Poetry Paper 2

A detailed Summary of Poetry Paper 2

Langston Hughes' poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" presents an African-American man describing his personal experiences and the history of his race. In many of his works, Langston Hughes uses nature in several dimensions to demonstrate the powerful struggles and burdens of human life. The sweeping imagery, poignant metaphors, and precise powerful symbolism demonstrate the struggles the characters confront, and sometimes their eventual freedom from those struggles. The characters eventually learn to find freedom from the confines of society, and freedom within ones soul. The use of tone, symbolism and metaphors for this purpose brings the characters and speakers in Hughes works to life and the reader feels the life and freedom of those char

The repetition of lines helps set the tone of the poem, which is that of authority. It enables the reader to recognize the weight of authority of contemporary African-Americans. The imagery of the river also helps in creating the tone because the reader "[knows] rivers: ancient, dusky rivers." Rivers are usually calm and we can almost feel a sense of serenity. On the other hand, rivers can also be rough and murky, which can set a tone of being bitter and angry, in which African-Americans feel because of all the unjust treatment they have endured for so long.

African-Americans have a come long way since the days of slavery. By using "I" instead "we," the speaker puts history of his own race to his own personal experiences. "I" is much more intimate and allows

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 522
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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Poetry Paper 2

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