Rhetorical Devices In Langston Hughes

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. In

There is also imagery found in this poem. While reading the poem, I can picture the place Langston Hughes is describing, such as the Euphrates River, where he would bath in it. Or the tranquility environment found near the hut he built along the Congo River as he laid down and slept so peacefully. It portrays an image of how gentle the river is flowing creating a calm and relaxing atmosphere, which eased all his worries about racism the African Americans face. As well he observed the Nile River, and watched the pyramids rise nearby, this portrays an allusion because it is taken back to historic event. Langston uses these historic places to illustrate that his blood traces back to his ancestors. These examples portray that Hughes is stating that all people are historically equally, because our blood lines were born in different birthplaces of human civilization. In stanzas four and thirteen the author uses the element of a simile. He compares his soul to a river; he states that his soul has become deep as the ancient rivers he mentioned in the poem. His blood line is as old like the historic rivers that still flow