Afro-American+Fragment


 * Written by: Scarlett Davis.**

Poem: Afro American Fragment by Langston Hughes


 * 1-So long, **
 * 2-So far away **
 * 3-Is Africa. **
 * 4-Not even memories alive **
 * 5-Save those that history books create, **
 * 6-Save those that songs **
 * 7-Beat back into the blood- **
 * 8-Beat out of blood with words sad-sung **
 * 9-In strange un-Negro tongue - **
 * 10-So long, **
 * 11-So far away **
 * 12-Is Africa. **


 * 13-Subdued and time-lost **
 * 14-Are the drums – and yet **
 * 15-Through some vast mist of race **
 * 16-There comes this song **
 * 17-I do not understand **
 * 18-This song of atavistic land, **
 * 19-Of bitter yearning lost **
 * 20-Without a place - **
 * 21-So long, **
 * 22-So far away **
 * 23-Is Africa’s **
 * 24-Dark face. **

Author: Langston Hughes Date published: 1930 - Langston Hughes was a poor black man struggling through the hard times of the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was a difficult time for all black people and Langston Hughes was able to express his feelings through poetry in these tough times. In the poem, Afro-American Fragment, a controlling idea of this poem are the emotions the poet feels about losing the history of Africa and the sadness that comes along with that.
 * Context:
 * Type of poem: This poem is a lyrical type of poem because the poet is describing Africa as being far away and becoming lost. He feels melancholy about the history of Africa. Also, in the poem it seems that the poet feels upset about the way that the history of Africa is being taught in schools.
 * Theme of the poem: The theme of the poem is to remember the history of where you come from and the history of cultures.
 * Controlling idea: The use of diction that the poet uses in this poem is a controlling idea. The diction in the poem is not as elevated as for example a poem by Robert Frost. He uses simple words to express what he’s feeling which can demonstrate the a lack of education that the poet experienced compared to a white man like Robert Frost. Although the poet uses words like subdued and atavistic, these are the few words I see that are of elevated diction.
 * Controlling idea: The poets’ slight use of metaphors in this poem allow readers to understand the disturbance that the poet feels about the ignorance of people losing involvement in the history of Africa. For example, the poet writes in lines 15 and 16, “Through some vast mist of race, there comes this song.” He uses a metaphor here to compare a song to a race. This song of the bitter yearning lost of the history of Africa compares to the African culture that is being forgotten as well.
 * Conclusion: The poem, Afro American Fragment, is relevant to life because it is the proposal of history being lost in Africa. Africa is a long way away from here in America, but this is something that can happen all around the world. In my life, I believe that I obtain a good understanding of history through textbooks and my teachers, but I can see how one place, like Africa, can be taught less in my school than another place.