Amid turbulent times of racism and hatred, authors often insert their versions of society into novels and poems to illustrate what it was really like the lives of the people around them. respective eras. Two authors helped show these two polar opposite worlds in poems that helped explain the black-white landscape of the early 1900s. Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing" and "I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes illustrate how racist laws put in place after the Civil War affected the way Langston Hughes responded to Walt Whitman's poem. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The first poem, “I Hear America Singing,” consists of an eleven-line stanza. The structure follows the simple list format that Whitman commonly uses in his poetry. One by one, he lists the various members of the American working class and describes the way they sing in carrying out their respective tasks. It formats every line and sentence the same way. Many begin with the word "the" and contain phrases that are variations of "while ___" or "en route to ___." The tone of the poem is joyful and hopeful. Whitman celebrates the ordinary American worker, magnifying his characters with descriptions such as “sturdy,” “friendly,” “cheerful,” and “strong.” (lines 2 to 11). It highlights characters who often go unnoticed in classic poems. Ultimately, “I Hear America Singing” is a love poem to the nation. Whitman uses the small variations in individual experiences to create a healthy, honest, hardworking American identity. In the first line of Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing," Whitman introduced the theme of his poem and said, "I hear America singing, the varied songs I hear." » (Line 1). The use of the word “America” creates the assumption of the American people in general. Although the use of the word "America" ​​is figurative, the word "sing" is the opposite. This poem focuses on Americans singing songs, or in Whitman's words, "varied Christmas carols", while they work. Whitman shows that he recognizes the fact that everyone sings different songs in different tones. In the following verse, “Those of the mechanics, each singing his own as he should, joyful and loud,” (lines 2-3), the poet indulges in these “varied songs” and explains that these Americans sing as they should being. . The poet uses the word “blithe” to emphasize how joyful their voices are and to explain how loud the Christmas carols are. These Christmas carols please the speaker because they meet his expectations. Lines three through five state: "The carpenter sings his as he measures his board or the beam, The mason sings his as he prepares for work or stops working, The boatman sings what he belongs in his boat, the sailor sings on the deck of the steamboat. In the content of these three lines, Whitman introduces four other American singers: a carpenter, a mason, a boatman, and a sailor. These four men are known for participating in manual labor and completing tasks using their hands. While the carpenter takes his precise measurements, the next three workers take on unique responsibilities on a boat. A good example is displayed as the deckhand goes about his tedious but laborious tasks on the deck of the steamboat. It is an unglamorous job, but through their songs, these workers show pleasure in theirindividual responsibilities and the speaker is proud to recognize their work as hardworking Americans. By knowingly including these blue-collar workers, Whitman shines a light on people who do not often appear in poetry. In lines six through eight, the author provides more examples of American workers when he writes, “The shoemaker singing as he sits. on his bench, the hatter sings standing, The song of the woodcutter, the plowman leaves in the morning, or at the midday intermission or at sunset, The delicious song of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or the young girl who sews or does the laundry. Through these movement-filled lines, Whitman introduces the audience to an array of employees while showcasing the actions performed by the employees as they sing. These newly introduced employees include a shoemaker, a hatter, a lumberjack, a plow boy, a mother, a young working wife, a seamstress, and introduced washerwomen. These people sing as if they possess the pride of working hard for their money. To survive, whether you are old or young, black or white, female or male, money is a vital asset to ensure that survival is within the realm of possibility. To acquire this money, you may have to work and get your hands dirty. Although the work is difficult and physically taxing, the workers commit to keeping their spirits up by singing. To accomplish the task effectively it is necessary to maintain morale, the speaker recognizes that the plowman works from "morning" to "sundown" and that singing is vital to his work. Despite this, the plowman must endure a long day of hard work, even if he sings his songs to pass the time. Whitman also recognizes the work of women as well as the manual labor of men performing tasks such as chopping wood and plowing. The mother works, the young wife goes to work and the daughters wash and sew. This announces