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“I, Too” by Langston Hughes (1926)
Both “I, Too” and “I look at the world” feature an “I” in the title and the first line. The poems center around Black speakers unafraid to voice their truth. In “I, Too,” self-love is more explicit: The male speaker looks forward to a day when others will “see how beautiful” (Line 16) he is and “be ashamed” (Line 17) of their racist behavior. Indeed, both poems are rather optimistic about the future. “I look at the world” says there’s a way to knock down oppressive walls and build a nonracist world, while “I, Too” imagines a time when a Black man can eat at the same table as white people. “I, Too” is much more well-known than “I look at the world.”
“Goodbye Christ” by Langston Hughes (1932)
In this poem, Hughes doesn’t use allusion to address the theme and promise of communism. Instead, Hughes uses jaunty rhythm and the lyric form to directly express the idea of replacing Christ, a figure of capitalism, with individuals linked to communism, including Karl Marx and Joseph Stalin, the dictator of the communist Soviet Union.
“Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou (1978)
By Langston Hughes
Children’s Rhymes
Langston Hughes
Cora Unashamed
Langston Hughes
Dreams
Langston Hughes
Harlem
Langston Hughes
I, Too
Langston Hughes
Let America Be America Again
Langston Hughes
Me and the Mule
Langston Hughes
Mother to Son
Langston Hughes
Mulatto
Langston Hughes
Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life
Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston
Not Without Laughter
Langston Hughes
Slave on the Block
Langston Hughes
Thank You, M'am
Langston Hughes
The Big Sea
Langston Hughes
Theme for English B
Langston Hughes
The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain
Langston Hughes
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Langston Hughes
The Ways of White Folks
Langston Hughes
The Weary Blues
Langston Hughes
Tired
Langston Hughes