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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page essay that compares and contrasts 2 poems by Langston Hughes, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" and "Song for a Dark Girl." The writer argues that while symbolism and theme are different in the two works, the perspective is the same. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KL9_kh2hughes.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
legal codes. During the first half of the twentieth century, which is when these poems were written, African Americans were trivialized and marginalized, with violence towards them accepted as a
natural part of white culture. While these two poems both derive from the cultural context of this era, they are very different in regards to symbolism and their use of
theme, while sharing the same point of view. Examination of these poems illustrates these points. In "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," the symbolism of the poem is designed specifically
to refute the prevailing cultural stereotype of that era in regards to how Negroes were perceived. White culture portrayed African Americans as being child-like and simplistic. The opening lines of
the poem present Hughes as a spokesperson for a ancient and noble line of humanity, "Ive known rivers:/Ive known rivers ancient as the world and older than the/flow of human
blood in human veins" (lines 1-3). The repetition of the word "human" in line 3 underscores the poets claims to shared humanity. Furthermore, the imagery of blood flowing through "human
veins" emphasizes the symbolism of a river as connecting the common history of the human race. The next stanza consists of a single line of verse, which reads, "My soul
has grown deep like rivers" (line 4). Setting the line off by itself emphasizes its significance, as it ties the narrator directly to the image of rivers, conveying the symbolic
meaning that the African heritage is particularly rich and spiritually sustaining. As this indicates, the symbolism of rivers connects African heritage to American experience, indicating the interrelated nature of all
of human history to the present moment. The symbolism in "Song for a Dark Girl" is totally different, as this poem tells relates an incidence of white supremacist vigilante
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