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Abstract： James Langston Hughes is a great figure of modern African- American poet， novelist and playwright， and one of the representative of Herlem Renaissance. Hughes is particularly known for his insightful and colorful portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through the sixties. He is praised as “ Poet Laureate of the Negro Race” and “spokesman of African- American”. The Negro Speaks of Rivers is his maiden work and also a masterpiece. He takes “river” as his image to look back the history of black people in order to express his pride to be one of them and his love for them.
Key words： Harlem Renaissance；James Langston Hughes；The Negro Speaks of Rivers；African-American literature
James Langston Hughes is an American poet， social activist， novelist， playwright， and columnist. He is one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form called jazz poetry. He is best known as a leading voice of the Harlem Renaissance. He held a high position in literature： the poet voice of African Americans， the “Poet Laureate of the Negro Race”. In general， his works are closely related to American Negro Movements and black people’ s fate. His works realistically and deeply reflect the social life of black people， tells their sufferings happiness hope and desire for freedom and democracy. He published works in all forms of literature， but he was best known for his poetry.
In The Negro Speaks of Rivers， our speaker begins telling the tale of the birthplace of all civilization by taking us to the Euphrates River， but he ends at a time and place tied to the history of slavery and racism in America. Our speaker watches the "muddy" Mississippi turn "golden" in the light of the setting sun， suggesting the transformation from slavery to freedom that many Americans experienced after the Civil War. Black men and women have a proud cultural history and record of accomplishment against adversity. He celebrates the black community in this way. He uses his memory of the past to celebrate the present moment and to instill pride in his community.
On the other hand， our speaker charts the heritage of black Americans， beginning with the cradle of civilization in the Middle East and ending with references to slavery as seen from the Mississippi River， he traces over four thousand years of history. He tells us that as a result of all that he has seen， heard， done， and witnessed， his soul has grown "deep as rivers." Rivers have stood the test of time and carry an incredible wisdom as a result. Hughes draws a connection between the rivers and the black community， which has endured much but withstood all the adversities and carries an equally profound and powerful wisdom. In this way， He does not fill the anger into his poems but employs his black traditional language to demonstrate his pride in his skin and to show the wisdom of the black to the whole world.There is no violence， no hatred in this poem. On the contrary， it is full of elegance which completely displays the poet' s sorrow on unequal position between the black and the white. He based the black culture on both Africa and America， and establishes his identity in America and American literature as a black American. So in the poem， we can see Hughes constructs a complete black culture of African -Americans， which is equal to all other cultures in the world， with both African tradition and American expression by using the image of “river”.
The Negro Speaks of Rivers was positively reviewed by both black and white critics， and it appeared in translation in a paper printed in Germany. The poem has been acclaimed for Hughes' s passionate acceptance of his race， his combination of lyric and epic， his embracing of heritage， and his reclaiming of black origins. In addition， he draws from black music and ballads， integrates the rhyme of Jazz with free verse. In this way， his poems are smooth strong and passionate with deep meaning. Besides， his poetry theme is more broad than pure racial issues. He is not a radical poet nor a radical racist， but he is only a faithful spokesman of African- Americans and thrived to improve their living condition and social status. Therefore， his social criticism is always moderate and irony is not so strong. He did more revelation and advice rather than rebuke. He is often regarded as a national poet of his people and exerts great influence on modern African- American literature and African poetry.
Reference：
[1]Zeng Hui， 2009. Rivers and Hughes’ Construction of Black Culture in White America[J]， Science& technology information：573
[2]高云翔： “美國桂冠诗人兰斯顿· 休斯的诗歌创作”， 《吉林大学学报（社会科学版）》5（1983）： 86-93
[3]罗良功：“黑人音乐与兰斯顿·休斯的诗歌创新”[J]，《外国文学研究》4（2002）：48-54
[4]彭予： “兰斯顿· 休斯： 美国黑人的歌手”， 《驻马店师专学报（社会科学版）》3（ 1991）： 34-39
[5]唐克胜：“一部浓缩的黑人民族史---休斯《黑人谈河流》赏析”[J]，域外文苑2002， （2）： 45-47
[6]宋瑶：古老河流所承载的黑色灵魂---《黑人谈河流》的文体解读[J]， 武汉工程职业技术学院学报，2016， 3：49-52
[7]张金霞：“从《黑人谈河流》看兰斯顿；休斯的黑人情结”[J]， 作家天地2016，（1）：83
[8]曾卓： “深沉的灵魂---读休士的《黑人谈河流》”[J]，《外国文学研究》 3（1983）： 9-10
作者简介：乔泽丰，1995年7月6日出生，女，汉族，山西临汾人，现就读于陕西师范大学外国语学院2017级外国语言学及应用语言学专业，硕士研究生，主要研究方向：英语教学。
Key words： Harlem Renaissance；James Langston Hughes；The Negro Speaks of Rivers；African-American literature
James Langston Hughes is an American poet， social activist， novelist， playwright， and columnist. He is one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form called jazz poetry. He is best known as a leading voice of the Harlem Renaissance. He held a high position in literature： the poet voice of African Americans， the “Poet Laureate of the Negro Race”. In general， his works are closely related to American Negro Movements and black people’ s fate. His works realistically and deeply reflect the social life of black people， tells their sufferings happiness hope and desire for freedom and democracy. He published works in all forms of literature， but he was best known for his poetry.
