turn all golden in the sunset

Analysis

Theme

Unity of African American Descendents

Sources

  • Shmoop Editorial Team. Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 07 June 2015.
  • "Langston Hughes: Poems "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" Summary and Analysis." Langston Hughes: Poems "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" Summary and Analysis. Gradesaver, n.d. Web. 07 June 2015.
  • "POETIC DEVICES IN." LAGOSBOOKSCLUBWORDPRESSCOM. N.p., 15 Oct. 2013. Web. 07 June 2015.
  • "The Negro Speaks of Rivers Themes - ENotes.com." Enotes.com. Enotes.com, n.d. Web. 08 June 2015.
  • "The Negro Speaks of Rivers: A Study Guide." The Negro Speaks of Rivers: A Study Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 June 2015.
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