The Theme Analysis of Four of Langston Hughes' Poems and Four of Countee Cullen's Poems.
ABSTRACT
Dalam tugas akhir ini, saya menganalisis tema dari empat puisi Langston
Hughes yang berjudul “I Dream a World”, “Ruby Brown”, “Merry-Go-Round”
dan “A New Song” melalui diksi. Selain itu, saya juga menganalisis tema dari
empat puisi Countee Cullen yang berjudul “Incident”, “Uncle Jim”, “Scottsboro,
Too, Is Worth Its Song (A poem to American poets)” dan “A Brown Girl Dead”
yang juga dianalisis melalui diksi. Kedelapan puisi tersebut menggambarkan
diskriminasi yang dialami oleh orang-orang berkulit hitam, dan diungkapkan oleh
Langston Hughes dan Countee Cullen melalui kata-kata yang berhubungan
dengan diskriminasi.
Meskipun terdapat beberapa perbedaaan dalam hal tema dan gaya menulis,
menurut saya Langston Hughes dan Countee Cullen berhasil menyampaikan isu
diskriminasi dalam puisi-puisi yang mereka tulis. Melalui puisi-puisi tersebut,
para pembaca dapat mengetahui dampak dari diskriminasi yang dialami oleh
orang-orang berkulit hitam.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................. i
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................... iii
ABSTRACT ..........................................................................................................iv
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .................................................................1
Background of the Study .............................................................................1
Statement of the Study ................................................................................3
Purpose of the Study ...................................................................................3
Method of Research ....................................................................................3
Organization of the Study ...........................................................................3
CHAPTER TWO: THE THEME ANALYSIS OF FOUR
OF LANGSTON HUGHES’ POEMS THROUGH DICTION ..............4
CHAPTER THREE: THE THEME ANALYSIS OF FOUR
OF COUNTEE CULLEN’S POEMS THROUGH DICTION .............16
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION .................................................................29
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................32
APPENDICS
Poems of Langston Hughes ........................................................................36
Poems of Countee Cullen ...........................................................................41
Biography of Langston Hughes ..................................................................46
Biography of Countee Cullen .....................................................................47
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APPENDICES
Poems by Langston Hughes
I Dream a World
I dream a world where man
No other man will scorn,
Where love will bless the earth
And peace its paths adorn
I dream a world where all
Will know sweet freedom’s way,
Where greed no longer saps the soul
Nor avarice blights our day.
A world I dream where black or white,
Whatever race you be,
Will share the bounties of the earth
And every man is free,
Where wretchedness will hang its head
And joy, like a pearl,
Attends the needs of all mankindOf such I dream, my world!
5
10
15
36
Ruby Brown
She was young and beautiful
And golden like the sunshine
That warmed her body.
And because she was colored
Mayville had no place to over her,
Nor fuel for the clean flame joy
That tried to burn within her soul.
One day, sitting on old Mrs. Latham’s back porch
Polishing the silver,
She asked herself two questions
And they run something like this:
What can a colored girl do
On the money from a white woman’s kitchen?
And ain’t there joy in this town
Now the street down by the river
Know more about this pretty Ruby Brown,
And the sinister shuttered houses of the bottoms
Hold a yellow girl
Seeking an answer to her questions.
The good church folk do not mention
Her name anymore.
But the white men,
Habitués of the high shuttered houses,
Pay more money to her now
Than they ever did before,
When she worked in their kitchens.
37
5
10
15
20
25
Merry-Go-Round
COLORED CHILD AT CARNIVAL
Where is the Jim Crow section
On this merry-go-round
Mister, cause I want to ride?
Down South where I come from
White and colored
Can’t sit side by side.
Down south on the train
There’s a Jim Crow.
On the bus we’re put in the back-But there ain’t no back
To a merry-go-round!
Where’s the horse
For a kid that’s black?
5
10
38
A New Song
I speak in the name of the black millions
Awakening to action
Let all others keep silent a moment
I have this word to bring,
This thing to say,
This song to sing:
Bitter was the day
When I bowed my back
Beneath the slaver’s whip.
That day is past.
Bitter was the day
When I saw my children unschooled,
My young man without a voice in the world,
My woman taken as the body-toys
Of a thieving people.
That day is past.
Bitter was the day, I say,
When the lyncher’s rope
Hung about my neck,
And the fire scorched my feet,
And the oppressors had no pity,
And only in the sorrow songs
Relief was found.
That day is past.
I know full well now
Only my own hands,
Dark as the earth,
Can make my earth-dark body free.
O thieves, exploiters, killers,
No longer shall you say
With arrogant eyes and scornful lips:
“You are my servant,
Black man39
5
10
15
20
25
30
I, the free
That day is pastFor now,
In many mouthsDark mouths where red tongues burn
And white teeth gleamNew words are formed,
Bitter
With the past
But sweet
With the dream.