In The Negro Speaks of Rivers， our speaker begins telling the tale of the birthplace of all civilization by taking us to the Euphrates River， but he ends at a time and place tied to the history of slavery and racism in America. Our speaker watches the "muddy" Mississippi turn "golden" in the light of the setting sun， suggesting the transformation from slavery to freedom that many Americans experienced after the Civil War. Black men and women have a proud cultural history and record of accomplishment against adversity. He celebrates the black community in this way. He uses his memory of the past to celebrate the present moment and to instill pride in his community.
On the other hand， our speaker charts the heritage of black Americans， beginning with the cradle of civilization in the Middle East and ending with references to slavery as seen from the Mississippi River， he traces over four thousand years of history. He tells us that as a result of all that he has seen， heard， done， and witnessed， his soul has grown "deep as rivers." Rivers have stood the test of time and carry an incredible wisdom as a result. Hughes draws a connection between the rivers and the black community， which has endured much but withstood all the adversities and carries an equally profound and powerful wisdom. In this way， He does not fill the anger into his poems but employs his black traditional language to demonstrate his pride in his skin and to show the wisdom of the black to the whole world.There is no violence， no hatred in this poem. On the contrary， it is full of elegance which completely displays the poet' s sorrow on unequal position between the black and the white. He based the black culture on both Africa and America， and establishes his identity in America and American literature as a black American. So in the poem， we can see Hughes constructs a complete black culture of African -Americans， which is equal to all other cultures in the world， with both African tradition and American expression by using the image of “river”.
The Negro Speaks of Rivers was positively reviewed by both black and white critics， and it appeared in translation in a paper printed in Germany. The poem has been acclaimed for Hughes' s passionate acceptance of his race， his combination of lyric and epic， his embracing of heritage， and his reclaiming of black origins. In addition， he draws from black music and ballads， integrates the rhyme of Jazz with free verse. In this way， his poems are smooth strong and passionate with deep meaning. Besides， his poetry theme is more broad than pure racial issues. He is not a radical poet nor a radical racist， but he is only a faithful spokesman of African- Americans and thrived to improve their living condition and social status. Therefore， his social criticism is always moderate and irony is not so strong. He did more revelation and advice rather than rebuke. He is often regarded as a national poet of his people and exerts great influence on modern African- American literature and African poetry.
Reference：
[1]Zeng Hui， 2009. Rivers and Hughes’ Construction of Black Culture in White America[J]， Science& technology information：573
[2]高云翔： “美國桂冠诗人兰斯顿· 休斯的诗歌创作”， 《吉林大学学报（社会科学版）》5（1983）： 86-93
[3]罗良功：“黑人音乐与兰斯顿·休斯的诗歌创新”[J]，《外国文学研究》4（2002）：48-54
[4]彭予： “兰斯顿· 休斯： 美国黑人的歌手”， 《驻马店师专学报（社会科学版）》3（ 1991）： 34-39
[5]唐克胜：“一部浓缩的黑人民族史---休斯《黑人谈河流》赏析”[J]，域外文苑2002， （2）： 45-47
[6]宋瑶：古老河流所承载的黑色灵魂---《黑人谈河流》的文体解读[J]， 武汉工程职业技术学院学报，2016， 3：49-52
[7]张金霞：“从《黑人谈河流》看兰斯顿；休斯的黑人情结”[J]， 作家天地2016，（1）：83
[8]曾卓： “深沉的灵魂---读休士的《黑人谈河流》”[J]，《外国文学研究》 3（1983）： 9-10
作者简介：乔泽丰，1995年7月6日出生，女，汉族，山西临汾人，现就读于陕西师范大学外国语学院2017级外国语言学及应用语言学专业，硕士研究生，主要研究方向：英语教学。