Walt Whitman's Poem I Hear America Singing and Langston Hughes's Poem I, Too, Sing America - Literature review Example

Due A Comparison of Walt Whitman’s poem ‘I Hear America Singing’ and Langston Hughe’spoem ‘I, Too, Sing America’ Poetry is a way of communication. It is a manifestation of the authors views to certain phenomena in the society. Poems can entertain or amuse depending on one’s understanding. In addition, they can offer a sharp observation or an unexpected insight. They can also serve as vehicles for activism and mediation as in the case of Harlem renaissance. They have the power to stay in the mind for a long time and have been used as modes of expression for decades. This paper compares two poems; Walt Whitman’s ‘I Hear America Singing’ and Langston Hughe’s ‘I, Too, Sing America. The two poems were written about America. Even though the authors expressed very different views there are abundant similarities between the two poems. Both poems talk about America. They tell a story about America. However, while Whitman’s "I Hear America Singing" expresses optimism of a working country, Langston’s ‘I, Too, Sing America’ expresses optimism of a particular section of the country. Throughout Whitman’s song, there are people singing from different area and occupations of the country. Each song tells a distinct story and the singers are expressing themselves freely no matter their financial position in America. Hughes’ poem expresses the feeling of a black person in America who, despite the treatment is getting, is optimistic that his future is bright (Kelley 51). The themes of both the poems seem to be similar. They share a theme of freedom in America. Whitman expresses free optimism in a new equal America while Hughes expresses oppression of the black man and a strong racism against the black people. Hughes’ poem was composed at the period of Harlem Renaissance at a time when racism was strong and the “blacks were struggling with segregation and discrimination.” He says that despite their colour, “they too are Americans” (Whitman 11). It begins with the history of racial oppression in America. However, it looks towards the future of equity, when both blacks and whites in America will be considered equal and the whites will feel ashamed for their previous prejudice. The persona envisions a future in which apart from being ashamed, his oppressors will never send him to the kitchen or consider him unequal. This is the same message of freedom that Whitman express in the singing voices that despite their occupation are still able to express themselves and be heard (Kelley 56). In addition to freedom, the poems share a theme of optimism, both in freedom of the nation and productivity of the country. Reading through both poems exposes an optimistic mood and attitude of the persona. Whitman uses a persona that hears voices, “I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear...,” full of pride and optimism. Their songs are expressing the freedom and happiness in their daily encounter. On the other hand, the persona in Hughes’ poem is expressing himself. He begins with a strong, optimistic statement, “I, too, sing America." While, in the second stanza, the persona explains his mistreatment, the remaining portion of the poem expresses self-belief and optimism as in the last verse, “Besides, Theyll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed— I, too, am America." Both poems give a strong sensation of a transforming society from the beginning to the end as shown in last line of Hughes’ poem that brings the same optimism of freedom as in Whitman’s poem (Whitman 18). The language of the two poems is similar but not identical. It is no doubt that Hughes was responding to Whitman’s poem and so had to use the same language to get attention. Both are in first person. While Hughes’ is addressing the problem of racial oppression, his language is full of the same optimism as in Whitman’s poem. The last line of Hughes’ poem is a strong, optimistic statement, “Then. Besides, they’ll see how beautiful I am, and be ashamed--- I too, am American.” It ends in an assurance; it is not bitter, but full of faith and change in American society just like Whitman expressed faith in the same society (Kelley 61). Whitman’s faith, however, is in productivity of the people of America. The languages in the poems are assuring. The personas’ messages are in a visual form. For example, when Hughes says, "I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes, but I laugh, and eat well, and grow strong." An image of an optimistic oppressed servant is outlined. The language is personifying an oppressed, but obedient person who feels equal to the oppressor and has a hope of redemption. Whitman, on the other hand, exposes an image of a happy society that sings the tunes of their professions. The languages used in the poems are not just to instil hope, but they are also encouraging. Hughes’ intention was to express desire for equal treatment of all races in America while Whitman’s idea was to bring out a freedom of expression no matter what one does (Whitman 22). The two poems have similar structures and styles. They are optimistic and patriotic, as well. Both the writers used open verse stanzas, which mean they do not have any pattern. They follow a rhythm with a sense of flow as they use repetition. Both the poems are also broken into small and short stanzas that guide the reader through the material. Reading them, one follows a systematic view and flowing script from the beginning to the end. The structures of the poems express a narration from the persona with repetition of particular words. For example, in the poem ‘I Hear America Singing’ the word ‘singing’ is used in all but six lines while in Hughes’ poem ‘I, Too, Sing America’ the word America has been used in the first and last lines. The persona in both the poems is the first person and seems to be telling a story about America. Reading one poem after another brings about an understanding of speaking voices that are expressing their views (Whitman44-50). Both have strong tones and a reader will not change their tones while reading one after another. Both poems employ certain particular literary devices. To begin with, Whitman’s poem utilizes Personification as one key literary device. In the first verse, Whitman writes, “I Hear America Singing.” This personifies a country to human. A country is doing a human activity, “singing.” The activity is later broken down into different individuals (Kelley62-67). Through the song, Whitman can attribute the country to joyful, optimistic and free citizens who are able to express themselves. The poem uses singing as a metaphor for the jovial confidence and growth of America. It describes various workers in America going about their daily activities “singing.” The singing citizen is a metaphor for freedom and prosperity of the American Nation. As he says in the last stanza, “singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs," white man paints a scenario of workers casually singing which is a representation of free, happy and prosperous country. There is also use of synecdoche in Whitman’s poem, as in the use of “America” to represent the rest of the individuals illustrated in the later lines and specifically, as he puts it out, workers in the country (Kelley 70). Hughes’ poem, “I, Too, sing America” also uses a number of literary devices. The first two words, “I too…” Express a unique freedom different from that of Whitman. From the narrator’s point of view, there is another person “probably not a black brother” who is “singing America.” The narrator uses aspects of symbolism when sent away to eat in the kitchen. This may symbolize the areas that African-Americans had restricted access. The poem creates an image of oppression of individual freedom for the “darker brother.” The writer uses “darker brother” to symbolize the blacks or African Americans. There is also an aspect of repetition of the first and the last sentences with a small alteration. The first sentence says, “I too sing America” while the last sentence says, “I too, am America.” The alteration of “sing” with “am” may have been to assert the feeling of black American as a citizen not just in words but also in the person and as an integral part of the society just like any other person (Whitman 52-56). The two poems address the idea of American freedom and the spirit of American democracy. Both express these ideologies in different sentences like, “I too, sing America” and “I hear America singing.” While Hughes expresses his frustration of the unequal treatment of the “black brother,” his thoughts of unequal democracy towards the same is also visible. In the end, Hughes expresses hope of joy when the freedom and democracy will be granted to the African Americans. Whitman, on the other hand, expresses joy. He sees in American society whose progress towards equality between classes is visible in the “singing America.” The narrator in Hughes’ poem hopes for the same equality in the second last stanza (Whitman 74). As one reads both the poems, a tone of freedom, hope and optimism for the future of America takes centre stage. Hughes ends the poem by expressing the hope that one day, when the whites realize the “beauty” of the black race they will never again have prejudice against them, "Nobody will dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," then “Besides, they’ll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed—I, too, am America” (Whitman 71-75). Comparing this statement to Whitman’s poem that expresses a tone of equality among the citizens of America, one realizes that Hughes is attacking Whitman in a modest and rational way with hope and optimism. This is because the situation that Hughes talks about is the exact contradiction of what Whitman’s poem is talking about. Works Cited Kelley, James B. Blooms How to Write About Langston Hughes. New York: Infobase Pub, 2010. Whitman, Walt. I Hear America Singing: Poems of Democracy, Manhattan, and the Future. Royal Hill: London, 2001. Print. Read More

