Langston Hughes - A Remarkable Poet of the Twentieth Century - Research Paper Example

Langston Hughes - A Remarkable Poet of the Twentieth Century Langston Hughes was a remarkable, novelist, columnist, playwright and a social activist of twentieth century. Hughes was, undoubtedly, a Negro Artist who presented a true picture of “low-life” the black race was subjected to live. Tracy describes Hughes as a persistent and the most wide-ranging writer among the African-Americans of twentieth century (Tracy, pg. 23). Hughes portrayed the coldness he experienced at the hands of his white peers for his being African-American and the racial oppression he witnessed all around him. Through his writings, Hughes supported the activist and radical racial movements and fought for the economic and political freedom of the black. Hughes is primarily acknowledged as a poet because of his great contribution in this genre. The sufferings of the Africans and the deprivation of their basic rights disturbed Hughes and he gave voice to his anger through his poetry using innovative techniques. He was known as ‘the poet laureate of Harlem’ for his being a distinguished member of the ‘Harlem Renaissance’ as he presented himself as a true representative of many African-Americans by demonstrating their strength and experiences using their language and depicted their struggle against the prejudice that white man held for them. He aptly described the discriminatory behaviour the African-American faced in the society. Heyward, at the publication of Hughes’ first book admired him in “New York Herald Tribune” saying that it was so promising as to make his career as a poet worth watching. According to him, Hughes, though quite young, was a conspicuous writer among the black intellectuals who glorified Harlem by presenting a true picture of life in art form. He praised Hughes as a purely individual poet rather than a member of a group of intellectuals or a representative of a racial movement as he was enthusiastic about his work, attracted towards beauty, highly subjective and contained a tenacious musical sense (Heyward, D. B., 1926). Though Hughes emerged as a remarkable poetic figure in literary circle of his time, he faced much criticism from his contemporary black intellectuals for revealing an unattractive and unsophisticated side of the black community. “Fine Clothes to the Jews” faced worst criticism from the Negro writers for having true picture of black community that demonstrated their economical and political plight. Hughes himself describes, the criticism he faced, in his autobiography “The Big Sea” that the book was complimented by white press and national magazines but the black intellectuals did not approve its worth. “LANGSTON HUGHES’BOOK OF POEM TRASH” was the big headline that ran on the page of “Pittsburgh Courier. The New York Amsterdam News made a headline LANGSTON HUGHES-THE SEWER DWELLER, The Chicago Whip called him as a ‘the poet low-rate of Harlem’ and the book was considered as a disgrace to the black as they wanted to present their polished culture. Estace Gay commented on Hughes’ ‘Fine Clothes to the Jew’ that he was not concerned with the idea that every poem of the book depicted true life. He discouraged the idea of parading their society before American readers and made the imperfections to be observed by public. Hughes sympathized with such intellectuals and critics who tried themselves and expected other Negro writers to portray the most beautiful side of the black. He expressed that he knew only few such black who lived a first-class life and he was not able to write much about them though they were good in his eyes. He presented those people in his poetry with whom he was grown up, observed their lives closely and depicted it in a true sense. Many critics appreciated Hughes’ way of presenting reality as he remained faithful in recording the frustration that he found in his people. Baxter recognized Hughes as a literary figure who not only inspired the people who belonged to his culture but also the others who read his books. He was a true spokesman of African-Americans in all of his publications regardless of his choice of genre (Baxter, 2002). Other critics acknowledged him more as a humanist than a racist who was perturbed at the plight of human beings who suffered for no reason and spoke through his poetry against the injustice that civilized people and nations practiced. They perceived a bigger cause in his poetry that was for all those human beings who were a victim of inequality, injustice and discrimination. David Littlejohn wrote in his book “Black on White: A Critical Survey of Writing by American Negroes” that the life that Hughes created was full of diversity and originality as of Picasso’s and an honest and blissful memorial of his career. His writing did not carry any traces of pretence and deception, and they showed a great deal of appealing wit and undoubting pleasure. To some critics his writing may seem to uphold race war as his only cause but with his humbleness, Hughes rose up from representing his people and became a voice of millions (Littlejohn, L., 1966). Hughes, though presented striking