I could only understand the meaning of the title of the poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" after I gave my first opinion about it to my English professor. The poem has a simple, yet carefully chosen use of language, but the intricate ideas and the message the poem sends to the readers surprised me.

My first impression about the title - and the poem itself - was that the author wrote about the memoirs of a captured slave. The surprising factor was that Hughes wrote about different Negro societies and their presence in history.

When Hughes wrote the second line of his poem "I've known rivers as ancient as the world...," he wanted to show the readers that the different Negro societies were present since the first days of the early civilizations. The word "river" was used to symbolize the paths of each society and their geographical locations in the world. Pay attention when Hughes mentioned the Euphrates, the Congo, the Nile, and the Mississippi. The names represent the different times in history and the geographical location of each society mentioned in the poem.

4. Who is the speaker? What role does the speaker have in the poem?

3. What makes the poem interesting to read?

6. What is distinctive about the poet's use of language? Which words especially contribute to the poem's effect?

This story captured the different moments in history lived by each society. The first societies described their freedom and innocence when they said, "I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young." Then, a new society described its moments of glory when it ruled the world; "I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it." The new generation, however, didn't tell a beautiful story as the others did. But the outcome was one of hope, "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."

"Bosom" was chosen to symbolize the hearts of the slaves, and "...turn all golden in the sunset" was the new feeling of freedom as well as the new life the Negro would have from that moment on.

The poem has given me a new perspective towards the Negro and its culture, as well as the difficulties that they have endured for centuries. The author's intention was to create the same reaction in the readers. He wanted the readers to understand the circumstances that led to the fall of the ancient societies who ruled the world at one point, and visualize the new perspective born with the

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Approximate Word count = 944
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)