The Negro Mother Literary Devices

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The poem “ The Negro Mother” written during the Harlem Renaissance by Langston Hughes. Although the poet is a man, the voice of the poem is from the perspective of a former female slave. Langston's persona in the poem communicates with her children, daring them to continue the fight for freedom and equality. Her word usage constructs a picture of a fierce, passionate black woman who had “No safety, no love, no respect(line 14).” A woman who did not surrender to oppression, but rose above it with a prayer and a song in her mouth. Hughes utilizes diction, personification, and allusions in the poem “The Negro Mother,” to help convey the larger issues of the African American culture. In the "Negro Mother" one literary device that Langston …show more content…
The poem is heavy with personification . For instance, in section 6 the persona says “I nourished the dream that nothing could smother deep in my breast-the Negro mother(31-32).” She means that she protected the dream of African Americans prospering in the future deep within her heart. Langston also uses allusion to help enhance the meaning behind the poem. Both times that Langston uses allusion in the poem he hints at the persona’s religion. In one instance, the persona says “God put a song and prayer in my mouth. God put a dream like steel in my soul(lines 16-17).” In other words through prayer and her faith in Jesus Christ, the goal and hope of equity for African Americans would one day become reality. In conclusion, Langston Hughes uses diction, personification, and allusion to convey the larger issues of African Americans. He uses his persona to be the voice of generations of African American troubled history. Generations of African Americans who's history was a arduous struggle. From the slave ships, to the plantations, to Reconstruction, to the Great Migration to the urban north the fight for freedom was tough. The voice of of the poem in some sense is more than a woman speaking to her children. It could be the voice of the African American history throughout time, each
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