The Negro Speaks of Rivers: An Analysis
             Langston Hughes, a poet in the early twentieth century
             is known for his poems about urban life and racial
             affirmation. In the poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers, Hughes
             tells a story of the black man's evolution to America. The
             poem illustrates racial pride and dignity. Hughes uses
             symbolism, free verse, and tone to create a clear picture of
             In the poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers Hughes uses the
             use of symbolism to convey the story of his people. The
             poem must be critically analyzed to fully understand the
             essence of Hughes writing. The use of the "I" throughout
             the poem refers to the black people as a hole, not as an
             individual person. The "rivers" are used as a metaphor for
             the source of life. Hughes portrays the rivers with the
             Afro American culture have become one. The poem traces the
             movement of black life from the Euphrates and Nile Rivers in
             Africa to the Mississippi. The Euphrates symbolizes the
             original center of human civilization. The Mississippi
             River is a symbol of black culture in America. Hughes uses
             the word Congo to represent the center of Afro American
             culture. "I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids
             above it" refers to the act of slavery. Hughes uses the Abe
             Lincoln as a symbol of American slavery which was a
             transformation of slaves into free men. The muddy river is
             his race, of which he is born. The "muddy bosom" is refereed
             to as a black mother which he rests secure forever. The
             sunset represents Afro American's freedom. At the end of
             the poem Hughes writes, "My soul has grown deep like the
             rivers", suggest the understanding beyond the memory of the
             suffering of slaves, but a more deeply memory of freedom.
             The poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers is written in an
             open form of poetry. Hughes free verse is easy to
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