Everyone at some points sings the blues. Langston Hughes sang the blues. His poetry is very close to music. Even the poem "Ballad of the Landlord" indicates music. His meter is musical rhythm. His rhyme is lyrical. Even in his narrative poems, he uses a lyrical quality, which is what a ballad is. The late night television show, Late Night At The Apollo, was an homage to The Harlem Renaissance (whether on purpose or not). Harlem was the place to be for writers, singers, artists, and dancers. Despite racism and segregation, Harlem rose in spirit and artistry. The Apollo was the epicenter. Through all art forms, the oppressed found a voice and let it be heard. And now for some tunes:
Sometimes instead of singing, or writing poetry that is like singing, poets wrote poems in form to express more than blues, but also bitterness. Claude McKay was also part of this movement in Harlem. He separated himself from some of the writers of the time through his socializing as well as his artistry.
DO NOW: Please click on Comments and offer ideas about the art of the Harlem Renaissance--writing, singing, dancing, painting--making sure you include something about our two poets. Sign your comments with your first name and last initial.
Partying Towards Perfection
9 years ago
The difference in the Harlem Renaissance and the music and art we have now is incredible. In each poem you can see how different the people are and where they live compared to where we live now.
ReplyDeleteAshley H.
The Harlem Renaissance to me was a movement into a better life for the African American population through art, music, or dancing. In the sonnet by Claude McKay, the speaker talks about a dancer being observed by boys and girls very carefully. Although McKay feels that the dancer is not in the right state of mind and is worth more.
ReplyDelete-George C.
Harlem is generally thought to be a pretty dangerous place, and for all these amazing pieces of art to come from there, is pretty cool. Its great how every piece of music or poem is full of emotion and realism, especially "Harlem Dancers."
ReplyDeleteJake G.
Honestly, I have never heard about the term "Harlem Reneissance" before. However, when I looked over what it was, I knew that this movement was from early 1920's to 1930's. The African-American culture was flourishing then. Last semester, I took a class named "Perspective on Jazz" and studied the history of jazz music. During 1920's, many jazz big bands were popular. Representatively, there was a super star, Louis Armstrong. Also, stride style music which was invented by African-American pianists were popular. At the same time, of course, there were blues singers like Bessie Smith.
ReplyDeleteDonghwan K.
The art of the Harlem Renaissance is an extremely important part of black history. It further expressed the needs for equality and through art was the most efficient way of doing so. Literature and music being the most relatable to most people, Langston Hughes and Claude McKay chose those means of expression. Langston Hughes is a very established poet and most notably known for creating jazz poetry which explained the oppression at that time. Claude McKay also, did similar things. In "Harlem Dancer" his use of diction grabs the reader's attention immediately which easily allows him to relay the underlying idea. These artists among others were very important during the Harlem Renaissance.
ReplyDelete-Doug C.
The Harlem Renaissance was when some of the greatest art was created. Music and art from today is still influenced from this time period and it was really interesting to listen to music and poetry from that time period. Assuming the narrator of “America” by Claude Mckay is an African American during the Harlem Renaissance is surprising because he states that he loves this country and yet he must work hard and is treated very poorly. On the other hand, in Hughes poem the narrator seems more jaded about living in a place where African Americans are not treated equally.
ReplyDelete-Dana N
The art of the Harlem Renaissance played a huge role in African Americans. It voiced their wishes for equal opportunities through art, dancing, music, and literature. Both Langston Hughes and Claude McKay used music and literature, but in their own different unique ways. Though both Hughes and McKay wrote about the Harlem Renaissance they both spoke about different topics. Langston Hughes spoke more about the Harlem Renaissance and much more about slavery while Claude McKay spoke more about where he was from. I also noticed the poets writing are different Langston Hughes poem are short and uses Quatrain whereas Claude McKay are long and are sonnets. -Vanessa G
ReplyDeleteI think that the Harlem Renaissance was a very important part of history and was definitely the inspiration behind many artists and how they chose to express themselves. Hughes' work is somewhat different from McKay's in the sense that he preferred to use sonnets as opposed to Hughes who used several stanzas. Both authors' works definitely paint vivid pictures, in "Ballad of the Landlord" its easy to try and picture how the apartment they were living in looked, and how things were in that time and in "Harlem Dancer" the qualities of the girl are very specific.
ReplyDelete- Christina H
I have never heard of the Harlem Renissance until reading/watching this blog. The Harlem Renissance was a huge milestone in African American culture. Each person views a situation differently. McKay embraced that she is now a free woman but Hughes focused on how a black man is still a threat to society and how it is not right.
ReplyDelete-Victoria G.
