Topic > Recurring Themes in the Work of Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes is a well-known and highly successful black writer who emerged from the Harlem Renaissance ("Langston Hughes" 792). He is recognized for his poetry and, like many other writers of the Harlem Renaissance, lived much of his life outside of Harlem ("Langston Hughes" 792). His personal experiences and opinions intricately inform his writing. Unlike other writers of his time, Hughes expresses his discontent with black oppression and focuses on the hardships of his people. Hughes's sincere concern for his people's struggle evokes emotion in the reader. His appreciation for black music and culture is also evident in his work. Langston Hughes is a complex poet whose profound works provide insight into all aspects of black life in America, including oppression, struggle, music, and culture. Hughes discusses the oppression of blacks in a full range of representations. The blacks on whom Hughes focuses most of his writing are "the most burdened and oppressed of the black underclass, and the people who have the most reason to despair but show the least evidence of it" (Bloom, "Thematic Analysis of the 'Weary Blues '” 14). He tells the story of their life and times to express his displeasure with the oppression of blacks (“Langston Hughes” 792). “Langston Hughes” 792).In Hughes’ short poem “Harlem,” the author of the poem questions how the African American dream of equal opportunity is constantly deferred and suppressed by white society (Niemi Hughes wants his work). highlights the fact that blacks lose opportunities due to their oppression. Furthermore, his writings touch on the ugly and raw side of black life In the first volume of his......middle of paper..... .s. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Infobase Publishing, 1999. 44-46. Network. Literary reference center, hosted by EBSCO. October 27, 2011. “Langston Hughes.” Literature: the American experience. 4th edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1996. 792. Print.Niemi, Robert. "The Poetry of Hughes." Masterplots II: African American Literature. Revised edition. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 2008. 1-3. Network. Literary reference center, hosted by EBSCO. October 27, 2011. Sanders, Mark A. “African American Folk Roots and Harlem Renaissance Poetry.” The Cambridge Companion to the Harlem Renaissance. Ed. George Hutchinson. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. 96-111. Print.Smethurst, James. “Lyric Stars: Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes.” The Cambridge Companion to the Harlem Renaissance. Ed. George Hutchinson. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. 112-125. Press.