Tense,
Unyielding,
Strong and sure,
They sweep the earthRevolt! Arise!
The Black
And white World
Shall be one!
The Worker’s World!
The past is done!
A new dream flames
Against the
Sun!
35
40
45
50
55
40
Poems by Countee Cullen
Incident
Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.
Now I was eight and very small,
5
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, “Nigger.”
I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December;
10
Of all the things that happened there
That’s all that I remember.
41
Uncle Jim
“White folks is white,” says uncle Jim;
“A platitude,” I sneer;
And then I tell him so is milk,
And the froth upon his beer.
His heart walled up with bitterness,
5
He smokes his pungent pipe,
And nods at me as if to say,
“Young fool, you’ll soon be ripe!”
I have a friend who eats his heart
Always with grief of mine,
10
Who drinks my joys as tipplers drain
Deep goblets filled with wine.
I wonder why here at his side,
Face-in-the-grass with him,
My mind should stray the Grecian urn
15
To muse on uncle Jim.
42
Scottsboro, Too, Is Worth Its Song
(A poem to American poets)
I SAID:
Now will the poets sing,
The cries go thundering
Their cries go thundering
Like blood and tears
5
Into the nation’s ears,
Like lightning dart
Into the nation’s heart.
Against disease and death and all things fell,
And war,
10
Their strophes rise and swell
To jar
The foe smug in his citadel.
Remembering their sharp and pretty
Tunes for Sacco and Vanzetti,
15
I said:
Here too’s a cause divinely spun
For those whose eyes are on the sun,
Here in epitome
Is all disgrace
20
And epic wrong.
Like wine to brace
The minstrel heart, and blare it into song.
43
Surely, I said,
Now will the poets sing.
25
But they have raised no cry.
I wonder why.
44
A Brown Girl Dead
With two white roses on her breast,
White candles at head and feet,
Dark Madonna on the grave she rest;
Lord Death has found her sweet.
Her mother pawned her wedding ring
5
To lay her out in white;
She’d be so proud she’d dance and sing
To see herself tonight.
45
Biography
Biography of Langston Hughes
James Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri.
He begins to write poetry in the eighth grade when he was in Central High School in
Cleveland. Langston Hughes gained fame as a poet during the burgeoning of the arts
known as the Harlem renaissance
Besides being known as a poet, he was also known as a novelist, columnist,
playwright, and also essayist. Langston Hughes work’s was influenced by Paul
Lawrence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg, and Walt Whitman. He was a prolific writer. He
wrote sixteen books of poem, two novels, three collections of short stories, and four
volume of “editorial” and “documentary” fiction, twenty plays, children’s poetry,
musical, and plays three autobiography, a dozen radio and television scripts and
dozens of magazines articles. “The Negro Speaks of River” was his first published
poem, and also one of his most famous. Hughes’ first volume of poetry, The Weary
Blues, appeared in 1926. His first novel, Not Without Laughter, won the Harmon
gold medal for literature.
Langston Hughes died of complication from prostate cancer, on May 22,
1967. His residence at 20 East 127th Street in Harlem, New York has been given
landmark status by the New York City Preservation Commission. His block of East
127th Street was renamed “Langston Hughes Place.”
Source: Harper
46
Biography of Countee Cullen
Countee Cullen was born on May 30, 1903. Cullen was born with the name
Countee LeRoy Porter and was abandoned by his parents at birth. Between high
school and his graduation from Harvard, Cullen was the most popular black poet and
virtually the most popular black literary figure in America. Countee Cullen had
achieved considerable literary fame during the era known as the New Negro or
Harlem Renaissance.
Countee Cullen was known as a poet, anthologist, novelist, translator,
children’s writer, and playwright. He wrote most of the poems for his first three
volumes: Color (1925), Copper Sun (1927), and The Ballad of the Brown Girl (1927).
Cullen won more major literary prizes than any other black writers of the 1920s: first
prizes in the Witter Bynner Poetry contest in 1925, Poetry magazine’s John Reed
Memorial Prizes, the Amy Spingarn Award of the Crisis magazine, second prizes in
Opportunity magazine’s first poetry contest, and second prizes in the poetry contest
of Psalms. In addition, he was the second black to win a Guggenheim Fellowship. He
was also working on a musical with Anna Bontemps called St. Louis Woman (based
on Bontemps’s novel God Sends Sunday) at the time of his death.
Cullen died of blood high and uremic poisoning in New York City on January
9, 1946. Being private about his life, Cullen left behind no autobiography.
Source: Early
47
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Racial discrimination is “to treat differently a person or a group of people
based on their race origin” (“Racial Discrimination”) A clear example of
discrimination towards black people in America in 1920’s is that “Kentucky
required separate schools, and also that no text book would be issued to a black
would ever be reissued or redistributed, they were also prohibited interracial
marriage” (“Segregation”).
