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Essay / Comparison of Hughes' "I, Too, Sing of America" with Whitman's "I Hear America Singing"
Critical opinions differ regarding Langston Hughes' poem, "I, too, sing of America" . This certainly reflects Walt Whitman's poem, "I Hear America Singing", as Hughes' title clearly alludes to Whitman's work. However, Hughes is himself a poet of great talent and should not be described as an imitator of Whitman. I agree and disagree with the points expressed by the authors of the critical articles I have read about Hughes' work. No; I agree with Gohar and Nadell's assertion that Hughes is referring to the institution of slavery in this work (Gohar2) (Nadell1). Rather, I believe he is referring to the position of most African Americans in the post-Great Depression period: say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In “Subverting the History of Slavery and Colonization in poetry of Langston Hughes,” Saddik Gohar argues that Langston Hughes poetically addresses the history of racism and colonization. colonization linking African American literary traditions to their counterparts in the United States. I disagree with Gohar because Langston Hughes' poetry is an expression of events that were happening at the time that included his political view of the situation. Hughes' poem "I, Too, Sing America" is a poem written during the Great Depression in which Hughes informs his readers about his view of America and its politics. “But I laugh and I eat well and I grow, but tomorrow I will be at the table when company comes” refers to problems that arise in politics and social improvements as economic conditions improve. It references the difficulties of that time, and "I'll Be at the Table When Company Comes" demonstrates how these struggles were overcome over time. The first verse of “I, Too, America Sings” is a forward-looking vision illustrating Hughes' thoughts. of what he said would happen if economic and political problems worsened. In the second stanza, the direction of events in the poem reverses, conditions improve, and Hughes writes about the positive outcome that reflects Franklin D. Roosevelt's work to turn the economy around for the better. Hughes is a political poet who expresses politics through his works (Gipson 1). Therefore, I disagree with Gohar's critical assessment. Unlike the first article, article two evaluates Hughes' work, "I, Too, Sing America" in an accepting and idealistic tone consistent with the figurative meaning of the poem. In the second article, Martha Nadell argues that the meaning of the poem is directed towards a certain type of economic problem, which Hughes chooses to express poetically. I agree with Nadell's assessment because, given the time period in which the poem was written, the economy and politics were troubled; therefore, knowing that Hughes was a political individual who expressed events poetically, I determined that he was referring to the events occurring at that time. Nadell's assertion was brought to mind by his analysis of the Harlem Renaissance and what the people there all had in common in their lives. works (Commander 2). “This formulates a unified theory of the relationships between image and text, rather than employing the approach of the African-American literacy movement” (Gipson 2), which is relevant because it gives me insight into the thoughts of Hughes on the Harlem Renaissance which influenced him poetically. address the