Langston Hughes

What is Bop? In “Bop” by Langston Hughes, the narrator describes Bop as Be-Bop, the opposite of Re-Bop. The general idea of Be-Bop is that it is current, makes sense, what the colored boys play and that it is authentic. This leads to Re-Bop having the definition of being white boys play, an imitation, and…

            We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks, Harlem by Langston Hughes, and The Secretary Chant by Marge Piercy are all popular poems from the twentieth century.  They represent the time and the social issues of their respective eras.  Each poem speaks to others in a way that evokes emotion.  They are all linked together by…

In the poem Ballad of the Landlord by Langston Hughes there is a hole on the roof of the house. The landlord has already been informed about it. The steps have been broken down. But when the landlord comes up, he does not fall down. The landlord says that the tenant has to pay him…

The poem is situated in America and describes a black man’s personal experience with racial discrimination. He is treated as if he is an embarrassment to the white people, and made to feel inferior to them. The poet is trying to show how America “covers up” her racial discrimination “problems. He also wants to convey…

Apart from his apparent disgust for the desolate life that the African Americans were subjected to, Langston Hughes also portrays an evident mistrust of religion, not necessarily towards religion itself but particularly towards those individuals who use religion as a cloak to conceal their true duplicitous and oppressive nature. In arguably he’s most controversial poem,…

In 2011, a study was done, and what they found was that approximately one out of every three Americans felt unfulfilled in life. Further research showed that most of the participants retained the feeling due to not living to their fullest potential. The conclusion can be made that not following your dreams can create emotional…

As a child of the early twentieth century, Langston Hughes endured trying times. Hughes and his mother lived most of their lives in poverty. As a young teen, Hughes began writing poems about the world he saw through his eyes – a world of racial segregation and prejudice. This was the basis of many of…

Langston Hughes and Claude McKay were popular poets during the Harlem Renaissance period around 1919 to 1933. The two poets share similar viewpoints and poetic achievements making them alike but also different in many ways. The Poets literature flourished during the early twentieth century with much racial tension between blacks and whites. Their poetry expressed…

There are many time periods or movements that have changed the history of America forever. Though several may have come to mind, there is one that drastically changed the outlook on African American rights: the Harlem Renaissance, a time period when a large number of African Americans began to emerge as intelligent writers. This time…

Q: Several poets have more than poem in our text. Select one characteristic theme (or other element) and compare the two poems by the same author. Influenced by the need to share the society of black American life during the 1920s through 1960s, Langston Hughes was inspired by jazz music which was popular among black…