The+Negro+Speaks+of+Rivers

=**Written by:Duuna Desir**=
 * The Negro Speaks of Rivers**

//Formal structure// · Broken into 5 sections · Free Verse · End-stopped lines · Uneven length of lines gives a visual appearance of a flowing river · Indented lines are the continuation of the lines before; enjambment · Repetition of the lines “I’ve known rivers” and “my soul has grown deep like the rivers”(refrain) · 3 stanzas and 2 refrains · Sextet/quatrain in the third section (can be considered both because the fourth line spill over making it six) //Thematic structure// · The poem elaborates more on the rivers as the poem progresses. o “I’ve known rivers” brief explanation o The soul o Specific rivers-central stanza (the rivers follow the path of black history chronologically) o Old rivers o The soul //Setting// · The setting relates to the central stanza which follows the path of black people in the south until it reaches present day in Mississippi. Hughes wrote this poem on a trip to his father were he traveled across the Mississippi River which brought to his attention the importance of rivers to his people. //Imagery// · Human veins o Black history goes back further than mankind, and it is present in every African American person. Also, speaks about how slaves were thought of as human beings. The repetition emphasizes the word human. · Young o Early civilization and the beginning of black people and people in general. · Deep like the rivers o There are a lot of experiences and pain for the African American people as a whole, and it has made them who they are in the world today. · Muddy bosom o The Mississippi river represents a change in the perspective of African American people, like rising from the hardships to a better world. · Central stanza- a rise and fall that can represent how the African Americans have been around for a long time. o A mother nurturing child and raising a child. //Sound// · The poem reads slowly by the words that are used, such as lulled. The words have long vowel sounds as deep, flowed, and moaned. The sounds of the S are similar o the sounds of the water. First person pronouns emphasize the personal connection to the rivers themselves. //Use of Language// · Similes to explain his connection to the rivers · Anaphora “I bathed,” “I built,” “I looked,” “I heard” · Metaphor //Qualities evoked in reader// · The poem evokes a connection between African American people in the reader, feeling as If the connection surpasses skin because they share so many similarities.
 * Author:** Langston Hughes
 * Time and circumstances of publication:** This poem was published in the NAACP magazine //Crisis// magazine in 1921.
 * Context:** Hughes (at the age of 19) wrote this famous poem on a train to Mexico, while thinking about his past and his future. He was going to Mexico hoping to convince his father to pay for his college education at Columbia University in New York City where he thought he could get a college education and also begin his career as a writer.
 * Type of poem:** Lyrical
 * Synopsis of the poem**: In this poem the author is reflecting on the past of the African American race and is feeling that they have come a long way.
 * Theme of the poem:** The African American race as a whole have grown deep, to be experienced and knowledgeable.
 * Controlling Idea for the commentary**: Using the images of the different rivers to reflect that the African American race has a deeper connection to one another, rather than just skin deep.
 * Literary features:**

World Relevance · Basic ideas about the world expressed in this poem are that African Americans have developed as a whole and have made it through a rough time and are now more confident and situated as a people. African American can see that what they have now is better than what they had before. They can see the history and how they have come al long way.