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Poetry of Langston Hughes

Themes: Ancestry

Exclusion/Frustration

Jazz/Blues

Empowerment

“Harlem” by Langston Hughes -- p. 880

1. Look up the word, “deferred” and write the definition.

2. List the 5 similes the speaker uses to describe the effect of a deferred dream and draw a picture illustrating each one.

3. For each of the 5 similes, explain what the speaker is saying about the different effects of having a dream deferred. How is each illustration distinct?

4. What social or political consequences are hinted at in the poem’s last line?

5. Which of the above themes would you connect with this poem? Explain why.

“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes – p. 882

6. Look at the rhythm of this poem. (a) Which words and phrases are repeated? (b) What phrases use different words, but repeat the same grammatical pattern? (c) What is the impact of this repetition?

7. List the four rivers names in this poem and beside each river, write how it is significant to the speaker.

8. In your own words, describe the historical or cultural world each river helps us imagine.

9. Why do you think the speaker connects Abe Lincoln with the Mississippi River? (Hint: look at the footnote.)

10. Write the words the author uses to describe the Mississippi. What does the description indication about his feelings for that river?

11. Which of the above themes would you connect with this poem? Explain why.

“I, Too” by Langston Hughes – p. 883

12. What aspects of the African-American experience does the speaker describe in lines 1-7?

13. Write two lines of the poem that indicate the speaker has been excluded.

14. Write two lines of the poem that reference the speaker’s response to being excluded.

15. Write two metaphors (comparison without using like or as) that describe the speaker’s hopes or feelings. Explain the metaphors in your own words.

16. Write two lines from the poem that could be considered a warning. Explain how they can be seen as warnings.

17. Summarize in three sentences the speaker’s attitude toward America.

“The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes – p. 884

Definitions:

*Alliteration – beginning two or more words of a word group or within a line of poetry with the same letter, as in Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

*Assonance - Also called vowel rhyme. Rhyme in which the same vowel sounds are used with

different consonants in the stressed syllables of the rhyming words, as in I was afraid it would remain a rainy day.

*Rhythm – a musical quality produced by the repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables. Writers also create rhythm by repeating words and phrases or alternating longer lines with shorter ones.

18. Write 5 words from the poem that help to create a slow, weary, melancholy mood.

19. Look at the rhythm of this poem. (a) Which words and phrases are repeated? (b) Where does he alternate longer lines with shorter ones? (c) How does the poem’s structure suggest the rhythms of blues music?

20. Write three examples of alliteration in this poem.

21. Write three examples of assonance in this poem.

22. In which lines do you find song lyrics incorporated within the poem?

23 How does the message of the blues singer’s first verse contrast with that of his second?

24. Looking at the phrasing and the message, how do the song lyrics differ from the rest of the poem?

25. What troubles might the pianist be experiencing?

26. What is the theme of the musician’s song?

27. What similes in the poem’s last line describe how the singer sleeps? What do you think the last five words suggest?

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