Langston Hughes

Bryan Snyder February 19, 2001 Prof. Castro English 220 Langston Hughes The writing style of Langston Hughes is best described as reflective of the lyric style and format of the blues, a musical genre that became popular in America at approximately the same time as his poetry. The lyrics of a stereotypical blues song start with a line. This line is immediately repeated almost verbatim. The final line of a blues stanza then concludes the emphasized thought of …

…of Rivers”. The variation of placing the conclusion in the center of the poem produces an effect both within the misplaced stanza and within the poem as a whole. The reader identifies the theme of the poem, realizes how the speaker came to this conclusion, and then the theme is restated at the end. This allows the reader to fully understand the theme of the poem: the large impact the rivers have upon his soul.