Langston Hughes Poetry the Two

Langston Hughes Poetry

The two poems by Langston Hughes -- "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," and "Mother to Son," are excellent examples of the diversity of creative talent this American icon produces. Hughes is certainly considered one of the great poets -- not just of African-American poets but all of the talented poets that were born in the U.S. And plied their trade here -- and his work is recognized as reflecting his culture as well as his own thoughts and experiences. Along with Countee Cullen and Jean Toomer, Hughes helped Americans of all faiths and ethnicities come to an moral and ethical understanding of what it is like to be a black person in a mainly white American society. The thesis: In "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," Hughes relates to the history of the black culture, tracing it from the Euphrates River, which is considered the place on earth where agriculture was born and the farming society became an important source of sustenance for civilization, to Africa and into America. Every line in "the Negro Speaks of Rivers" is powered with images or metaphors that are richly endowed with the black culture's struggles and successes. "Mother to Son" is quite different in theme although it also traces the struggles of the black culture. In this poem, Hughes uses the image of a mother giving personal advice to convey a message to all black people to never give up, never turn back, to not be discouraged by challenges and instead look ahead to find the light. "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" is more about the culture's enduring legacy -- based largely on the past -- and "Mother to Son" looks ahead to the future with a setting based on the present but set in the past.

The brilliance of Hughes' ability to say a great deal in a very few words truly comes through in "The Negro Speaks of Rivers." There are so many ideas present in this poem that a student could take it in many directions. Perhaps this is what Hughes wanted readers to do, that is, find meaning in whatever aspect that jumps out at them. For this student, Hughes is not speaking for himself but for the black culture. Blacks may have originated in Africa, but to read this poem one can see that blacks have been part of practically every society through the ages. The poet uses the metaphor of the river to help the theme move along through the ages. "I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins" appears to be an assertion in support of evolution. The most ancient bones that scientists have found (that date back millions of years ago) in Africa and elsewhere show that prior to what we now know as humans, there were creatures evolving that perhaps Hughes is alluding to. They were mammals but did not yet have "human blood" flowing through their veins.

So, Hughes sets the stage by asserting that Negroes have been in every region of the world during every period of history. After establishing setting, and the march through history (through Africa, Egypt, on to the Mississippi River in the time of slavery) the poet implies that it is all a kind of miracle. When he explains that the "muddy bosom" of the river (or, of the life of the black culture) turns "all golden in the sunset," that is a sweet transition for a culture, and nothing less than mystical, magical and wonderful. Turning mud to gold is the miracle of survival through all the chaos, carnage, and brutal injustices done to black people over the centuries.

In "Mother to Son" the poet is using the genre of family, the power structure in the nuclear family, to make a statement to the whole culture of African-Americans. While the first poem uses broad brushstrokes on a global canvas -- pointing to the past, and the black culture's survival as it moves forward into the future like the flow of a river -- in "Mother to Son" Hughes brings his message home, using the stairs as a metaphor for human struggles and the strength it requires to stay strong in those struggles. "Boy" in this sense is a metaphor for the culture, perhaps specifically the youthful black culture that may have become frustrated with institutional racism in America. "Don't you set down on the steps / 'Cause you finds it's kinder hard" he writes; those passages are the poet's way of saying, if you think you've got it bad, you have no idea what your forbearers have gone though so you can have and advantages you have today. Earlier in the poem "Mother" is saying, without complaining, how miserable life can be with bare floors. Using "Bare" as one line says a great deal about mother's life. The images portray a life without the "bare" necessities, with stairs that are steep and sudden curves and corners thrown at the culture.

What seems like a mother explaining her trials (softly scolding her son, "Don't you fall now…") is actually a mother saying, I've been through it all and I keep on moving up those stairs to find peace and safety, so don't you dare tell me you can't make it. You have only begun to understand the challenges that your parents and grandparents have faced, she is saying through the poet's lines.