Langston Hughes Essay

The Harlem Renaissance took place in twenties to the mid 1930s, it happened in New York City and it was a cultural bloom. The literary and artistic movement spurred a new calamitous cultural identity. The reason wherefore it occurred was because afterward the civil war the former slaves each went and lived in the same argona, and that was the argona where commonwealth started creating their own art and literary to define who they were. During the Harlem Renaissance the black state had almost no rights in politics and in society with white people.Even though no deference were shown to the black people, heroes and inspirations flourished and all of them were extremely passionate with what they did. One of the most important figures of literary during the Harlem Renaissance was Langston Hughes,(Swisher 1) he was a poet and a story generator. Amongst many works, the two numbers Langston Hughes wrote called Democracy and My people received a kitty of love and respect from people. James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902- May 22, 1967) was an American poet and a storywriter. He was born in Joplin, Missouri.He started writing poetry when he started living with his m some different almost the age of 10 in Ohio. (Langston Hughes 1) His counterbalance poetry was The negro speaks of rivers which was published in The Crisis magazine. After dropping show up of Columbia in 1922 he traveled around Europe and published more poems. When he came abide to America, he met Vachel Lindsay a famous poet that helped promote Hughes poetry, which made him more known. Few years after that he non only wrote books and poems, but even plays and lyrics for a Broadway musical, he became the basic poet to make a living by writing. Langston Hughes 2) Hughes died from prostate cancer, but not all of him died, he became an inspiration to others and still stay a historical figure of the Harlem Renaissance.Democracy (1949) is a poem about Langston Hughess point of chance of politics. He had the same views as an average black person living in Harlem. In this poem Hughes stresses the point of freedom as one of the most essential factor a person needs. The briny conflict in this poem is that no freedom will come to them. Hughes wrote Democracy will not come, Today, this year nor ever This shows how black people were treated in order for hem to feel this impossible about their freedom. Hughes also displayed how desperate he was with his freedom, he said I have as oft right as the other fellow has to stand On my two feet and own the land. He compares himself to other white people that are free. When he says this he is not representing himself only, but every single African American. The caliber of this poem is hopeless. The poem is clear in its meaning and straightforward with the ideas, which allows people to hand over how it is without freedom. Hughes uses a metaphor that helps the poems tone to stand out more.He uses two metaphor, the first one is I cannot live on tomorrows bread. When he says this, he means he cannot live unsure and needs the introductory factor that all human organisms have, food is the most basic necessity us human beings need in order to survive, one will not be able to survive when they rely on food that will be given to them tomorrow. When he says granting immunity is a strong seed he emphasizes that one can only be free when everyone around them is not racist and supportive, and the idea that it will only flourish when the seed is strong enough for the outcome.The tone of seriousness and a few metaphors in addition constructs the poem perfectly. There are two unadorned foundations in this poem, which is freedom and racism. The clarity of this poem makes it obvious for readers to know his point. He compares himself with others to highlight the fact that he wants capable treatment in his own country, and even uses metaphors to show what freedom means to him. On the other hand, the theme of racism i s behind the poem, having knowledge about his biography readers can clearly understand wherefore Hughes felt this way. The plump for poem My people was written in 1923.My people is a very pithy poem that not only expresses his affection for his people but it also has a message of equality. He tries to help people understand that there are a lot of different qualities to black people. Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people (Hughes 1923) By saying this Hughes is describing that his people are not cold, but are also substantial like the sun. He also tells the readers that Beautiful can be used to describe a lot of things. In every stanza he has the word Beautiful and they each have a different meaning, for role model The night is beautiful can be describing that black is beautiful, which relates to his people being beautiful, or when he says the Stars are beautiful he means that white is beautiful. The tone of this poem is pride, Langston Hughes being one of the first writer for using his situation (not having rights in anything) as an inspiration. ( Butler 1) His inspiration then guided him to write a poem about his people with pride. He describes them with the natures elements and always has a My before people.The mental imagery that is shown to the readers also helps shine the tone, everything being beautiful and so positive, we can tell that Langston Hughes was definitely a idealistic person who wasnt ashamed of where he came from. Speaking positively about his people he conveys a lucid tone throughout this poem. The theme of this poetry is equality. It is obvious when a reader finishes reading the second stanza. Hughes uses metaphor in this poem to show the theme, the first stanza of this poem, he compares the night to the faces of my people, this portrays his thoughts about being black, it is beautiful to Hughes.In the second stanza Hughes compares his people to the stars, this is the controversial stanza because stars are white but in the first stanza he mentioned that black is beautiful too. This just portrays perfectly that color or race didnt matter, everyone was equal and individuals had bits of each other in themselves. The last stanza when he compares the sun to the souls of his people, he depicts how warm and bright his people are, not dark and evil. More over, if the author did not use any metaphors and was straight forward, it would depict the theme as well as it would have had.This is a beautiful poem that doesnt question anyone why Langston Hughes was so widely loved. In conclusion, one of the most prominent figures in literacy during the Harlem Renaissance was Langston Hughes, he was a great writer that wrote about various ideas and had a very unique way of thinking. (Butler 1) He is authentically an inspiration not only to black people but to everyone, he teaches us that we can convince whatever we have in our mind to assemble a beautiful poetry about his people, or a hopeless poetry about his situation. Hu ghes still remains a legend in the literacy foundation and will never be forgotten.