This paper discusses the poetry of African-American poet Langston Hughes including Sandburg’s influence, folk dialect, naturalism and black experiences.
Langston Hughes’ poetry is meaningful to today’s children. He speaks of the basic elements and emotions in life – love, hate, aspirations, despair; he writes in the language of today, and speaks of tomorrow..
So says Lee Bennett Hopkins, editor of a volume of Hughes poetry. It is a near perfect summation of the pure simplicity of style and meaning which combine to give power to Hughes’ work. Above anything else, Hughes’ poetry and prose are dependent on his abstinence from a strained sort of symbolism. This would only detract from his intentions. When Hughes speaks of life, he reduces it to its most basic components. These components, as Hopkins noted, are clear to any reader. They rely on elements which are so common in human experience that they know no racial bars.
So says Lee Bennett Hopkins, editor of a volume of Hughes poetry. It is a near perfect summation of the pure simplicity of style and meaning which combine to give power to Hughes’ work. Above anything else, Hughes’ poetry and prose are dependent on his abstinence from a strained sort of symbolism. This would only detract from his intentions. When Hughes speaks of life, he reduces it to its most basic components. These components, as Hopkins noted, are clear to any reader. They rely on elements which are so common in human experience that they know no racial bars.