Chamberlain

=Langston Hughes (1902-1967) =

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Langston Hughes actual name was James Langston Hughes. He was born February 1, 1902 in Joplin Missouri. After his parents divorced he lived with his grandmother until he was thirteen when he moved to Lincoln, Illinois to live with his mother and her husband. The family eventually settled in Cleveland, Ohio. After graduation he spent a year at Columbia University. In November 1924 Langston mov ed to Was hin gton, D.C. His first book of poetry was published in 1926. Langston finished his college career at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Langston Hughes claimed that the people who influenced him were Walt Whitman, Paul Lawrence, and Carl Sandburg. Hughes wrote many of his poems about the experience of the common African American and his personal experience. Sadly on May 22, 1967 Langston Hughes died due to complications from prostate cancer. In memory of Langston his house was given landmark status and renamed “Langston Hughes Place.”

Democracy
Democracy will not come Today, this year Nor ever Through compromise and fear.

I have as much right As the other fellow has To stand On my two feet And own the land.

I tire so of hearing people say, Let things take their course. Tomorrow is another day. I do not need my freedom when I'm dead. I cannot live on tomorrow's bread.

Freedom Is a strong seed Planted In a great need.

I live here, too. I want freedom Just as you.

The poem “Democracy” is about freedom and that every person should have freedom. He says, “I do not need my freedom when I’m dead, I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread,” here he is saying that the future needs to come now. Also in this poem Langston uses a rhyme sequence that does not follow any rules. In stanza one, two, and four we see that last three lines have an a, b, a sequence. This is a way of showing how important the last words of these stanzas are to the meaning of this poem. At a closer look we can see that this poem is really talking about how black people should have the same freedoms as everyone else in the United States. The reader sees this when Hughes writes, “I have as much right, As the other fellow has.” Also in this poem we see that Langston wants for people to act in what they believe, don’t just talk about it, because if they don’t act then nothing will ever change and there will never be freedom. This can be seen when he states, “I tire so of hearing people say, Let things take their course.” He is telling people to take action. This poem to me is about how every person should be free, no matter what race, background, or culture, they should be free. Throughout this entire poem Langston is telling the reader to stand up today because if nothing is done then the future will be the same as the past. One of the best lines in this poem is, “I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread.” This is a great example of how people want something but they do nothing to help get that certain goal. These people don’t realize that they have to work today to get tomorrow’s bread. media type="youtube" key="G8IgoZ-KHiI" height="344" width="425" align="right"

Still Here
I been scared and battered. My hopes the wind done scattered. Snow has friz me, Sun has baked me,

Looks like between 'em they done Tried to make me

Stop laughin', stop lovin', stop livin'-- But I don't care! I'm still here!

The poem “Still Here” is about how sometimes people can be scared and beaten but they still stand strong or their hopes can be blown away, frozen or burnt up. People can stop being happy, loving, or even living and he will still be here standing his ground. In the first stanza of this poem there is a couplet but throughout the rest of the poem there is no other rhyme sequence. Looking further into this poem there is the use of the natural elements to signify something else. Langston writes, “My hopes the wind done scattered, Snow has friz me, Sun has baked me.” This signifies the way that people try to tear of peoples goals apart just because they are different. The wind may be a way of showing how sometimes people try to blow away someone’s goals by making them seem impossible to grab just like the wind. There is also times when people tell others a million times that their goals are impossible and this makes it seem like they are burning them away into ashes, just like the sun. Also we see in this poem that it has a narrator and this makes it feel like he is talking to a particular group of people who have done this to him his entire life. This poem becomes more real towards the end when Langston writes, “Stop laughin’, stop lovin’, stop livin’, But I don’t care! I’m still here!” The use of an exclamation mark shows how emotional the author is about these people. To me this is a wonderful example of no matter what happens or what anyone says a person should stay true to their self. Don’t lose focus of the goals that were set by you just because someone said something or something terrible happened in life, no matter what stay an individual and keep to your goals.