" Both poems give a strong sensation of a transforming society from the beginning to the end as shown in last line of Hughes’ poem that brings the same optimism of freedom as in Whitman’s poem (Whitman 18). The language of the two poems is similar but not identical. It is no doubt that Hughes was responding to Whitman’s poem and so had to use the same language to get attention. Both are in first person. While Hughes’ is addressing the problem of racial oppression, his language is full of the same optimism as in Whitman’s poem.

The last line of Hughes’ poem is a strong, optimistic statement, “Then. Besides, they’ll see how beautiful I am, and be ashamed--- I too, am American.” It ends in an assurance; it is not bitter, but full of faith and change in American society just like Whitman expressed faith in the same society (Kelley 61). Whitman’s faith, however, is in productivity of the people of America. The languages in the poems are assuring. The personas’ messages are in a visual form. For example, when Hughes says, "I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes, but I laugh, and eat well, and grow strong." An image of an optimistic oppressed servant is outlined. The language is personifying an oppressed, but obedient person who feels equal to the oppressor and has a hope of redemption. Whitman, on the other hand, exposes an image of a happy society that sings the tunes of their professions. The languages used in the poems are not just to instil hope, but they are also encouraging. Hughes’ intention was to express desire for equal treatment of all races in America while Whitman’s idea was to bring out a freedom of expression no matter what one does (Whitman 22).

The two poems have similar structures and styles. They are optimistic and patriotic, as well. Both the writers used open verse stanzas, which mean they do not have any pattern. They follow a rhythm with a sense of flow as they use repetition. Both the poems are also broken into small and short stanzas that guide the reader through the material. Reading them, one follows a systematic view and flowing script from the beginning to the end. The structures of the poems express a narration from the persona with repetition of particular words.

For example, in the poem ‘I Hear America Singing’ the word ‘singing’ is used in all but six lines while in Hughes’ poem ‘I, Too, Sing America’ the word America has been used in the first and last lines. The persona in both the poems is the first person and seems to be telling a story about America. Reading one poem after another brings about an understanding of speaking voices that are expressing their views (Whitman44-50). Both have strong tones and a reader will not change their tones while reading one after another.

Both poems employ certain particular literary devices. To begin with, Whitman’s poem utilizes Personification as one key literary device. In the first verse, Whitman writes, “I Hear America Singing.” This personifies a country to human. A country is doing a human activity, “singing.” The activity is later broken down into different individuals (Kelley62-67). Through the song, Whitman can attribute the country to joyful, optimistic and free citizens who are able to express themselves.

The poem uses singing as a metaphor for the jovial confidence and growth of America. It describes various workers in America going about their daily activities “singing.” The singing citizen is a metaphor for freedom and prosperity of the American Nation. As he says in the last stanza, “singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs," white man paints a scenario of workers casually singing which is a representation of free, happy and prosperous country. There is also use of synecdoche in Whitman’s poem, as in the use of “America” to represent the rest of the individuals illustrated in the later lines and specifically, as he puts it out, workers in the country (Kelley 70).

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