Apply Poetry

Faith McCullough
April 1, 2009
Period 11
AP English III- Ms. Brown

Comprehension: Hughes offers a list of famous rivers in his poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” These rivers are located all over the world. These rivers were possibly chosen because they represented the timeline of Hughes’ life. He feels they represent what makes up the kind of person he is. He can relate these rivers back to his home. The Congo river represents his African heritage, the Nile represents his perseverance to strive for the best and the Mississippi represents Hughes’ ancestors gaining their freedom. All of these representations show how the rivers make up Hughes’ life.

Comprehension: In “I, Too” by Langston Hughes, he speaks of a darker brother and by that he means that he is the brother to the white man but just darker. Hughes states that he eats in the kitchen to display to the reader that the white man feels he was not worthy enough to sit and eat at the dining table, so they kept the black man in the kitchen. He also states that he will eat in the kitchen tomorrow showing optimism and having hope for the future. He believes that his day for eating at the table is bound to come. The significance of the title “I, Too,” is to show that Langston Hughes is also an American citizen. He, too, should be able to eat at the white man’s dining table.

Context: The Harlem Renaissance goals were contradicted when Hughes wrote the poem “Mulatto” because the Harlem Renaissance was all about creative expression of the world around you. Not the bad experiences of the past.

Context: In “Note on Commercial Theatre” Hughes is talking about the white race stealing the musical styles and talents of the black race and not giving them credit for it. These same issues aren’t really relevant today because the U.S. developed stricter patent laws and someone could file a civil suit for their rightful property.

Exploration: I think Hughes writes so often about America rather than Africa because Hughes was the kind of poet to write about what he knows and what issues he can identify with while also making it known to the public.