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The poem was written by Hughes on the back of a letter to his father while on a train crossing the Mississippi River.
It was dedicated to W.E.B Du Bois,
a scholar and civil rights activist.
It was published in CRISIS (magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)
Written in First Person Singular form
and has no rhyme scheme.
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.
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.
I've Known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
Speaker: Langston Hughes OR African Americans as a whole.
Occasion: Train on the way to live with his father.
Audience: Us OR Civil Rights Activists
Purpose: Show heritage/culture of Africans in a time of racism.
Subject: African American Rights, Civil Rights
Tone: Serious, deep
1. Just from reading this, how old does the author seem to you?
2. who do you think the author means when he uses "I"?
3. How come he compares the flow of blood in veins to the rivers?
4. why might the 4th sentence in the middle stanza be the same format but so much longer than the other sentences in the stanza?
5. "My soul has grown deep like the rivers" is repeated. What might be a synonym for "soul" in this context?
6. Do you think seeing the rivers reminded him of home? Why?
7. Do you think his parent's divorce and his constant moving had anything to do with his thoughts and passion about civil rights?
8. Do you think the speaker of this poem is Hughes or African Americans as a whole?
9. Why do you think CRISIS would choose to publish this poem?
10. What does he mean in the second line? Why is it significant?
Langston Hughes was a poet who lived during the time of racism and slavery. His poems showed his respect for negroes and his feelings against prejudice.
Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 and
died on May 22, 1967.
Hughes was born in Joplin, Mississippi.
He lived in Cuba, Mexico, Kansas, Illinois, and finally
Cleveland, Ohio.