Langston Hughes is a poet who gains fame “during the burgeoning of the
arts known as the Harlem Renaissance” (Harper). Langston Hughes began to write
in 1921 until 1954. In 1921, Hughes’ “The Negro Speaks of rivers,” was
published in NAACP journal Crisis (“Langston Hughes Timeline”). Hughes’ first
volume of poetry, The Weary Blues, appeared in 1926. A year later, Hughes’
second volume of poetry, Fine Clothes to the Jew, was published. In addition,
Langston Hughes’ first novel, Not Without Laughter was published in 1930. In
writing most of his poetry, Langston Hughes “uses the rhythms of African-
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American music particularly blues and jazz. This sets his poetry apart from that of
other writers, and it allowed him to experiment with a very rhythmic free verse”
(Langston Hughes Biography). Langston Hughes’ poems that I will discussin my
thesis are “I Dream a World”, “Ruby Brown”, “Merry-Go-Round” and “A New
Song”. I choose to analyze the four poems in my thesis since they closely deal
with discrimination towards black people.
Countee Cullen is a poet who attains fame “during the era known as the
New Negro or Harlem Renaissance” (Early). Moreover, Cullen also was known as
the most popular black poet and black literary figure in Dewitt Clinton High
School. While in high school, Cullen won his first contest, a citywide competition,
with the poem “I Have a Rendezvous with Life” (Early). At New York University,
he wrote most of the poems for his first three volumes: Color (1925), Copper Sun
(1927), and The Ballad of the Brown Girl (1927) (Early). Countee Cullen was “a
romantic lyric poet” (Johnson). Cullen’s poems that I will discuss in my thesis are
entitled “Incident”, “Uncle Jim”, “Scottsboro, Too, Is Worth Its Song (A poem to
American poets)” and “A Brown Girl Dead”. I choose to analyze the four poems
in my thesis as they deal with discrimination towards black people.
In my thesis, I am going to analyze the themes of Langston Hughes and
Countee Cullen’s poems. All of their poems are concerned with discrimination
towards black people. The definition of theme is “the central concept develops in
a poem” (Reaske 42). I will analyze the theme of the poems through diction,
which is defined as “the use of words in poetry.” (Reaske 31).
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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1. What is the theme of each poem?
2. How is the theme revealed?
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
1. To show the theme of each poem.
2. To show how the theme is revealed.
METHOD OF RESEARCH
I conduct library research for my thesis. First, I read the poems. After that,
I analyze these poems through the dictions. And then, I search for a number of
references from books and Internet websites. In the end, I draw conclusion from
my thesis.
ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS
I divide my thesis into three parts, preceded by the Acknowledgments, the
Abstract, and the Table of Contents. Chapter One is the Introduction, which
consists of the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the
Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis.
Chapter Two is The Theme Analysis of Four of Langston Hughes’s Poems.
Chapter Three is The Theme Analysis of Four of Countee Cullen Poems. Chapter
Four is the Conclusion. The thesis ends with Bibliography and Appendices, which
contain Langston Hughes’ and Countee Cullen’s poems and the Biographies of
Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen.
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CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
In this chapter, I am going to draw a conclusion on my analysis of four of
Langston Hughes’s poems and four of Countee Cullen’s poems revealed through
diction. Four of Langston Hughes’ poems that I have analyzed in Chapter Two
are: “I Dream a World”, “Ruby Brown”, “Merry-Go-Round” and “A New Song.”
Four of Countee Cullen’s poems that I have analyzed in the previous chapter are:
“Incident”, “Uncle Jim”, “Scottsboro, Too, Is Worth Its Song (A poem to
American poets)” and “A Brown Girl Dead.”
There are several similarities between Langston Hughes and Countee
Cullen. First, they are both black people who come from the New Negro or
Harlem Renaissance era, and they write poems about discrimination performed by
white people towards black people. Secondly, in writing poems both Langston
Hughes and Countee Cullen use simple words that are easily understood, in
relation to discrimination. For example, in “I Dream a World”, Hughes uses the
words “love”, “freedom” and “peace”, while in Cullen “Scottsboro, Too, Is Worth
Its Song”, Cullen uses the words “tears”, “blood” and “cries.” Interestingly, both
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Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen use contrasting words in their
poems. For example in “I Dream a World”, Hughes uses the words “black” and
“white”, while in “Uncle Jim”, Cullen uses the words “bitter” and “joy.”
