The Impact of Black Music on the Poetic Works of Langston Hughes Essay Example

Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Ella Fitzgerald generated significant wealth through their music.

Hughes expresses the value of all Black cultural forms, asserting they all bear a certain merit. He centered his effort on capturing and preserving the cultural heritage and experiences of the Black community, prioritizing music that remained within community circles, often missed by fame and fortune. Even now, as a widely recognized music genre with a deeply committed global fanbase, Blues continues to uphold an ostensibly familiar and private listener base. Going back to 1920, it was merely a hushed conversation in some hidden room late at night after all the white people had vacated for other parts of town. Hughes had a profound appreciation for the wisdom and depth embedded in Blues.

Hughes' unsettled childhood and extensive travels, which sensitized him to the "racial mountain", engrained Blues music as a perennial reminder of his African roots. In his work "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain", Hughes discusses the resistance of the common people, referred to as "low-down" populace, towards American conformity. Historically, Blues music managed to evade censorship due to its largely illiterate audience and consequently gained popularity. This music genre features elements like pentatonic scale and glissando notes that are also present in gospel music; both trace their origins back to mournful songs sung by African slaves.

The frequent chorus prevalent in blues songs originates from the ring call shouts used on plantations to sustain picking rhythm. It served as a reminder to the workers that they were not alone in their suffering. The "happy negro" stereotype, unfortunately, overlooked the profound significance of black music and

its meaning. This stereotype, which was prevalent in 1920, did not acknowledge the music's role as an important and essential part of African American heritage that extends even before America. 4 Ultimately, it isn’t a question of why Hughes chose to draw on the Blues form, but rather, how he could accurately portray the spirit of his people without utilizing it? Hence, the undercurrent of black music persists with its never failing rhythm, strength similar to a human heartbeat, its humor, and foundational power. ” The Big Sea, Langston Hughes, pg 209 Langston Hughes is renowned as the literary historian of black culture's emergence and progression. As icons like W. E. B Dubois sang praises of life overseas, poets like Langston Hughes embodied the soul of Harlem with admiration, love, and authenticity.

Hughes utilizes a self-analytical technique, aiming to immerse the reader into an intrinsic experience.1 A parallel can be drawn between this introspective method of poetry and the teaching approach employed by Annie Sullivan when she taught Helen Keller about water – enabling her to understand its concept by feeling it flow through her fingers while simultaneously signing its meaning. While this might appear intense, for individuals who are either without or have lost connection with this cultural heritage, such a self-reflective means of introducing a topic and then engrossing the reader in that subject is akin to a visually impaired person experiencing water flowing through their hands.

Harlem represented a breeding ground for new beginnings and potential, whilst also shadowed by the consistent historical struggles faced by its occupants. Langston Hughes encapsulates these juxtaposing realities, portraying the immense obstacles and the

relentless resilience of his community through works such as “The Weary Blues”. This piece gave voice to the raw courage and sorrow conveyed by blues artists in their songs. His first critically recognized poem, “The Weary Blues”, portrays this scenario brilliantly. Imagery akin to a late-night smokey nightclub scene is evoked in "The Weary Blues", where people gather like shipwreck survivors after the thrill of the evening.

Similar to the guiding function of a proverbial rod, music serves as a leading force for this exhausted blues wanderer, with the piano acting as a supporting structure for his fatigued body through the darkness of the night. This verse carries an atmosphere evocative of numerous smoke-ridden back rooms off of Lenox during the 1920s (places where African Americans created entertainment for themselves). After putting in hours at the Cotton Club, where crowd-pleasing artists like Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington performed for "Nordic" visitors, or following an invigorating night of energetic dancing at the Savoy, this soothing music would be experienced.

In this place, you would encounter twilight vocalists such as Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey, and pianists like Fats Waller performing. They expressed profound grief for a life that either did not exist against all logic, or had simply disappeared, and for the existence they were left to endure. This room would pulsate gently yet consistently, not coming to a halt till the dawn of a new day was within sight. Langston Hughes presents this sensation of a persistently worn-out yet resilient group of people, observed not as an insider but through the insightful perspective of an intellectual.

The constant swaying rhythm and

repeated refrains he employs serves to skillfully immerse the reader into an ambient, smoke-filled room, enabling them to profoundly sense his experiences that are difficult to articulate due to their intense emotional depth. Hughes drew upon the shape and structure of Blues, encapsulating the essence of introspection in his writings about it. To him, Blues was not just pertinent to African-American life, but also essential for their ongoing cognitive growth.

He wished for them to recall and comprehend their origins, with the analogy of a tired blues voyager, aiming for self-peace and wisdom. He desired that the powerful voice of Bessie Smith singing Blues filters through the deaf ears of the nearly intellectual colored individuals until they start listening and hopefully understand. He wanted Paul Robson's rendition of "Water Boy" and Rudolph Fisher's narratives about Harlem's streets to make an impact on the complacent African-American middle class to divert their attention from their traditionally white, ordinary literature and papers, allowing them to see a hint of their own beauty. Figures like Gladys Bentley were embodiments and living representations of profound and dignified African-American heritage. They were stunning and motivating to him.

Miss Bentley tirelessly played the piano throughout the night, literally from ten pm till the break of dawn, effortlessly transitioning from one tune to another, underscored by a potent and persistent echo of jungle rhythm. Miss Bentley was a phenomenal display of musical vigor – a tall and robust lady with a masculine presence whose foot tapping matched the fervor of her fingers on the piano keys – a flawless example of African sculptural art, brought to life by her characteristic rhythm.

2 Pg 226 The synergistic bond between Blues and Langston Hughes' work only affirms their common objective. Teaming with these artists, he seeks to depict and symbolize the unexplored and unique magnificence of African people; it is a legacy that is alive. His poetry encapsulates the melancholic voices, the singers, the community, even the ambiance. Hence, the forthcoming black generations can discover and remember these through his poetic expressions.