Langston Hughes: The Negro Speaks of Rivers

This was the poem that really stuck out to me. It is not due to the way it was written, nor is is a factor of content; i am baffled by who the possible speaker is, this "Ancient" narrator. I have been considering the possibility that it is a collection of things: black thought, spirit, and history from even prehistoric times. This singular characterization, suggests to me that it is quite possibly a melding of these ideas; but could it be something more. Is it a celestial body made up of all the souls of blacks, a sort of segregated heaven -- or is it God himself? This i am not conclusively positive about, but it is interesting to think about. When i read a poem i think about how it can be performed, this is just something that has become a part of my normal poetic interpretation, but it is something that i value very much as it provides me with another way to view poetry. So what is the epic situation here? I don't know, what do you think?

Another thing that was quite compelling to me, was the way that Sterling A Brown's poem, "Strong men" and Hughes' "Mother to Son". It is interesting to notice a vast difference between the two target audiences and the similarity of the two messages. Hughes seems to be targeting the black youth specifically, while leaving an opening for a more mature audience's interpretation. Brown seems to be targeting the white and mature audience while leaving a venue for the younger readers to participate in. It is curious enough, though, that the message seems to be the same, as if this common attitude was applicable to two different time periods. It is amazing to see that it has the same affect on its readers, one more dramatically than the other. Brown seems to be more ominous about his approach, and Hughes more encouraging. They are quite the juxtaposition. I like Brown's for the tone of determination and resilience, but i also like Hughes' for the nurturing situation it is placed in. The context seems genuine and approachable -- maybe more universal, whereas Brown is more race specific in his poem.

nick