There are also several differences between the poems written by Langston
Hughes and Countee Cullen. The first, it concerns the speakers’ attitudes in their
poems. The speakers in Langston Hughes’s poems show optimistic attitudes
towards discrimination, which is because Hughes was born and grew up in a
multicultural environment that it made him realize that “both black and white
people are equal in many aspects of life” (“Langston Hughes: Childhood”). On the
other hand, the speakers in Countee Cullen’s poems show pessimistic attitude
towards discrimination, because Cullen was “raised and educated in a white
people community” (“Countee Cullen”), which is why he thinks like white person,
who thinks that it is impossible for black people to be free from discrimination.
In addition, Hughes and Cullen have different styles in writing poems.
Langston Hughes’ poems are conversational, while Countee Cullen’s poems are
narrative. For example, in Hughes’ “Merry-Go-Round”, Hughes includes a
conversation between the speaker and a white boy, while, in Countee Cullen’s
“Incident”, the speaker narrates the discrimination that took place in his or her life
in details.
In my opinion, Hughes is successful in presenting the issue of
discrimination in his poems. Four of Langston Hughes’ poems that show the spirit
of optimism in facing discrimination are very inspiring. For example, in my
favorite poem, “I Dream a World,” the narrator shows his/her optimism to
struggle against the discrimination that he/she experiences. The poem delivers a
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message that one should not easily give up. Moreover, one has to be optimistic
and brave in order to survive from any hardships in life, such as discrimination.
Cullen is also successful in presenting the issue of discrimination. Through
four of Countee Cullen’s poems that I have analyzed, one is aware of how
discrimination may have a destructive impact on one’s life. For example, in
“Incident,” the discrimination that the narrator experiences makes him or her
become pessimistic because he or she is burdened by the discrimination he or she
has experienced in the past. Even though I disagree with the pessimistic attitudes
of the narrators in Cullen’s poems, I believe one may learn to understand why
many black people feel pessimistic or even bitter due to the discrimination they
have experienced in the past.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
References:
Reaske, Christopher Russel. How to Analyze Poetry. New York: Monarch Press,
1996.
Internet Websites:
“Countee Cullen.” Poets. 2011. 30 May 2011.
“Discrimination.” The Free Dictionary. 2010. 31 Mar. 2010.
Early, Gerald. “Modern American Poetry.” English Illinois. 1997. 16 Aug. 2010.
Gaston, Charlie. “The Meaning of a Single White Rose.” eHow. 2011. 11 May
2011.
Hamilton, Carol Vanderveer. “American Writers and the SaccoVanzetti case.” English Illinois. 2011. 18 May. 2011.
Harper, Donna Akiba Sullivan. “Black History Month.” Gale Cengage Learning.
2010. 31 Mar. 2010.
Johnson, Clifton H. “Modern American Poetry.” English Illinois. 2000. 30 Jun.
2011.
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< http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/cullen/life.htm>
Kennedy, Randall. “A Note on the Word “Nigger.” Harp Week. 1999. 20 Apr.
2011.
Kindig, Jessie. “Scottsboro Boys, Trial and Defense Campaign (1931–1937).”
Black Past. 2011. 23 May 2011.
“Langston Hughes Biography.” Kansas Heritage. 2011. 30 Jun. 2011.
“Langston Hughes: Childhood.” Shmoop. 2011. 1 Jun. 2011.
< http://www.shmoop.com/langston-hughes/childhood.html>
“Langston Hughes Timeline.” Shmoop. 2011. 24 Jun. 2011.
< http://www.shmoop.com/langston-hughes/timeline.html>
“Merry-go-round.” The Free Dictionary. 2011. 6 Apr. 2011.
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press,
2003.
“Pessimism.” Cambridge Dictionary Online. 2011. 20 Apr. 2011.
Pilgrim, David. “What was Jim Crow.” Ferris State University. 2000. 3 Apr. 2011
Richard, Cicely. “Poetry Analysis: Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats.” Helium:
Poets & Poetry. 2011. 13 May. 2011.
“Segregation.” Kawvalley. 2010. 22 Aug. 2010.
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“The History of Sacco and Vanzetti.” Torre Maggiore. 2000. 2 May 2011.
“The Precept of Black Inferiority.” Associated Content. 2011. 20 May 2011.
“What are Stereotypes about Black People?” Answer. 2011. 3 Mar. 2011.
Primary Texts:
“A Brown Girl Dead.” Poetry Foundation. 2010. 10 Aug. 2010.
“A New Song.” World Poetry. 2008. 30 Mar. 2010.
“I Dream A World.” Poems About. 2010. 30 Mar. 2010.
“Incident.” Poetry Foundation. 2010. 10 Aug. 2010.
“Merry-Go-Round.” Poems About. 2010. 30 Mar. 2010.
“Ruby Brown.” Random House. 2004. 30 Mar. 2010.
“Scottsboro, Too, Is Worth Its Song.” National Humilities Centre Resource
Toolbox. 2007. 30 Mar. 2010.
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“Uncle Jim.” Poetry Foundation. 2010. 10 Aug. 2010.
