Search results
5. ‘ The Negro Speaks of Rivers ’. One of Hughes’ most popular and best-known poems, this very short poem is something of a brief history of black culture from ancient times to the present. Hughes was extraordinarily precocious, and wrote it when he was still a teenager. One day, as Hughes was travelling on a train that crossed over the ...
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Langston Hughes was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, the flowering of black intellectual, literary, and artistic life that took place in the 1920s in a number of American cities, particularly Harlem. A major poet, Hughes also wrote novels, short stories, essays, and plays.
- “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”
- “Mother to Son”
- “Dreams”
- “The Weary Blues”
- “Po’ Boy Blues”
- “Let America Be America Again”
- “Life Is Fine”
- “I, Too”
- “Harlem”
- “Brotherly Love”
Written when he was 17 years old on a train to Mexico City to see his father, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” was Hughes’ first published poem. It appeared in the June 1921 issue of the NAACP magazine The Crisis and received critical acclaim. The opening lines show a soul deeper than his age: “I’ve known rivers / I’ve known rivers ancient as the world...
With recitations from notable figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and actor Viola Davis, “Mother to Son” was published in the December 1922 issue of The Crisis. The 20-line poem traces a mother’s words to her child about their difficult life journey using the analogy of stairs with “tacks” and “splinters” in it. But ultimately she encourages her...
One of several Hughes poems about dreams and fittingly titled, this 1922 poem appeared in World Tomorrow. “Dreams,” an eight-line poem, remains a popular inspirational quote. It partially reads: “Hold fast to dreams / For if dreams die / Life is a broken-winged bird / That cannot fly.” Full Text
“The Weary Blues” follows an African American pianist playing in Harlem on Lenox Avenue. It starts off sounding like he’s completely carefree but ends: “The stars went out and so did the moon / The singer stopped playing and went to bed / While the Weary Blues echoed through his head / He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead.” After it won a cont...
As one of four Hughes poems that appeared in the November 1926 issue of Poetry Magazine, as well as his collection The Weary Blues, this poem feels music-like with its stanza and rhymes. The final verse reads: “Weary, weary / Weary early in de morn. / Weary, weary / Early, early in de morn. / I’s so wear / I wish I’d never been born.” Full Text
First published in the July 1936 issue of Esquire magazine, “Let America Be America Again” highlights how class plays such a crucial role in the ability to realize the promises of the American dream. The three opening stanzas are each followed by a parenthetical representing the cast-off realities for the lower class, such as: “Let America be Ameri...
Perseverance pushes through all the odds—even suicide attempts—in “Life is Fine.” Broken into three sections, the first part talks about jumping into a cold river: “If that water hadn’t a-been so cold / I might’ve sunk and died.” And the second about going to the top of a 16-floor building: “If it hadn’t a-been so high/ I might’ve jumped and died.”...
In “I, Too,” Hughes addresses segregation head-on: “I am the darker brother / They send me to eat in the kitchen / When company comes.” Despite being hidden in the back, he continues to “laugh,” “eat well,” and “grow strong.” The subject looks to a future of equality, emphatically declaring “I, too, am America.” Full Text
Perhaps his most influential poem, “Harlem” starts with the line “What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” The poem digs into the dichotomy of the idea of the American dream juxtaposed with the reality of being in a marginalized community. Hughes’ words inspired the title of Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 play A Rais...
Despite the fact that Hughes was more of a household name than King at the time, the poet wrote “Brotherly Love” about the civil rights activist and the Montgomery bus boycott, which starts: “In line of what my folks say in Montgomery / In line of what they’re teaching about love / When I reach out my hand, will you take it — / Or cut it off and le...
- Adrienne Donica
- Deputy Editor
People also ask
What poems did Langston Hughes write?
What is Langston Hughes best known for?
Was Langston Hughes a jazz poet?
What is a common theme in Langston Hughes poems?
- “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” I’ve known rivers: I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
- “Mother to Son” Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor—
- “Homesick Blues” De Railroad bridge’s. A sad song in de air. De railroad bridge’s. Every time de trains pass. I wants to go somewhere. I went down to de station.
- “Harlem Night Song” Come, Let us roam the night together. Singing. I love you. Across. The Harlem roof-tops. Moon is shining. Night sky is blue. Stars are great drops.
- As I Grew Older. It was a long time ago. I have almost forgotten my dream. Like many of the best-known Langston Hughes poems, this one addresses the challenges of achieving one’s dreams in a racist society.
- The Ballad of the Landlord. Landlord, landlord, My roof has sprung a leak. Don’t you ’member I told you about it. Way last week? This poem is excellent for younger students, as the story is easy to understand.
- Democracy. I live here, too. I want freedom. Just as you. ADVERTISEMENT. The speaker’s impassioned plea for democracy for all members of society speaks to the reader just as fervently today as it did when it was published in 1949.
- Dream Boogie. Ain’t you heard. The boogie-woogie rumble. Of a dream deferred? During the Jazz Age, white people flocked to Harlem to enjoy the music of Black musicians, which they found joyful and freeing.
Langston Hughes wrote numerous notable poems throughout his career. Some of his most famous works include ' The Negro Speaks of Rivers ,' ' Harlem (Dream Deferred) ,' ' I, Too ,' ' Mother to Son ,' and ' Theme for English B .'. These poems explore themes of identity, racial inequality, and the African American experience.
I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem. I went to school there, then Durham, then here. to this college on the hill above Harlem. I am the only colored student in my class. The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem, through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas, Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y, the Harlem Branch Y, where I ...
