What Do You Think About Let America Be America Again

Andrew has a peachy interest in all aspects of poetry and writes extensively on the subject. His poems are published online and in print.

Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes And A Summary of "Let America Exist America Again"

"Let America Be America Once again" focuses on the idea of the American dream and how, for many, attaining freedom, equality, and happiness, which the dream encapsulates, is nigh on impossible.

The speaker in the poem outlines the reasons why this platonic America has gone, or never was, but could still be.

For the poor, the oppressed and the downtrodden, the reality of day to day existence makes the dream a cruel illusion. The poem explores the darker areas of life, the history of exploitation for instance, and outlines the unique struggles of the poor who make upward America, both black and white.

Whilst pessimistic and hard hitting, the verse form does accept an optimistic ending and lights the manner forward with promise.

Langston Hughes was going through a difficult period in his life when he wrote this poem. He knew he wanted to earn a living through writing, but couldn't sustain his efforts, despite poetry volume publication, most notably The Weary Blues.

It was on a railroad train journey through Low-struck America in 1935 that inspired him to pen this archetype plea for a resurgence of the true American spirit.

Publication followed in the Esquire mag and Hughes went on to become a noted if controversial effigy in the world of black literature, following his earlier work in the so-called Harlem Renaissance, an upbeat blackness artistic movement peaking in the 1920s.

"Permit America Be America Again" reflects the many influences in Hughes'south poetry - from the expansive work of Whitman to street language, from jazz rhythm to the steady iambic lines of earlier blackness poets such as Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Permit America Be America Again

Let America be America again.

Let it exist the dream it used to be.

Let information technology be the pioneer on the plainly

Seeking a domicile where he himself is free.

Curlicue to Proceed

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(America never was America to me.)

Permit America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—

Let it be that great potent land of love

Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme

That whatsoever man exist crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, permit my land be a state where Freedom

Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,

Only opportunity is real, and life is free,

Equality is in the air nosotros breathe.

(There's never been equality for me,

Nor liberty in this "homeland of the gratis.")

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?

And who are yous that draws your veil across the stars?

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,

I am the Negro bearing slavery'due south scars.

I am the cerise man driven from the land,

I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—

And finding only the same old stupid plan

Of dog consume dog, of mighty crush the weak.

I am the boyfriend, full of strength and hope,

Tangled in that ancient endless chain

Of turn a profit, ability, gain, of grab the state!

Of grab the gold! Of catch the ways of satisfying need!

Of work the men! Of take the pay!

Of owning everything for one's ain greed!

I am the farmer, bondservant to the soil.

I am the worker sold to the machine.

I am the Negro, retainer to you lot all.

I am the people, humble, hungry, mean—

Hungry nonetheless today despite the dream.

Browbeaten withal today—O, Pioneers!

I am the man who never got ahead,

The poorest worker bartered through the years.

Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream

In the Old World while still a serf of kings,

Who dreamt a dream so strong, and so dauntless, so true,

That even yet its mighty daring sings

In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned

That's made America the land it has become.

O, I'grand the human being who sailed those early seas

In search of what I meant to be my home—

For I'thousand the i who left dark Republic of ireland's shore,

And Poland's evidently, and England'south grassy lea,

And torn from Black Africa's strand I came

To build a "homeland of the gratuitous."

The free?

Who said the costless? Not me?

Surely non me? The millions on relief today?

The millions shot down when we strike?

The millions who have nix for our pay?

For all the dreams we've dreamed

And all the songs we've sung

And all the hopes nosotros've held

And all the flags we've hung,

The millions who have goose egg for our pay—

Except the dream that's near dead today.

O, let America be America once again—

The state that never has been all the same—

And yet must be—the land where every man is free.

The land that's mine—the poor man'south, Indian's, Negro's,

ME—

Who made America,

Whose sweat and blood, whose organized religion and pain,

Whose hand at the foundry, whose plough in the pelting,

Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Certain, call me whatever ugly name you cull—

The steel of freedom does not stain.

From those who live like leeches on the people'due south lives,

We must take back our land again,

America!

O, yes, I say it plainly,

America never was America to me,

And yet I swear this adjuration—

America volition be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,

The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,

Nosotros, the people, must redeem

The state, the mines, the plants, the rivers.

The mountains and the endless plain—

All, all the stretch of these neat green states—

And make America again!

Line-By-Line Analysis of "Let America Be America Again"

This whole poem is a crying out, a passionate plea for America to re-establish the Dream. Information technology is a kind of personal hymn, a lyrical speech, to freedom and equality. To enable that plea to be heard and felt, the speaker has to take the reader through some dark times, through history, to explain only why that Dream needs to live once again.