 =Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) =

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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine on February 27, 1807. He was the son of a prominent New England lawyer. He attended college in Maine at Bowdoin College, which he later graduated from in 1825. After gradu ation Henry decided to go to Europe and in 1829 he returned home and two years later he married Mary Storer Potter. Longfellow accepted a professorship at Harvard in 1834 but did not start this job until 1837, after he completed a tour of European and Scandinavian countries. A tragic event occurred while Longfellow was touring these countries, his wife died. Longfellow published his firs t volume of poetry in 1839 entitled Voices of the Night. Henry later remarried in 1843 to Frances Appleton. In 1854 Henry resigned from his Harvard professorship to devote himself to his writings. After the death of his second wife that was fire related in 1861, he wrote Tales of a Wayside Inn, which involves people sitting around a fireplace. Twenty one years later on March 24, 1882 Henry Longfellow died in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Henry became the first American whose bust (head sculpture) was placed in the Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey, London, England.

The Slave's Dream
Beside the ungathered rice he lay, His sickle in his hand; His breast was bare, his matted hair Was buried in the sand. Again, in the mist and shadow of sleep, He saw his Native Land.

Wide through the landscape of his dreams The lordly Niger flowed; Beneath the palm-trees on the plain Once more a king he strode; And heard the tinkling caravans Descend the mountain-road.

He saw once more his dark-eyed queen Among her children stand; They clasped his neck, they kissed his cheeks, They held him by the hand!-- A tear burst from the sleeper's lids And fell into the sand.

And then at furious speed he rode Along the Niger's bank; His bridle-reins were golden chains, And, with a martial clank, At each leap he could feel his scabbard of steel Smiting his stallion's flank.

Before him, like a blood-red flag, The bright flamingoes flew; From morn till night he followed their flight, O'er plains where the tamarind grew, Till he saw the roofs of Caffre huts, And the ocean rose to view.

At night he heard the lion roar, And the hyena scream, And the river-horse, as he crushed the reeds Beside some hidden stream; And it passed, like a glorious roll of drums, Through the triumph of his dream.

The forests, with their myriad tongues, Shouted of liberty; And the Blast of the Desert cried aloud, With a voice so wild and free, That he started in his sleep and smiled At their tempestuous glee.

He did not feel the driver's whip, Nor the burning heat of day; For Death had illumined the Land of Sleep, And his lifeless body lay A worn-out fetter, that the soul Had broken and thrown away!

“The Slave’s Dream” is about a man who has a dream and he sees all these wonderful things of Africa in his dream. In the dream he experiences how life could have been if he was not a slave. Every stanza has six lines and in them the second, fourth, and sixth line rhyme. Also in this poem we see the use a personification when the author writes, “The forests, with their myriad tongues, Shouted of liberty.” When he describes the forest this way it brings it to life and shows that freedom is wanted but is not given. The author also uses imagery many times in this poem. An example of this is when he writes, “Before him, like a blood-red flag, The bright flamingoes flew.” This throws an image of hundreds of flamingoes taking off and everyone can imagine what that looks like. In this poem Longfellow capitalizes certain words such as: Blast, Death, Native Land, etc. The reason that he does this is to show the importance of these words. This poem shows what some slaves may have dreamt of after a long day of work in the hot sun. In this poem the reader can hear and see all the wonderful things that the narrator is dreaming about, like when he says, “At night he heard the loin roar, And the hyena scream.” Now there are sounds with the imagines that are flowing through the mind. The “Land of Sleep” in this poem is talking about sleeping forever, death. This was not a dream that this man had when he went to sleep at night, it was a dream that he had just before he died. To me this poem could almost be imagined as life flashing before your eyes, but with this man he did not want to remember the horrible life of slavery and persecution, so he saw the imagines of a happy and wonderful life. This dream may have never ended because this person was never going to wake back up from their eternal sleep.

The Light of Stars
The night is come, but not too soon; And sinking silently, All silently, the little moon Drops down behind the sky.

There is no light in earth or heaven But the cold light of stars; And the first watch of night is given To the red planet Mars.

