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Claude Mckay's Poem In The Harlem Dancer, And I, Too

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The poems “The Harlem Dancer” by Claude McKay and “I, Too” by Langston Hughes, both were written during the 1920s. Something significant happening during this time was the the boom of African American culture which took place mainly around the 20s and 30s in New York. Specifically their literature, art, music and much more. The Harlem Renaissance was going on during the time both poems were written, in fact, they were written because of the renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was the movement of African American culture. Some of the significant subjects were music, literature, poem, and art. The poets Langston Hughes and Claude McKay were some of the most influential poets from the renaissance. The poems “The Harlem Dancer” by Claude McKay and “I, Too” by Langston Hughes will be used to compare and show how two poems form the same era could be similar yet different based on their subject, purpose, style, tone, and rhythm.

“I, Too” creates the world where people are treated equally. With so much discrimination and segregation occurring in the 20th century, it was a world that people wished for. The poem could be considered as patriotic. The poem talks about how the speaker has darker skin, and how he is usually sent to the kitchen to eat while there is people over. He then imagines a day where he can eat at the table with others and that they will see how beautiful he is and how “ashamed” (Hughes, 17) they were for their previous thoughts of him.

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