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Dalam tugas akhir ini, saya menganalisis tema dari empat puisi Langston
Hughes yang berjudul “I Dream a World”, “Ruby Brown”, “Merry-Go-Round”
dan “A New Song” melalui diksi. Selain itu, saya juga menganalisis tema dari
empat puisi Countee Cullen yang berjudul “Incident”, “Uncle Jim”, “Scottsboro,
Too, Is Worth Its Song (A poem to American poets)” dan “A Brown Girl Dead”
yang juga dianalisis melalui diksi. Kedelapan puisi tersebut menggambarkan
diskriminasi yang dialami oleh orang-orang berkulit hitam, dan diungkapkan oleh
Langston Hughes dan Countee Cullen melalui kata-kata yang berhubungan
dengan diskriminasi.
Meskipun terdapat beberapa perbedaaan dalam hal tema dan gaya menulis,
menurut saya Langston Hughes dan Countee Cullen berhasil menyampaikan isu
diskriminasi dalam puisi-puisi yang mereka tulis. Melalui puisi-puisi tersebut,
para pembaca dapat mengetahui dampak dari diskriminasi yang dialami oleh
orang-orang berkulit hitam.
iv
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................. i
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................... iii
ABSTRACT ..........................................................................................................iv
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .................................................................1
Background of the Study .............................................................................1
Statement of the Study ................................................................................3
Purpose of the Study ...................................................................................3
Method of Research ....................................................................................3
Organization of the Study ...........................................................................3
CHAPTER TWO: THE THEME ANALYSIS OF FOUR
OF LANGSTON HUGHES’ POEMS THROUGH DICTION ..............4
CHAPTER THREE: THE THEME ANALYSIS OF FOUR
OF COUNTEE CULLEN’S POEMS THROUGH DICTION .............16
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION .................................................................29
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................32
APPENDICS
Poems of Langston Hughes ........................................................................36
Poems of Countee Cullen ...........................................................................41
Biography of Langston Hughes ..................................................................46
Biography of Countee Cullen .....................................................................47
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APPENDICES
Poems by Langston Hughes
I Dream a World
I dream a world where man
No other man will scorn,
Where love will bless the earth
And peace its paths adorn
I dream a world where all
Will know sweet freedom’s way,
Where greed no longer saps the soul
Nor avarice blights our day.
A world I dream where black or white,
Whatever race you be,
Will share the bounties of the earth
And every man is free,
Where wretchedness will hang its head
And joy, like a pearl,
Attends the needs of all mankindOf such I dream, my world!
5
10
15
36
Ruby Brown
She was young and beautiful
And golden like the sunshine
That warmed her body.
And because she was colored
Mayville had no place to over her,
Nor fuel for the clean flame joy
That tried to burn within her soul.
One day, sitting on old Mrs. Latham’s back porch
Polishing the silver,
She asked herself two questions
And they run something like this:
What can a colored girl do
On the money from a white woman’s kitchen?
And ain’t there joy in this town
Now the street down by the river
Know more about this pretty Ruby Brown,
And the sinister shuttered houses of the bottoms
Hold a yellow girl
Seeking an answer to her questions.
The good church folk do not mention
Her name anymore.
But the white men,
Habitués of the high shuttered houses,
Pay more money to her now
Than they ever did before,
When she worked in their kitchens.
37
5
10
15
20
25
Merry-Go-Round
COLORED CHILD AT CARNIVAL
Where is the Jim Crow section
On this merry-go-round
Mister, cause I want to ride?
Down South where I come from
White and colored
Can’t sit side by side.
Down south on the train
There’s a Jim Crow.
On the bus we’re put in the back-But there ain’t no back
To a merry-go-round!
Where’s the horse
For a kid that’s black?
5
10
38
A New Song
I speak in the name of the black millions
Awakening to action
Let all others keep silent a moment
I have this word to bring,
This thing to say,
This song to sing:
Bitter was the day
When I bowed my back
Beneath the slaver’s whip.
That day is past.
Bitter was the day
When I saw my children unschooled,
My young man without a voice in the world,
My woman taken as the body-toys
Of a thieving people.
That day is past.
Bitter was the day, I say,
When the lyncher’s rope
Hung about my neck,
And the fire scorched my feet,
And the oppressors had no pity,
And only in the sorrow songs
Relief was found.
That day is past.
I know full well now
Only my own hands,
Dark as the earth,
Can make my earth-dark body free.
O thieves, exploiters, killers,
No longer shall you say
With arrogant eyes and scornful lips:
“You are my servant,
Black man39
5
10
15
20
25
30
I, the free
That day is pastFor now,
In many mouthsDark mouths where red tongues burn
And white teeth gleamNew words are formed,
Bitter
With the past
But sweet
With the dream.
