Comparing the Poetry of Langston Hughes and Robert Frost
Comparing the Poetry of Langston Hughes and Robert Frost
When put into perspective, many poets of the twentieth century have touched us as a society; Robert Frost and Langston Hughes are excellent examples. By reading the poems of these two famed American poets, we can see the hidden meanings which reflect the lives of each author.
Children's Rhymes by Langston Hughes has a definite relation not only to his own life, but to his African-American heritage as well. This poem -- written from the supposed point of view of a child -- depicts the inequalities which plagued the African-American society of Hughes' time.
By what sends
the white kids
I ain't sent:
I know I can't
be President.
This verse describes the belief that a young black man or woman -- no matter how intelligent, hard-working, or resourceful he/she may be -- could not, one day, be president. The discrimination displayed here clearly puts the prejudice Hughes may or may not have suffered during his life, into perspective.
Lies written down
for white folks
ain't for us a-tall:
Liberty And Justice--
Huh!--For All?
These words -- the final verse in the poem -- show the reader that black people of the early-mid 20th century were not only held back, but put down as well. The first three lines suggest that where white people were given breaks in the law, the black members of our society were restricted beyond the extent of the law. The two final lines -- the most significant of the poem -- show us that African-Americans were not yet truly free at the writing of the poem.
Other poems written by Langston Hughes also demonstrate these views on 20th century society; for example, Hughes' poem Mother to Son. The poem is written from the point of view of a black mother, telling her son of her hardships during her life. The writing style is purposefully that of the language of an uneducated African-American -- the norm for the era in which she would have lived. The line:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
appears near the start of the poem and is repeated as the last line. The woman goes on to say that she's 'climbed' these proverbial stairs, and is still climbing. The idea that the stairs she has climbed haven't been 'crystal' is a metaphor saying that life hasn't exactly been kind to her; she has...