Critical analysis of Langston Hughes work
"The Negro Speaks of Rivers"
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.
"The Negro Speaks of Rivers"
Literary Critical Analysis
Langston first mature poem was "The Negro Speaks of Rivers". He wrote it when he was on a train on a trip to visit his dad in mexico. The poem presents the voice and memory of the Africans who were forced into slavery, including the time when Abraham Lincoln fought to abolish it.The speaker, of the poem, claims that he has known rivers as “ancient as the world,” older than the blood that flows in our veins. His soul has grown deep, just like the rivers.
This poem is free verse and contains repetition and refrains. Some of the literary devices used in the poem include assonance, imagery, simile, anaphora, symbolism and personification. Heritage, pride and nature are the major themes in this poem. This poem represents history. He uses rivers as symbols to reflect the African experience in history. Additionally, he says that his soul is as deep as a river, implying he has seen and experienced tremendous changes in his civilization. The narrator of the poem mentions 4 rivers. The first one is the Euphrates river which represents the birthplace of human civilization. The second river mentioned is the Congo. This river represents a place where many African kingdoms have flourished. The poem then goes on to mention the Nile river and Great Egyptian Pyramids, which represents some of mans greatest feats in architecture. The fourth and final river mentioned is the Mississippi river and Langston links this river back to slavery and Abraham Lincoln. The speaker serves as a voice for all African Americans, as he traces their lineage to the cradles of civilization.