Is it the tender star of love? The star of love and dreams? O no! from that blue tent above, A hero's armor gleams.

And earnest thoughts within me rise, When I behold afar, Suspended in the evening skies, The shield of that red star.

O star of strength! I see thee stand And smile upon my pain; Thou beckonest with thy mailed hand, And I am strong again.

Within my breast there is no light But the cold light of stars; I give the first watch of the night To the red planet Mars.

The star of the unconquered will, He rises in my breast, Serene, and resolute, and still, And calm, and self-possessed.

And thou, too, whosoe'er thou art, That readest this brief psalm, As one by one thy hopes depart, Be resolute and calm.

O fear not in a world like this, And thou shalt know erelong, Know how sublime a thing it is To suffer and be strong.

The poem “The Light of Stars” is a poem about someone looking up at the stars and thinking about how the stars help them. This poem has a rhyme scheme of abab. There is also imaginary in this poem because when the narrator says, “And the first watch of night is given, To the red planet Mars,” this gives us the imagine of a completely black sky and then there is a little red dot that appears, Mars. This poem seems pretty bland at a first glance but a second look will reveal a completely different aspect. The narrator talks about Mars all throughout this poem and at the first glance this may just be the narrator talking about it as a planet, but then the narrator said, “The shield of the red star.” After a while this made sense because when people hear the word Mars they think about the planet, but they do not think about the Gods of the past cultures. Mars was the God of War in the Roman mythology, and this is may be why the red star has a shield because all warriors had a shield to protect themselves or others. This person may be using the idea that Mars will strengthen them and help them make it through any problems they are having. In this poem it seems like the narrator is having problems in their life and they need help from something so they look up to the sky and see Mars. The use this light from this planet to strengthen their will and help become more self-improved. Now that this person has no fear and is calm and ready they can take on all of life’s challenges. This poem is seems simple at a first glance but once the reader really thinks about it the poem seems so much more significant. Hopefully every person can all find something like this that will help them through troubled times.

The Meeting
After so long an absence At last we meet agin: Does the meeting give us pleasure, Or does it give us pain?

The tree of life has been shaken, And but few of us linger now, Like the prophets two or three berries In the top of the uppermost bough. We cordially greet each other In the old, familiar tone; And we think, though we do not say it, How old and gray he is grown!

We speak of a Merry Christmas And many a Happy New Year; But each in his heart is thinking Of those that are not here.

We speak of friends and their fortunes, And of what they did and said, Till the dead alone seem living, And the living alone seem dead.

And at last we hardly distinguish Between the ghosts and the guests; And a mist and shadow of sadness Steals over our merriest jests.

The poem “The Meeting” is talking about two people meeting each other again after not seeing one another for a long period of time. They discuss about wonderful moments that happened in their lives. In this poem there are four lines in every stanza and the second and fourth lines are the only ones that rhyme. There is also a sense of personification in this poem in the second stanza where he is comparing a tree to life. When the author says, “Like the prophets two or three berries, In the top of the uppermost bough” he might be saying that the berries are actually the children that were born. The top uppermost part of the tree is the newest addition to the tree, just like two people getting married and having children there is a new addition to a family. In this poem there is a sense that these two people are dead and they are meeting up with each other in heaven. This sense of death can be seen when the author writes, “After so long an absence, At last we meet agin: Does the meeting give us pleasure, Or does it give us pain?” In these three lines it seems like these two people are happy to see one another but are sad because of the situation for their meeting. The reader sees this sense of death again when the author writes, “Till the dead alone seem living, And the living alone seem dead.” This makes sense because no that these two people are dead they are with each other again and they interact, but now the people who are still living are gone and they cannot interact with them. To me this poem seems like we have to people, that are dead, meeting up with each other in heaven and discussing all the events that have happened since their departure. This may be a way for Henry to show his beliefs that there is a life after death, and there are other people in this afterlife, just like people describe heaven. This poem shows us the life is not always bad, even after death.