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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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Bringing intellectual stimulation through his invigorating works, Claude McKay was recognized to be one of the most inspirational figures during the Harlem Renaissance. McKay served to be a model for blacks, especially those who suffered the tortures of slavery in America. Poems, short-written books as well as novels were representatives of his art. From the application of skill and a bit of imagination the writings he expressed revealed real events that spurred the movement of reviving black cultural identity.

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The Harlem Renaissance is a movement that began in the 1920’s. It was a product of centuries of African American oppression. Therefore, during the Great migration occurred where thousands of African Americans migrated from the southern states to the north and created a culture of their own, which included but not limited to poetry, music, and art. The objective of the research is to determine how Claude McKay’s poetry connected different countries during the Harlem Renaissance.

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Harlem Renaissance Assessment 3. Helen Johnson’s “Sonnet to a Negro in Harlem” (1927) and Claude McKay’s “The Harlem Dancer” (1917) differ in structure and their descriptions of their characters in relation to society. Though both are fourteen lines long, McKay uses more imagery and diction when describing the character in the poem. The style of this poem creates a romantic vibe in an organized way.

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The Harlem Renaissance was a period in American history, which occurred in the 1920s in Harlem, New York. The cultural movement was an opportunity for African Americans to celebrate their heritage through intellectual and artistic works. Langston Hughes, a famous poet, was a product of the Harlem Renaissance. One notable piece of literature by Hughes is “Dream Deferred”. However, the discussion of African American culture isn’t limited to the 1920s.

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shaping the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Unlike other notable black poets of the period, Hughes refused to differentiate between his personal experience and the common experience of black America. He wanted to tell the stories of his people in ways that reflected their actual culture, including both their suffering, love of music, laughter, and language itself (Ham). Along with literary works, the music of the Harlem Renaissance appealed to a wide audience and marked a proliferation of African-American cultural influence. No aspect of the Harlem Renaissance shaped America and the entire world as much as jazz.

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Langston Hughes’ “I, Too”, written in the Harlem Renaissance time period, focuses mainly on the “New Negro” concept. By concentrating on the rise of the African American people, Hughes demonstrates that African Americans are, indeed, Americans and that they are not in their own substandard category. He displays this position through the use of literary devices such as figurative language, imagery and tone. Hughes utilizes figurative language when he states “I, too, sing America”, showing that he deserves to be part of an equal society and deserves to be treated as such. Through his connection with America when he “sing[s] America”, he declares his right to feel devoted to his county, that he does not wish to just sit on the sidelines with

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There had been many great writers, musicians, and artists that lived during the Harlem Renaissance. One of the major writers of the Harlem Renaissance was Langston Hughes. He was one of the pioneers of the new art of jazz poetry. Jazz poetry was a type of poetry that had a “jazz-like rhythm.” Jazz originated in African American communities, such as Harlem.

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Poems can be analyzed in various ways ranging from their complexity to the emotions they convey to readers. The poems, “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes and “The Harlem Dancer” by Claude McKay will be analyzed based on their similarities and differences to name a few. The poems may describe different events; however the overall connection between the two can be identified by readers with deeper reading. Comparisons between the poems may easier to analyze and identify compared to the contrasts based on the reader’s perception. Overall, the concept and much more will reveal how the poems are connected and special in their own way.

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Langston Hughes poems “Harlem” and “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” are two poems that have a deeper meaning than a reader may notice. Hughes 's poem “Harlem” incorporates the use of similes to make a reader focus on the point Hughes is trying to make. In “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” Hughes shows how close he was to the rivers on a personal level. With those two main focuses highlighted throughout each poem, it creates an intriguing idea for a reader to comprehend. In these particular poems, Hughes’s use of an allusion, imagery, and symbolism in each poem paints a clear picture of what Hughes wants a reader to realize.

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The poem I, Too, Sing America written by Langston Hughes shortly after World War II in 1945, is a lyrical poem about the neglected voices in America as a response to the Poem “I hear America singing.” During this time, African Americans were oppressed in society and they did not have equal rights to Caucasians. This poem expresses Langston Hughes hope for the future where black people are not oppressed when equality is achieved between races. This poem helps assert Langston Hughes’ ideas of racial pride, hope, and equality. Many black people fought in the war and after it ended, they still did not have equality, which caused questions of why they were not equal if they fought against another country.

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The second speaker also reshapes the first two lines of the entire poem into a plea to the majority. Beforehand, the first speaker uses those lines as a call for the old American spirit to be revived: “Let America be America again / Let it be the dream it used to be” (1-2). Both speakers change the meaning of the lines to express their thoughts on America. As a result, the poem expresses the desire for everyone to be treated equally in the land of freedom. The readers can relate to the speaker because they wish that everyone has equal rights in the country that proclaims itself to be the symbol of freedom.

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The speaker displays his connection to the black heritage by stating that “They’ll see how beautiful I am” (line 16), and the last line of the poem “I, too, sing America” repeats the first line, but this time with more insistent tone. The speaker is stating the fact

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