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Langston HughesA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
“I, Too” represents a pivotal expression of the African American experience not only in the early 20th century, but into contemporary times. More than anything, the poem is a cry for empathy, equality, and respect. The poem does not beg for these things; instead, it asserts confidence and strength through use of the future tense, powerful imagery, and an uncompromising voice. This mixture of recognizing inequity while also asserting pride and determination encapsulates the long, difficult history Black people have had in America.
Hughes opens the poem with the line “I, too, sing America” (Line 1). This line, while short and seemingly simple, is quite complex. The first thing to note is the adverb “too.” Here, “too” means in addition to or also. The use of the word might seem strange in the opening line since the poem has not had the chance to introduce anybody else singing. But the word is actually referencing two things. First, the word asserts the agency of the Black voice in America. During Hughes’s time and for much of American history, America has suppressed Black voices in art, politics, and in society.
By Langston Hughes
Children’s Rhymes
Langston Hughes
Cora Unashamed
Langston Hughes
Dreams
Langston Hughes
Harlem
Langston Hughes
I look at the world
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