This river is also the final river mentioned in this poem, which can represent the beginning of the end of slavery and oppression itself. >> A reader should take note of the four lines of this section that begin with “I.” It is the first four in which the speaker goes from the Euphrates to the “Mississippi” telling the story of his life. 8 . "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" was composed in 1920 on the train to Mexico when Hughes was still in his teens (eighteen to be exact), and published a year later in Crisis. "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" uses rivers as It was here that he experienced the young “dawns.” This is a reference to the beginning of time or at least the beginnings of human civilization. The poem concludes with a repetition of the opening lines, making sure a reader is aware of the speaker’s deep connection to the bodies of water. Hughes wrote ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers’ in order to celebrate the strength of Black heritage and perseverance. 5) /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB endobj /ca 1.0 This is a strange turn of phrase. When he was a young man he guided a boat down the river. If one only reads the text, nobody could judge about the deeper meaning of Racial discrimination and Torture that blacks have faced. �� � } !1AQa"q2���#B��R��$3br� I heard the singing of the Missisippi when Abe Lincoln. This forces a reader’s eyes to move back and forth very quickly through the text. This poem is written to give pride, confidence and dignity to black people, so that they have the courage to speak out for themselves and stop the injustice of racial isolation. Poem Analysis: The Negro Speaks of Rivers Poem Analysis: The Negro Speaks of Rivers. Hughes wrote the poem when he was seventeen and crossing the Mississippi River on the way to visit his father in Mexico. Therefore, when the speaker in Langston Hughes' poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, references the Mississippi River and "its muddy bosom [turning] all golden in the sunset," it can be inferred that he meant the bright and golden end to slavery (Hughes 835). A reader will immediately notice that Hughes uses a great deal of the latter. �� � w !1AQaq"2�B���� #3R�br� Indeed, reliance on rhyme can often be a crutch for poets. Readers who enjoyed ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers’ should also consider reading some of Langston Hughes’ other best-known poems. Baldwin, Emma. The poem also makes me think about Heraclitus's quote, "No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man." From his moment in time, he was looking “upon the Nile” while helping to build the pyramids. The speaker has seen humankind’s first moments alongside the Euphrates, participated in the building of the pyramids, and listened to the Mississippi while Abraham Lincoln was sibling down it. All of them are among the largest and longest on the planet. It is not just any river he has known, but ones that are as “ancient as the world.” These bodies of water are vastly important to the history of the earth. I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. This is emphasized by the statement that the water of the rivers is older than the. It was provided inspiration for fellow poets and artists who have also used the image of the river to depict Black perseverance and strength. $4�%�&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz�������������������������������������������������������������������������� ? Aside from the marvel of the pyramids, the Nile is the source of life for much of the region. Without it, readers would be left without a clear idea of what’s going on in the poem and likely leave unaffected by it. The first place he takes the reader to is the “Euphrates” River which flows through the south of Turkey and into Iraq. As the rivers deepen over time, the Negro's soul does too; their waters eternally flow, as the black soul suffers. He often emphasizes the history of Black men and women and what they’ve had to endure throughout the centuries of slavery and discrimination in America. The login page will open in a new tab. He begins with the third repetition of the phrase, “I’ve known rivers.” They are used as a marker for the long and multifaceted life he has lived. One of the best examples of imagery in the poem can be found in this phrase: ” I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.” Or, another good example are these lines from the beginning of the poem: “I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.”. /AIS false %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz��������������������������������������������������������������������������� Please log in again. Hughes allows the imagery to convey his message. . It is recorded that the city of Babylon was erected on its banks. "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" heralded the existence of a mystic union of Negroes in every country and every age. it is fully helpful. 6 0 obj ���� JFIF K K �� C The line breaks, or lack thereof, also contribute to this feeling. It occurs when two words are spelled the same or similarly but are pronounced differently. 4 0 obj These features of the earth are being considered above the humans that eventually claimed them. 1 2 . 1 0 obj One of the key poems of a literary movement called the "Harlem Renaissance," "The Negro Speaks of River" traces black history from the beginning of human civilization to the present, encompassing both triumphs (like the construction of the Egyptian pyramids) and horrors (like American slavery). Even though the specific word "roots" does not appear in this poem, details in the text point the reader toward rivers, veins, tree roots and other timeless objects. Style can be viewed as a choice of particular linguistic features, which produces a certain meaning and effect upon a reader. �� C�� �q" �� “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” Hughes wrote this poem, one of his best known and most celebrated, on the back of an envelope when he just 17 years old. /Filter /DCTDecode The title of "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" lets us know early on that the story that follows is told from the perspective of a member of the black community. One can assume that the speaker is black, as it is “I” who speaks of “rivers.” The first lines state that not only has he, and will he speak of rivers, he has “known” them. The word known is used to mean … We hear a voice in this title. By using the archaic, singular term “ Negro ”, rather than African-Americans, Ugandans, Moors, or any other specific, plural, ethnicity, he merges all black folk into one narrator.