Lines 1 - iv

Alternate rhyme, repetition and alliteration are all at play in this the first stanza, well-nigh a song lyric. Information technology'due south a direct call for the old America to be brought back to life again, to exist revived.

Note the mention of the pioneer, those get-go seekers of freedom who with tremendous will and effort established themselves a abode, against all the odds.

Line 5

Almost as an aside, simply highly pregnant, the unmarried line in parentheses reveals that, for the speaker, America as an ideal simply hasn't happened. For him, this romantic notion of the American Dream never has been. Why is that?

Lines six - 9

The 2nd lyrical quatrain, with similar rhyme pattern, places stronger accent on the dream, the original vision people had for the The states, one of dearest and equality. At that place would be no feudal organization in identify, no dictatorships - everyone would be equal.

Note the dissimilarity of the language used here. In that location is the dream and dear of those who would be equal, confronting those who would connive, scheme and crush.

Line 10

Some other line in parentheses, as if the speaker is quietly reasserting his inner vocalisation - again making the point that this America hasn't existed for him, implying that he is far from the Dream. He is dubious to say the least.

Lines 11 - 14

The tertiary quatrain, with alternate rhyme for familiarity, highlights the outer ideals - the dressing upwards of Freedom simply for show, which is phoney patriotism. The capital Fifty reinforces the thought that this could be the Statue of Liberty, the famous icon, based on a goddess, who holds the Declaration of Independence in one paw and the torch in the other. Broken chains lie at her feet.

The plea continues, to make the dream possible, to brand it manifest in opportunity and equality, for all. The suggestion that equality could be in the air people exhale, means that equality should be a natural given, part of the fabric that keeps united states all alive, sharing the common air.

Lines fifteen - xvi

The rhyming couplet in parentheses once again repeats that, for the speaker personally, equality has been out of attain, perhaps just has never existed. Aforementioned goes for freedom. (Homeland of the free - could be based on the Star-Spangled Banner lyrics 'state of the costless.')

Further Analysis

Lines 17 - 18

In italics for special reasons, these lines, two questions, stand for a turning point in the poem; they are a different aspect of the speaker'southward identity. These two questions look back, questioning the speaker's negativity (in parentheses) and likewise look forward.

The metaphor of the veil has biblical connections (in Corinthians) alluding to a concealment of reality, of not existence able to see the truth.

Lines 19 - 24

The start of the sextets, six lines which express yet another aspect of the speaker, who now speaks every bit and for, i of the oppressed, in the first person, I am. All the same, this phonation as well expresses the collective, articulating a mass sentiment.

And note that all types of person are included: white, blackness, native American, the immigrant. All are subject field to the barbarous competition and the hierarchical systems imposed upon them.

Lines 25 - 30

The second sextet focuses on the young man, any young man no affair, defenseless up in the industrial anarchy of profit for profit's sake, where greed is good and power is the ultimate goal. The ugly, unacceptable face of capitalism encourages but selfishness at any expense.

Lines 31 - 38

Again, use of the repeated phrase I am brings dwelling house the bulletin loud and clear in this octet: the system is cruellest to those who are poorest. From the farmer to the servant, from the land to the fine houses of the wealthy, for many the Dream means only hunger and poverty.

Workers become de-humanized, become mere numbers and are treated as if they are commodities or money.

Lines 39 - 50

The longest stanza in the poem, 12 lines, concentrates on the history of those immigrants who dreamt of key freedoms in the showtime place. This is the roughshod irony. Those fleeing poverty, war and oppression; those forced to leave their native lands, had this dream within, a dream of being truly free in a new land.

They travelled to America in the hope of realizing this dream. People from Quondam Europe, many from Africa, all prepare out for a new life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (Thomas Jefferson).

More Line Past Line Assay

Line 51

A unmarried line, some other stiff question. The previous twelve lines (the previous l lines) all led to this acute point. A elementary notwithstanding searching ask.

Lines 52 - 61

The next ten lines explore this notion of the gratuitous. But the speaker seems perplexed - where did this crazy question originate? It'southward as if the speaker doesn't know himself whatever longer, or the reasons why the question of the complimentary should arise. Only exactly who are the free?

There are millions with little or nothing. When labor is withdrawn and legitimate protest arranged, the authorities counteract with the bullet. Protestation songs and banners and hope count for little - all that's left is a barely breathing dream.

