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How Does Langston Hughes Use Imagery In The Weary Blues

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The Harlem Renaissance, a cultural movement that rose in the 1920s, brought forth many literary works that celebrated African American identity and showcased black culture. Among the loud voices of this era was Langston Hughes, whose poetry embodied the struggles and resilience of the African American community.

Langston Hughes' poetry is filled with vivid imagery, showing readers into the heart of the African American experience. Through his masterful use of imagery, Hughes captures the essence of emotions, settings, and characters, creating an experience that resonates with the reader. One example of a poem that showcases his great use of imagery is "The Weary Blues."

"The Weary Blues," published in 1925, portrays a weary musician playing his blues on a piano, filling the night with soulful melodies. Hughes' use of imagery immerses the reader in the atmosphere of the smoky bar, with lines such as "Down on Lenox Avenue the other night, by the pale, dull pallor of an old gas light." This visual image sets the stage, creating a sense of weariness and the hardships faced by African Americans during this time. The reader can almost hear the "moanin' melody" of the blues and feel the weight of the musician's exhaustion. …show more content…

Or fester like a sore? And then run?" Through vivid imagery, Hughes provokes deep thought about the consequences of unfulfilled dreams. The use of sensory images, such as a dried-up raisin, intensifies the reader's emotional connection to the poem. Hughes' imagery enables the reader to visualize the impact of unmet goals, conveying a sense of frustration, anger, and urgency that was felt in the African American community during the Harlem

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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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It was a period of expression in which they took pride in their culture, this sense of group identity formed a basis for later progress for blacks in the United States. The Harlem Renaissance took down previous racial stereotypes, as well as exemplified that African Americans had much to offer and contributed greatly to the creation of American culture. B) James Weldon Johnson’s excerpt argued that African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance were establishing themselves as active and important forces in society whom were also accomplishing great artistic achievements. Langston Hughes, a leading African American poet of the Harlem Renaissance, wrote literature about the pain and pride

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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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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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The most common association with the racial is Harlem in New York City, with 100,000 black residents during the 1920’s. Harlem became the epicenter of new African African literature and arts, which would commonly be called the Harlem Renaissance. The most common author associated with the Harlem Renaissance is Langston Hughes, who first began writing The Weary Blues in 1926. Harlem was also home to Marcus Garvey who founded the United Negro Improvement Association

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Throughout much of his poetry, Langston Hughes wrestles with complex notations of African American dreams, racism, and discrimination during the Harlem Renaissance. Through various poems, Hughes uses rhetorical devices to state his point of view. He tends to use metaphors, similes, imagery, and connotation abundantly to illustrate in what he strongly believes. Discrimination and racism were very popular during the time when Langston Hughes began to develop and publish his poems, so therefore his poems are mostly based on racism and discrimination, and the desire of an African American to live the American dream. Langston Hughes poems served as a voice for all African Americans greatly throughout his living life, and even after his death.

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