realities in his poetry, uses a very simple language that affects its readers. The poem “I, Too” speaks of the injustice and the discrimination the black face at the hand of the American.. Through this poem, he has generalized his personal experience of receiving humiliation and disgrace for his African-American identity. “They send me to eat in the kitchen” sounds a simple reality which portrays their slavery and inferiority to white race which does not allow them to share a respectable place and freedom. The above line, carrying the disgrace which is hidden beneath these simple words, strikes the reader. That disgrace feeds his courage and heightens his resolution of not giving up. The concluding lines put forth his optimism that they will be rewarded for their struggle and will have an upright social life to cherish where no one will command them and snatch away their basic rights of living as human beings. Hughes hopes that the time will come when they will have enough liberty to work with honour and grace and be a constructive part of the society in which they are facing only humiliation. Then Americans will observe the beauty, strength and power of the black race and be ashamed of the injustice they are inflicting on them now. The poem depicts Hughes’ maturity as it gives voice to the perturbed and annoyed thoughts at the misery of his race in a calm way that penetrates in the hearts of readers. Through “The Weary Blues”, Hughes explores the grief of the exploited black race which seems endless and the musician tired of the full day struggle wants to take refuge in sleep or death from the frustration he faces daily. “Sweet Blues!/ Coming from a black man’s soul” illustrates the depth of sadness that it is not physical rather it arises from his soul. Even the piano moans expressing his master’s weariness and the whole setting contributes to his grief. The “ebony hands” that play on the “ivory key” aptly refer to the African-American identity that moans at that existence for being deprived of the facilities that white men enjoyed. Irregular rhyme enhances the idea of the wavering social position the black hold. Vivid language is used to draw the attention of the audience. The repetition of the phrases marks the emphasis of the poet. “And I wish that I had died” is the extreme of anguish and misery of the black that makes him hopeless and Hughes depicts in his poetry to make the white race realize their wrong-doings. According to Baxter, Hughes, with his ability of capturing the struggle and grief of the black race, focuses the impediments that black faced with reference to the Americans and generally as Negro race (Baxter, 2002). In “Harlem (Dream Deferred)”, Hughes refers to the dream of attaining political and economical freedom, equality and dignity that Negro race cherishes and is anxious of its fulfilment. Hughes poses a question in the very first line that depicts his feelings of uncertainty about his future and thinks of many worst possibilities. As a sensitive person, Hughes feels frustrated at his being second-class citizen and at many unresolved issues of the basic rights of his race. The sweet image of “raisin” has been expected to be turning into “stink like rotten meat” and finally “explode” refers to the poet’s horrified image of his future. The beauty of the black is presented in a noteworthy way but there is an illustration of the irony that this beauty might not last long because of its being exposed to the worst circumstances. The beauty of the poem lies in the realistic expression of the poet as it does not put forth any aggravation or emphasis because it aims to build an image of a dreamer who is disappointed, uncertain and horrified. Through the simple imagery, Hughes presents the frustration of the sufferers and inspires the readers. The rhythm, harmony and the music of the poem enhances the consistency of the misery o f the black race and the final image “explode” refers to the decay for which the white man, who has assumed himself to be civilized, is responsible. To conclude, Langston Hughes, a remarkable poet of twentieth century, remained honest to his heritage instead of all the criticism he faced and presented best work to inspire his people and the other readers as well. He showed his pride in being a black and made his readers realize that his race did not exist on the face of earth to live an animal life. He depicted a true picture of his people that carried all the colours of beauty, power, and strength. He supported the radical movements in order to attain the status of first-class citizen and live a life with all the beauties they inherited. He marvelled in every genre he touched and contributed much in the field of poetry and influenced his readers to the core of their hearts. Work Cited Baxter, M. R.., ed. The Short Stories, Columbia, Missouri: London University of Missouri Press, 2002. David. L., “Black on White: A Critical Survey of Writing by American Negroes”, Viking, 1966. Heyward, D. B., New York Herald Tribune, 1926. “Langston Hughes”, . Tracy, Steven C., ed. “A Historical Guide to Langston Hughes”, New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. Read More