Lines 62 - 70

The speaker takes a deep breath and repeats the opening line, simply with more than emotional input.....O, let America be America again. This is a plea from the centre, this time more personal - ME - yet taking in many dissimilar types of people.

In these nine lines the reader truly gets to know the speaker's intention and demand. Liberty for all. Information technology's about a phone call to rise up and take back what belongs to the many and non the few.

Lines 71 - 75

No matter the abuse, the pursuit of freedom is pure and stiff. Those who accept exploited the poor and sucked out their lifeblood (notation the simile - similar leeches) need to start thinking again about ownership and rights to property.

Lines 76 - 79

A short quatrain, a kind of summing up of the speaker's whole take on the American Dream. A direct declaration - the Dream will manifest at some fourth dimension. It has to.

Lines 80 - 86

The terminal septet concludes that, out of the sometime rotten, criminal system, the people volition renew and refresh and rebuild something wholesome and sustainable. In that location remains hope that the cherished platonic - America - can be made good again.

Literary Devices in Let America Be America Once more

Let America Be America Again is an 86 line poem split into 17 stanzas, 3 of which are single lines, two of which are couplets. In add-on, there are 4 quatrains, 2 sextets, one octet, a twelve liner, 10 liner, nine liner, quintet, and a seven liner.

The layout is quite unusual. On the page the poem looks more like an extended song lyric, with quatrains followed by single lines and very brusque lines turning up in mid-stanza.

Let's take a closer look at the literary devices:

Rhyme Scheme

Rhymes tend to bring familiarity and help reinforce pregnant. In poetry, there are uncomplicated rhyme schemes and there are challenging ones. In this poem the rhyming pattern starts in a conventional mode merely gradually becomes more complex.

For example, take a look at the get-go 6 stanzas:

• abab - (b) - cdcd - (b) - bebe - (bb)

This is relatively easy to follow. In that location is an alternating pattern in the first 3 quatrains, with the potent full vowel rhyme e dominant:

be/gratis/me/me/Liberty/free/me/free.

The total stop rhymes leave the reader in no doubt virtually one of the chief themes of this poem - liberty and me. A strong pairing ensures a memorable bond.

So, the first 16 lines are straightforward enough. After this the rhyme scheme gradually loses its regular design and becomes stretched.

• Nevertheless further down the line and so to speak, there are still loose echoes of the familiar alternating pattern established at the offset of the poem.

Each of the larger stanzas contains some form of full rhyme, or full and slant rhyme:

soil/all with machine/mean and go/free with lea/gratis.

Camber rhyme tends to challenge the reader because it is nearly to full rhyme only isn't full rhyme to the ear, as in soil/all. It ways things aren't clicking in full, they're a footling bit out of harmony.

Equally the poem progresses, rhyme becomes more intermittent and tends to condense in certain stanzas, every bit in stanza thirteen, pay/today and stanza 14, pain/pelting/again. The poet'southward aim with such full-bodied rhyme is to make the words stick in the reader'south mind and memory.

Literary Device (2)

Anaphora

Repetition plays an of import role in this verse form and occurs throughout. When words and phrases are repeated this has a similar issue to chanting, reinforcing pregnant and giving the feel of ability and aggregating of energy.

From the start stanza - Let America/Permit it be/Let information technology exist - to the terminal - The land, the plants, the mines, the rivers - there are repeats. Some critics have likened them to vocal lyrics, others to parts of a political speech, where ideas and images are built upwards again and over again.

Alliteration

In that location are numerous examples of alliterative lines - when words with leading consonants are close together - which bring texture and involvement to lines and a challenge to the reader.

In the first four stanzas:

pioneer on the plain/domicile where he himself/dream the dreamers dreamed/land be a country where Liberty/slavery's scars.

Enjambment

Enjambment, when a line continues without punctuation on into the next, keeping the menses of sense, occurs in several stanzas. Look out for the 'open' end lines which encourage the reader to non interruption but continue direct into the next line.

For case:

Let it be the pioneer on the plainly

Seeking a home where he himself is free.

and once again:

We, the people, must redeem

The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.

Metaphor

Tangled in that endless aboriginal chain

of profit, power, proceeds, of catch the country!

Personification

That even withal its mighty daring sing

in every brick and stone, in every furrow turned

Sources

world wide web.poets.org

Norton Anthology,Norton, 2005

https://uwc.utexas.edu

100 Essential Mod Poems, Ivan Dee, Joseph Parisi, 2005

© 2017 Andrew Spacey

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