Tense,
Unyielding,
Strong and sure,
They sweep the earthRevolt! Arise!
The Black
And white World
Shall be one!
The Worker’s World!
The past is done!
A new dream flames
Against the
Sun!
35
40
45
50
55
40
Poems by Countee Cullen
Incident
Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.
Now I was eight and very small,
5
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, “Nigger.”
I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December;
10
Of all the things that happened there
That’s all that I remember.
41
Uncle Jim
“White folks is white,” says uncle Jim;
“A platitude,” I sneer;
And then I tell him so is milk,
And the froth upon his beer.
His heart walled up with bitterness,
5
He smokes his pungent pipe,
And nods at me as if to say,
“Young fool, you’ll soon be ripe!”
I have a friend who eats his heart
Always with grief of mine,
10
Who drinks my joys as tipplers drain
Deep goblets filled with wine.
I wonder why here at his side,
Face-in-the-grass with him,
My mind should stray the Grecian urn
15
To muse on uncle Jim.
42
Scottsboro, Too, Is Worth Its Song
(A poem to American poets)
I SAID:
Now will the poets sing,
The cries go thundering
Their cries go thundering
Like blood and tears
5
Into the nation’s ears,
Like lightning dart
Into the nation’s heart.
Against disease and death and all things fell,
And war,
10
Their strophes rise and swell
To jar
The foe smug in his citadel.
Remembering their sharp and pretty
Tunes for Sacco and Vanzetti,
15
I said:
Here too’s a cause divinely spun
For those whose eyes are on the sun,
Here in epitome
Is all disgrace
20
And epic wrong.
Like wine to brace
The minstrel heart, and blare it into song.
43
Surely, I said,
Now will the poets sing.
25
But they have raised no cry.
I wonder why.
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A Brown Girl Dead
With two white roses on her breast,
White candles at head and feet,
Dark Madonna on the grave she rest;
Lord Death has found her sweet.
Her mother pawned her wedding ring
5
To lay her out in white;
She’d be so proud she’d dance and sing
To see herself tonight.
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Biography
Biography of Langston Hughes
James Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri.
He begins to write poetry in the eighth grade when he was in Central High School in
Cleveland. Langston Hughes gained fame as a poet during the burgeoning of the arts
known as the Harlem renaissance
Besides being known as a poet, he was also known as a novelist, columnist,
playwright, and also essayist. Langston Hughes work’s was influenced by Paul
Lawrence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg, and Walt Whitman. He was a prolific writer. He
wrote sixteen books of poem, two novels, three collections of short stories, and four
volume of “editorial” and “documentary” fiction, twenty plays, children’s poetry,
musical, and plays three autobiography, a dozen radio and television scripts and
dozens of magazines articles. “The Negro Speaks of River” was his first published
poem, and also one of his most famous. Hughes’ first volume of poetry, The Weary
Blues, appeared in 1926. His first novel, Not Without Laughter, won the Harmon
gold medal for literature.
Langston Hughes died of complication from prostate cancer, on May 22,
1967. His residence at 20 East 127th Street in Harlem, New York has been given
landmark status by the New York City Preservation Commission. His block of East
127th Street was renamed “Langston Hughes Place.”
Source: Harper
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Biography of Countee Cullen
Countee Cullen was born on May 30, 1903. Cullen was born with the name
Countee LeRoy Porter and was abandoned by his parents at birth. Between high
school and his graduation from Harvard, Cullen was the most popular black poet and
virtually the most popular black literary figure in America. Countee Cullen had
achieved considerable literary fame during the era known as the New Negro or
Harlem Renaissance.
Countee Cullen was known as a poet, anthologist, novelist, translator,
children’s writer, and playwright. He wrote most of the poems for his first three
volumes: Color (1925), Copper Sun (1927), and The Ballad of the Brown Girl (1927).
Cullen won more major literary prizes than any other black writers of the 1920s: first
prizes in the Witter Bynner Poetry contest in 1925, Poetry magazine’s John Reed
Memorial Prizes, the Amy Spingarn Award of the Crisis magazine, second prizes in
Opportunity magazine’s first poetry contest, and second prizes in the poetry contest
of Psalms. In addition, he was the second black to win a Guggenheim Fellowship. He
was also working on a musical with Anna Bontemps called St. Louis Woman (based
on Bontemps’s novel God Sends Sunday) at the time of his death.
Cullen died of blood high and uremic poisoning in New York City on January
9, 1946. Being private about his life, Cullen left behind no autobiography.
Source: Early
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Racial discrimination is “to treat differently a person or a group of people
based on their race origin” (“Racial Discrimination”) A clear example of
discrimination towards black people in America in 1920’s is that “Kentucky
required separate schools, and also that no text book would be issued to a black
would ever be reissued or redistributed, they were also prohibited interracial
marriage” (“Segregation”).
