Langston Hughes Poetry Analysis Essay Sample

When history is written, our notable figures are usually put on pedestals despite often facing much push back or discouragement in their time for daring to be a new voice or even a catalyst for change. Langston Hughes–renown Harlem Renaissance poet–broached an avoided reality by writing verse that accurately depicted how common Black people of the Jazz age spoke and lived, even if the depiction was controversial. History has also shown that we need to be uncomfortable to enact change or growth, which may at first be seen as controversial. Hughes refused to follow the stylings of other writers of his time, withstanding criticisms from multiple audiences to become an artist with significant impact on and great support for Black art and expression.

During a time period following the introduction of the “Talented Tenth” concept– which saw it necessary to try to elevate the status of Black people in America through higher education and distancing an elite leadership class from the lesser privileged of the race–it was daring for Hughes to deviate from the path of his contemporaries. The standard during this time was what he considered to be Black writers shying away from their racial identity and how it informed their experiences, preferring to write in a form more like White artists. This in turn robbed the writers of any individuality from white counterparts, that they would be compared to if not thrust in the shadow of. Contrarily, Hughes opened the door for Black writers to truly express themselves and their lived experiences. He didn’t write about things that the media and critics may have expected or wanted, he wrote about the realities of working-class Black life. This came with criticism from his own people and various publications–The Pittsburgh Courier called his book of poems “trash”, New York Amsterdam News called him a “sewer-dweller”, and The Chicago Whip characterized him as “the poet low-rate of Harlem”. Many critics viewed his depictions of Black people as stereotypical and negative, simply because he chose to highlight the lives of those with a lower socioeconomic status. Undeterred by these jabs, Hughes continued to write with pride and encourage celebration of Black identity.

In 1926, Hughes wrote “The Negro Artist and The Racial Mountain” to call out to younger Black artists and implore them to embrace authenticity regardless of how it may be received. He claimed that the true obstacle between artists and producing real Black art was the desire to view one’s race as an issue or burden. This work became a belief statement of sorts for him and his Harlem Renaissance peers–including artists like Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston, Aaron Douglas, and Gwendolyn Bennett; the group later formed a magazine called “Fire!!”. Though its run was short, Fire!! was a valuable platform that featured the works of younger Black artists and explored topics considered improper, like sexuality. This naturally clashed with the higher society of Harlem and was met with feelings ranging from frustration to disgust. Members of the aforementioned Talented Tenth especially vocalized their distaste for the publication, which targeted the group in its attempts to test the standards of the older Black generation. Ironically, the Fire!! headquarters was burned down some time after its first issue was published and the magazine came to an end. This, though, did not snuff out his contributions to Black literature and will to promote a new order of ideas.

While the Harlem Renaissance is commonly accepted to have lasted through the 1920s to the mid 1930s, its effects were felt for many decades after and reached Black minds of different countries and different cultures. Many of Hughes’ writings and musings of Black pride in diversity reverberated with numerous foreign artists, especially across Francophone countries. Although most French colonies on the African continent would not be declared independent from France for at least four decades from the start of the Harlem Renaissance, the cultural message of this movement influenced the growth of inspection of the Black identity within an African context. This created a framework in which intellectuals explored concepts also familiar to Black Americans: diaspora and belonging in the midst of colonialism. From this, multiple movements and schools of thought have grown across the African diaspora and borrowed from one another over time. Hughes also never distanced himself from young writers as years passed; he often would interact with and assist writers with their work–be it through commentary or a connection to another in the literary network. Even as times changed and society progressed into a different landscape, Hughes maintained a position of admiration and influence among Black writers for his devotion to Black writers.

One could say Langston Hughes’ was destined to be a voice of great change due to his choosing of authenticity in his blackness over polished, “acceptable” whiteness. While met with challenge and critique from all sides, he still persevered to be an innovator for young Black writers coming behind him. He and his contemporaries may have been more advanced in their scope of what issues and topics to explore, which expectedly was not well received at the time–but this does not negate its meaning nor the contribution their writings had to more widely-connected talks of Blackness between writers and activists globally, as well as across generations. From his pen rose controversy, from that controversy grew inspiration for young writers standing in their identity and using it to propel thought. In consideration, look at the new thinkers around you deemed troublesome and contrary; will history remember them as such?