Analysis of a Negro Speaks of Rivers, Study Guides, Projects, Research of History

Download Analysis of a Negro Speaks of Rivers and more Study Guides, Projects, Research History in PDF only on Docsity! Analysis of a Negro Speaks of Rivers By Mr. Roets The Negro Speaks of Rivers (you will be reading your poem--you can put the actual poem on slide or put a link to the poem on the slide with a picture) I’ve known rivers: I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset. I’ve known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. Historical context: In the late teens and early twenties of the nineteenth century, America was in the mids t of great change. It was having an economic ups wing following the Great War, and with the advent of cars , national railways , and radio, dis tances in America were getting s horter. African – Americans were moving north to the cities and changing the population dens ity in thes e cities . J azz mus ic was becoming popular amongs t white people as well as black people, and “black” culture was becoming more and more valued. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers ” is a poem that gives weight and his torical dignity to the “Negro,” a figure demeaned in the his tory of America. In fact, members hip in the Ku Klux Klan was growing and peaking at this time – this poem can be s een as a very real pus h back to the racis m of the KKK. It s ays – “We are important. We are ancient. We are s oulful. We are to be reckoned with.” Connotative Meaning a connotative exploration of word choice Connotation means an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning. What words did Langs ton Hughes choos e to us e in his poem? How do they impact the meaning of the poem? Was there any figurative language us ed? S imiles ? Metaphors ? This may be more than one s lide. Connotative reading: Free vers e poem with deliberate line s eparation. Firs t pers on – “I’ve known rivers ” – this is pers onal and s ocial – LH is a member and repres entative of a community . Knowing s ugges ts a depth of unders tanding, and it refers to both pas t and pres ent tens e. And he repeats this phras e for weightines s . “rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins ” – this line makes clear that the s peaker – the Negro – has always been here, and has the weight of his tory on his s ide. The s pecification of in human veins s ugges ts the oppos ite of blood s pilled outs ide of thos e veins . “My s oul has grown deep like the rivers .” – the s oul is the eternal part of mankind, the eternal s oul of the negro is deep – depth s ugges ts powerful and complicated and complex, and deep rivers are amazingly powerful – deep rivers change the very lands cape The listing of rivers in time and place – the Euphrates , the Congo, the Nile – all in Africa and all tied to ancient civilizations that predate European or Wes tern civilizations . Thes e rivers cement the Negro’s pos ition as older, wis er and more powerful than others – or at leas t as powerful. Euphrates is tied to Babylon, the Congo to ancient African kingdoms , and the Nile to the building of the pyramids - one of the world wonders . The Mis s is s ippi brings the Negro to America and all of the complex his tory of the African-American. The evils of s lavery, the joys of community, the mus ic and culture of New Orleans , and the freedom granted by Abe Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation are all called forth as parts of the Negro’s complicated s oul. More weight – and als o natural beauty. “The muddy bos om turning golden in the s uns et” s ugges ts the actual color of the Mis s is s ippi which is BROWN and turns golden – valuable Repetition of “I’ve known rivers : ancient dus ky rivers . My s oul has grown deep like the rivers .” Dus ky gives color to the rivers – darker not lighter, like the Negro. A s oul that grows is als o a s oul that is alive, and again deep s ugges ts power and complexity.