Unable to express their ways person to person, African Americans did it through music and poems. By portraying their persona in music and poems, they were noticed more and became seen and heard by many. The art during this time period quickly made its way to the top as everyone started to recognize the significance of it. Both poets show and give a clear understanding as to what it was like to live back then and what was done to get peace. - Brett B
ReplyDeleteThe Harlem Renaissance was a very important part of African American history and culture. Some of the best arts were created then. In McKlay's poem "Harlem Dancer", he questions the morals of woman who have become prostitutes. Though this was a time of self expression, he assumes that they are expressing the wrong way. There is a tone of curiosity and disappointment. In Langston Hughe's "The Weary Blues" he speaker of Langston Hughes's "The Weary Blues" describes an evening of listening to a blues musician in Harlem. The poem evokes a mournful tone and tempo of blues music.
ReplyDelete-Jordan C.
I feel like this point in time was very powerful and a new begging for African Americans. It gave us the ability to show that we had talent and could express ourselves in many different forms like poetry, dancing, singing etc. Im not a huge poerty fan but i've always liked Langston Hughes writings. It brought more of an understand to things because he spoke about this period of times and what was going on giving you a better picture. He and other artist and musicians are very important for this period of time.
ReplyDelete-Omari G
The Harlem Renaissance was a movement in the growth and change of song and dance in African American history and culture. There is a major difference from the types of music one would hear then to what we hear now. -Emily Z.
ReplyDeleteThe Harlem Renaissance brought African American culture to the American culture and the world. It gave us music, such as jazz, and poetry, such as jazz poetry. Langston Hughes was one of the early inventors of jazz poetry. His poetry is like lyrics to a song because it has a beat and flow to it that portrays what was going on at the time. Claude McKay's poetry on the other hand isn't like a song but portrays what was going on during his time in a more serious and straight forward way,
ReplyDelete-Christian G
The way i see it, the Harlem Renaissance was where African Americans told their stories through art, music, paintings, etc. Langston Hughes's "Ballad of the Landlord" was catchy and a person can tell what was going on by just reading the first line. In the poem "America" by Claude Mckay, it's kind of obvious that this poem is about America or an an experience in America at the time (at first i thought the poem was about an abusive mother).
ReplyDelete- Darwin U
It was important for people to express themselves through poetry and music because it was an escape from the reality of the Harlem Renaissance. However, it was a way to show the public political ideas. For example in Langston Hugh's "Ballad of a Landlord" The rhythmic flow of the poem has deeper meaning and showing how an African American man was easily arrested while the Landlord got away without warning. In Claude McKay's "America" it is depictive and artistic to appeal to the nation but it definitely has a deeper meaning which makes people think about the girls reputation and her actual emotions.
ReplyDelete-Julianna C
The Harlem renaissance was a landmark period in time for people. It showed the first major freedom of expression and diversity of music, poetry, art, and dance. from the Harlem Renaissance on, modern life began to formulate
ReplyDelete-Nick A
The Harlem Renaissance was an important part of black history. The Harlem Renaissance allowed African American people to express themselves the best way they knew. In ways such as singing, poetry, art, etc. Langston Hughes a prolific artist emerging from the Harlem Renaissance was a great poet, lyricist and novelist. Most of his poetry contained meaning or purpose. In his poem “Ballad of the Landlord”, it expresses high emotion on how black people were treated. That poem contained a lot of rhythm and feeling, plus that was probably the only way he could express himself in a positive manner with everyone black and white entertained. The Harlem Renaissance paved a way for the African American artist and lyrists today because it showed how creative us African American’s can be. George P.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to the art of the Harlem Renaissance one could say that, for example, the dancing as potrayed in "Harlem Dancer" by Claude McKay may displays how a women who appeared to be what everyone envyed was just a fake showing of who she really wanted to beome. This was a sign that during this time period woman like her must have been going threw some type of hard times and needed to dance to get by. As for Langston Hughes role during the Renaissance, he was a significant figure in mostly music and writing. Even in his liturature, he was able to pull the reader in to understand what his message was and what the general topic of it was like in his poem "Ballad of the Landlord".
ReplyDelete-Ricasso B.
The Harlem Renaissance redifined the way america viewed African Americans. Through an explosion of culture, a new light was shed. Art, Music, Writing, and dancing provided a stepping stone that helped many Africans get the acclaim they deserved. Langston Huges, and Claude McKay both show diferent aspects of this time in there poetry. " The Ballad of the Landlord" shows a racial barrier, and how you were treated a certain way if you were an African American. "America" by McKay, is another poem from the Harlem Renaissance that shows what it was like to live back then. McKay uses strong dilect to discribe where she lives such as bitterness, tigers tooth,and the phrase "her hate". Also stating that she "loves this cultured hell", leading me to believe that this poem is more specifically about New York, at the begining of the renaissance.