Langston Hughes is a poet who gains fame “during the burgeoning of the
arts known as the Harlem Renaissance” (Harper). Langston Hughes began to write
in 1921 until 1954. In 1921, Hughes’ “The Negro Speaks of rivers,” was
published in NAACP journal Crisis (“Langston Hughes Timeline”). Hughes’ first
volume of poetry, The Weary Blues, appeared in 1926. A year later, Hughes’
second volume of poetry, Fine Clothes to the Jew, was published. In addition,
Langston Hughes’ first novel, Not Without Laughter was published in 1930. In
writing most of his poetry, Langston Hughes “uses the rhythms of African-
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American music particularly blues and jazz. This sets his poetry apart from that of
other writers, and it allowed him to experiment with a very rhythmic free verse”
(Langston Hughes Biography). Langston Hughes’ poems that I will discussin my
thesis are “I Dream a World”, “Ruby Brown”, “Merry-Go-Round” and “A New
Song”. I choose to analyze the four poems in my thesis since they closely deal
with discrimination towards black people.
Countee Cullen is a poet who attains fame “during the era known as the
New Negro or Harlem Renaissance” (Early). Moreover, Cullen also was known as
the most popular black poet and black literary figure in Dewitt Clinton High
School. While in high school, Cullen won his first contest, a citywide competition,
with the poem “I Have a Rendezvous with Life” (Early). At New York University,
he wrote most of the poems for his first three volumes: Color (1925), Copper Sun
(1927), and The Ballad of the Brown Girl (1927) (Early). Countee Cullen was “a
romantic lyric poet” (Johnson). Cullen’s poems that I will discuss in my thesis are
entitled “Incident”, “Uncle Jim”, “Scottsboro, Too, Is Worth Its Song (A poem to
American poets)” and “A Brown Girl Dead”. I choose to analyze the four poems
in my thesis as they deal with discrimination towards black people.
In my thesis, I am going to analyze the themes of Langston Hughes and
Countee Cullen’s poems. All of their poems are concerned with discrimination
towards black people. The definition of theme is “the central concept develops in
a poem” (Reaske 42). I will analyze the theme of the poems through diction,
which is defined as “the use of words in poetry.” (Reaske 31).
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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1. What is the theme of each poem?
2. How is the theme revealed?
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
1. To show the theme of each poem.
2. To show how the theme is revealed.
METHOD OF RESEARCH
I conduct library research for my thesis. First, I read the poems. After that,
I analyze these poems through the dictions. And then, I search for a number of
references from books and Internet websites. In the end, I draw conclusion from
my thesis.
ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS
I divide my thesis into three parts, preceded by the Acknowledgments, the
Abstract, and the Table of Contents. Chapter One is the Introduction, which
consists of the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the
Purpose of the Study, the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis.
Chapter Two is The Theme Analysis of Four of Langston Hughes’s Poems.
Chapter Three is The Theme Analysis of Four of Countee Cullen Poems. Chapter
Four is the Conclusion. The thesis ends with Bibliography and Appendices, which
contain Langston Hughes’ and Countee Cullen’s poems and the Biographies of
Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen.
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CHAPTER FOUR
CONCLUSION
In this chapter, I am going to draw a conclusion on my analysis of four of
Langston Hughes’s poems and four of Countee Cullen’s poems revealed through
diction. Four of Langston Hughes’ poems that I have analyzed in Chapter Two
are: “I Dream a World”, “Ruby Brown”, “Merry-Go-Round” and “A New Song.”
Four of Countee Cullen’s poems that I have analyzed in the previous chapter are:
“Incident”, “Uncle Jim”, “Scottsboro, Too, Is Worth Its Song (A poem to
American poets)” and “A Brown Girl Dead.”
There are several similarities between Langston Hughes and Countee
Cullen. First, they are both black people who come from the New Negro or
Harlem Renaissance era, and they write poems about discrimination performed by
white people towards black people. Secondly, in writing poems both Langston
Hughes and Countee Cullen use simple words that are easily understood, in
relation to discrimination. For example, in “I Dream a World”, Hughes uses the
words “love”, “freedom” and “peace”, while in Cullen “Scottsboro, Too, Is Worth
Its Song”, Cullen uses the words “tears”, “blood” and “cries.” Interestingly, both
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Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen use contrasting words in their
poems. For example in “I Dream a World”, Hughes uses the words “black” and
“white”, while in “Uncle Jim”, Cullen uses the words “bitter” and “joy.”
