I too

poet's background

african american

Renaissance Literature
In this era, there was strong racism in most of the country; many African American lived in poverty and were beaten and abused. there was still a legal segregation of blacks and whites, and many whites looked at blacks as not being part of America. because of this, the feeling of freedom was limited in the black community.
African-American musicians, visual artists, and writers were able to achieve great fame and notoriety for their work during this period.
Hughes describes aubiquitous racial oppression that degrades African Americans at the time. He writes from the perspective of an inferior servant to a domineering white family that shoos him away to the kitchen whenever the company arrives.


Hughes is particularly known for his insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through the sixties. He wrote novels, short stories and plays, as well as poetry.

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theme/message

Literary Devices

mood/ tone

FIgurative Language

relevance to modern days

structure/ poetic genre

overall theme is equality

Symbolism

"Kitchen" as a symbol of segregation and discrimination
"Strong" as a symbol for the poet's perseverance

The tone of the poem is pride and defiance. It speaks of a racial divide in America that white people are perfectly content to ignore.

the author's mood was proud to be African American instead of sad or oppressed by it. / hopeful

Metaphor

"I am the darker brother" - This means that the speaker is a Black American citizen. Langston uses this to describe the speaker, who he is in his community.

Personification

"They'll see how beautiful I am" - The speaker wants everyone to see that he is unique in a good way and he looks like the same as everyone. This means that the white people will know who he really is and that black people will one day be treated with equality.

Hughes reminds his audience of a continual theme in his writing, that being black is beautiful.

discrimination and patriotism

"And be ashamed I, too, am America" - The speaker wants to express how the white people would react if they come close to a black person sharing the same rights. This means the white people will be angry to understand that black people are also American citizens

the message is that the poet brings a critique to white society in the US which considers African-Americans inferior and an appeal to the black population to become aware of their value in society and fight for their rightful place.

Allusions

“I, Too, Sing America.” This opening line is an
allusion that underscores the similarity between human experience, despite the difference in race

free verse

there is no metrical pattern

'darker brother' is used to describe the African Americans

1st stanza:patriotic

2nd stanza: anger

3rd stanza:warming

4th stanza:calm

summary:

enjambment

between "dare" and "say"

the poem talks about black pride, and how some day Langstun thinks that black and whites will be equal. the black person is worthy to be an american too, to sing of the country that they help build. the poem provides an overview of the relations of African Americans with the other American citizens. discrimination agains african americans, and hope for a bright future.

imagery

takes place around the home, mainly in the kitchen. "they send me to eat in the kitchen"