“I have known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins” ((Autores 871)), is a quote of the second line of Langston Hughes’ poem. The speaker talks of ‘rivers,’ making a connection between the real rivers of the earth to the historical, cultural and religious sites that exist all over the world. Through the metaphorical allusion to a river, and the mention of real rivers like river Congo, Mississippiriverfreedom, on one hand, and confinement on the other hand. The allusion to the Mississippi river, Abe Lincoln and the Nile, together with its pyramids,are a pointer to confinement and slavery. At the same time, the speaker uses the Euphrates and the Congo river to show commonality in the origin of civilization, and through this, the speaker denounces the notion of superior races.

Question 2:

Some lines of the poem are repeated. The line “I have known rivers”, and “My soul has grown deep like the rivers,” have been repeated both at he beginning and at the end of the poem ((Autores 871)). The pronoun “I” is also repeated severally in the poem. The repetition of these words does not become tedious. The style does not make the poem monotonous. Instead, the repetition has helped in making the poem cyclical, a feature that can be likened to the manner in which the speaker takes his reader to the whole earth, showing the reader the significance of major rivers to the commonality of the cradle of civilization. In addition, the repetition of the pronoun “I” has a musical effect on the poem, and it serves to capture the reader’s attention to want to read the next line. Further, the repetition is a tool of emphasis. It has helped the speaker to achieve the objective of thematic emphasis. The repetition of “I have known rivers” enables the reader to figure out a nostalgic speaker who seems to place great value to the rivers he has known. Also, connecting this repetition with the background of the author, it can be argued that the repetition has helped the speaker express the connection between the beginning of human history and the black people. The author repeats, “My souls has grown deep like the rivers,” (Autores 871) connoting the effect of slavery and racism to the speaker. I am in agreement with the conclusions that can bethat slavery should not be projected to anyone on the basis of their race.

Work Cited

Autores, Varios. The Norton anthology of American literature. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company Ltd, 2012. Print.