There are also several differences between the poems written by Langston
Hughes and Countee Cullen. The first, it concerns the speakers’ attitudes in their
poems. The speakers in Langston Hughes’s poems show optimistic attitudes
towards discrimination, which is because Hughes was born and grew up in a
multicultural environment that it made him realize that “both black and white
people are equal in many aspects of life” (“Langston Hughes: Childhood”). On the
other hand, the speakers in Countee Cullen’s poems show pessimistic attitude
towards discrimination, because Cullen was “raised and educated in a white
people community” (“Countee Cullen”), which is why he thinks like white person,
who thinks that it is impossible for black people to be free from discrimination.
In addition, Hughes and Cullen have different styles in writing poems.
Langston Hughes’ poems are conversational, while Countee Cullen’s poems are
narrative. For example, in Hughes’ “Merry-Go-Round”, Hughes includes a
conversation between the speaker and a white boy, while, in Countee Cullen’s
“Incident”, the speaker narrates the discrimination that took place in his or her life
in details.
In my opinion, Hughes is successful in presenting the issue of
discrimination in his poems. Four of Langston Hughes’ poems that show the spirit
of optimism in facing discrimination are very inspiring. For example, in my
favorite poem, “I Dream a World,” the narrator shows his/her optimism to
struggle against the discrimination that he/she experiences. The poem delivers a
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message that one should not easily give up. Moreover, one has to be optimistic
and brave in order to survive from any hardships in life, such as discrimination.
Cullen is also successful in presenting the issue of discrimination. Through
four of Countee Cullen’s poems that I have analyzed, one is aware of how
discrimination may have a destructive impact on one’s life. For example, in
“Incident,” the discrimination that the narrator experiences makes him or her
become pessimistic because he or she is burdened by the discrimination he or she
has experienced in the past. Even though I disagree with the pessimistic attitudes
of the narrators in Cullen’s poems, I believe one may learn to understand why
many black people feel pessimistic or even bitter due to the discrimination they
have experienced in the past.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
References:
Reaske, Christopher Russel. How to Analyze Poetry. New York: Monarch Press,
1996.
Internet Websites:
“Countee Cullen.” Poets. 2011. 30 May 2011.
“Discrimination.” The Free Dictionary. 2010. 31 Mar. 2010.
Early, Gerald. “Modern American Poetry.” English Illinois. 1997. 16 Aug. 2010.
Gaston, Charlie. “The Meaning of a Single White Rose.” eHow. 2011. 11 May
2011.
Hamilton, Carol Vanderveer. “American Writers and the SaccoVanzetti case.” English Illinois. 2011. 18 May. 2011.
Harper, Donna Akiba Sullivan. “Black History Month.” Gale Cengage Learning.
2010. 31 Mar. 2010.
Johnson, Clifton H. “Modern American Poetry.” English Illinois. 2000. 30 Jun.
2011.
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< http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/cullen/life.htm>
Kennedy, Randall. “A Note on the Word “Nigger.” Harp Week. 1999. 20 Apr.
2011.
Kindig, Jessie. “Scottsboro Boys, Trial and Defense Campaign (1931–1937).”
Black Past. 2011. 23 May 2011.
“Langston Hughes Biography.” Kansas Heritage. 2011. 30 Jun. 2011.
“Langston Hughes: Childhood.” Shmoop. 2011. 1 Jun. 2011.
< http://www.shmoop.com/langston-hughes/childhood.html>
“Langston Hughes Timeline.” Shmoop. 2011. 24 Jun. 2011.
< http://www.shmoop.com/langston-hughes/timeline.html>
“Merry-go-round.” The Free Dictionary. 2011. 6 Apr. 2011.
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press,
2003.
“Pessimism.” Cambridge Dictionary Online. 2011. 20 Apr. 2011.
Pilgrim, David. “What was Jim Crow.” Ferris State University. 2000. 3 Apr. 2011
Richard, Cicely. “Poetry Analysis: Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats.” Helium:
Poets & Poetry. 2011. 13 May. 2011.
“Segregation.” Kawvalley. 2010. 22 Aug. 2010.
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“The History of Sacco and Vanzetti.” Torre Maggiore. 2000. 2 May 2011.
“The Precept of Black Inferiority.” Associated Content. 2011. 20 May 2011.
“What are Stereotypes about Black People?” Answer. 2011. 3 Mar. 2011.
Primary Texts:
“A Brown Girl Dead.” Poetry Foundation. 2010. 10 Aug. 2010.
“A New Song.” World Poetry. 2008. 30 Mar. 2010.
“I Dream A World.” Poems About. 2010. 30 Mar. 2010.
“Incident.” Poetry Foundation. 2010. 10 Aug. 2010.
“Merry-Go-Round.” Poems About. 2010. 30 Mar. 2010.
“Ruby Brown.” Random House. 2004. 30 Mar. 2010.
“Scottsboro, Too, Is Worth Its Song.” National Humilities Centre Resource
Toolbox. 2007. 30 Mar. 2010.
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“Uncle Jim.” Poetry Foundation. 2010. 10 Aug. 2010.
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