to the reader that the world of work is also a women's world and is not limited to the strengths and abilities of a man. Walt Whitman celebrates the work of women, even that of a stay-at-home mother. Finally, lines nine through twelve state: "Each singing what belongs to him and no one else, By day what belongs to the day - at night the group of young people, sturdy, friendly, Singing with open mouth their loud songs and melodious. .” The poem concludes by bringing together all these singing workers. This is displayed when Whiteman states that they "each sing what is his own and no one else's" (line 9). The speaker expresses the idea that each of these jobs is unique, implying that each worker's job belongs to a single worker and is best performed by the holder of that respective job. He even acknowledges that this is also true for women when he includes “him or her.” (Line 9). This poem was written in the early 1900s, before women even gained the legal right to vote in the United States. As much as the speaker of the poem celebrates work, he also recognizes that there is a time to work and a time to play. The song of the day is different from the song of the night. The daytime song is considered “that which belongs to the day,” while the nighttime song symbolizes the beginning of the festival. What happens at party time? Well, “the young people, sturdy and friendly” sing with what Whitman describes as “with open mouths their melodious and loud songs.” The singing in the poem also constitutes a metaphorical aspect. These workers sing songs to keep themselves busy while working, but Whitman interprets this song as a celebratory sign that these workers are happy to have their jobs, despite the grueling work, and that they also love America. THEsecond poem, “Me Too” by Langston Hughes is told in the present tense and in the first person. Its subject and time period are widely considered slave America due to the context in which it is set. The speaker of this poem is described as a person who serves as a “representative” of all black Americans during this historic and difficult time in American history. It seems that an entire community is reciting this poem in unison instead of a single individual. However, if we view the speaker as a unique individual, we might imagine him as a black servant who has ambitions, plans, and dreams for the future. He realizes where he is now, but that doesn't stop him from hoping for where he and his entire race might be in the future. The speaker is therefore a dreamer, convinced of his eventual equality. In the first line of “I, too, sing of America,” Hughes immediately reformulates the title of the poem. Singing is a particular way of speaking, so perhaps "singing about America" ​​means telling someone something about America, or talking about America. In Whitman's poem, he lists all kinds of different Americans, including carpenters, mechanics, boatmen, shoemakers, a seamstress – and says they all sing. We envision the image that America is like a song with many different voices singing. The Americans therefore seem to constitute a choir in which everyone has an important role to sing. So maybe the Langston Hughes speaker imagines Americans as one big choir, all singing together as one unit, and he says he's part of the choir too. He also sings this song of America. In the poem, the second line states: “I am the darker brother.” By stating this, Hughes reveals his skin color and announces to the audience that he is African American. When he proclaims “the darkest brother” and not “one of the darkest brothers,” it is as if he is speaking for the entire black community in America. In lines three and four, the author states: “They send me to eat. in the kitchen when company arrives. This is an allusion to the era of slavery when servants were confined to their quarters when guests came to the house, to keep the slaves (and, by association, their race) out of sight. Of course, even though slavery had ended by Hughes's time, racial segregation was still alive and well, making these lines also very relevant to the time that Hughes himself was writing. These lines could also allude to a 20th century house with black servants. There are several layers of time and meaning here. The next three lines of this poem reveal the emotions felt by the speaker: “But I laugh, I eat well, and I grow strong. » (lines 5 to 7). Right after getting two lines that highlight the entirety of slavery in the poem, the speaker just laughs, eats, and gets stronger. Once again, the “I” in this poem is a plural “I”. The “I” takes the plural form, the speaker does not speak only for himself. He speaks for his entire race, bearing the trials and history of this race. Even though the speaker has been turned away from the presence of company because of his race, his appetite is no more degraded. His sense of humor is also unaffected. Imagery can be used to imagine the speaker and the other servants hosting their own dinner in the kitchen, becoming stronger through each other's support. They enjoy each other's company and have good times together. These short lines mark the beginning of the “turn” of this poem, which serves as a change of poetic mood. Keep..