ReplyDelete^ -Laura R
ReplyDeleteThe art of the Harlem Renaissance is obviously the result of the influx of artists in Harlem at the time. These artists had much to deal with in their time, poverty, segregation, racism etc. It was a struggle for all of them, but out of it came something beautiful; Their art. The art that they made was a reflection of the problems they faced, so the music and paintings and poetry they made commented on these struggles. In 'Ballad of the Landlord' Langston Hughes writes about a tenant being harassed unfairly by his landlord for rent when the landlord has failed to provide the tenant with repairs for a leak in the roof and stairs, and yet in the end it is the tenant who is arrested and imprisoned. Similarly, Caude McKay wrote about the hardships that America had put on him, yet he embraced them, believing that it made him stronger. These were just two people in a sea of artists to emerge from Harlem during it's Renaissance. -Kyle B.
ReplyDeleteIn the Hughes poem, you can tell the speaker is not educated, do to the diction. It shows that during the Harlem Renaissance African Americans were not respected by landlords, or the police. It shows the injustice that they had to go through during that time and the struggle that innocent people had to live through. In the Claude McKay poem, the speaker seems very educated do to the word usage and word play. It was hard to understand because it never really is clear on what the speaker is talking about. The speaker talks of this culture as very hard on him/her but even though it is they love it because it “tests” them.
ReplyDelete-Tyler P
The Harlem Renaissance was essential for the progression of black history. African American people were able to express themselves by using poetry, music, and art. Langston Hughes was a poet. In “Ballad of the Landlord”, it shows how black people were treated. There was a lot of racism during this time. That poem had a rhythm. The Harlem Renaissance helped create today's music and art.
ReplyDelete-Akram A
The Harlem Renaissance sparked African American culture through forms of music, poetry, and other art. These art forms depicted the feelings of how African Americans were living in the United States back in those days, where they were discriminated against and seen as inferior to other people. The mood of the Harlem Renaissance was sad, and sometimes bitter, but it was also a movement of freedom, independence and happiness. Two poems, “America” by Claude McKay and “The Ballad of the Landlord” by Langston Hughes express the blues of the Harlem Renaissance. The speaker of “America” loves this country even with its many flaws. The racism and discrimination of this country has made it an especially difficult time for African Americans, but all of its negativity has made the speaker a much stronger person. The voice of the poem is looking “into the days ahead” wondering if America’s future will ever change. I feel like this poem represents the blues of the Harlem Renaissance because it is showcasing the bitterness this country has had on African Americans, but the hope that was kept alive because of the strength that they acquired from this experience.
ReplyDelete“The Ballad of the Landlord” by Langston Hughes also expresses the blues of the Harlem Renaissance through its lyrical rhythm. The poem describes the unequal treatment of an African American tenant and his white landlord. I’m assuming the landlord is white because of his judgment and unreliability to help the tenant. In those days, white people felt entitlement and superior and so, they treated African Americans poorly. This is clear when the tenant describes the problems he had with his home to the landlord. He told him that his house had a leak in its roof, and broken steps and the landlord did not offer to fix it up, instead he tells the tenant that he owes him money. This reveals the blues of these days because at the end of the poem, the tenant was the one who was thrown in jail, not because he did anything wrong, but because he was discriminated against.
- Esther P.
The Harlem Renaissance was an artistic movement in African American culture. It was a time where African Americans put their emotions into any work of poetry, music, dancing, and other forms of art during a time of racism and segregation. In the poem "America" written by Claude Mckay, the speaker first describes his/her bitterness towards America due to the unfair conditions people of his/her culture and race had to go through at that time. As the poem proceeds, the speaker explains that even through all the struggles he/she still loves his/her country and still has hope for a better future.
ReplyDeleteIn that poem the author describes probably how he felt living at that point in American history. His poems were his way to express his emotions. Another author, Langston Hughes, expresses his emotions and sets a perfect ballad/story to portray how the unequal lifestyle was lived in the poem "The Ballad of the Landlord". In the poem, a African American tenant was living in a place with poor housing conditions. After many times of asking his landlord to fix those conditions, the landlord seems to ignore the negro and remembers that the owns him ten dollars. The tenant refuses to pay his dues until the landlord fixes his housing conditions. An altercation almost arises and the tenant calls the police. In return without a chance to explain each side of their stories, the tenant was arrested.
- Marisa R
I really enjoyed both Langston Hughes and Claude Mckay's pieces. It's amazing how much music, poetry and art was established during the Harlem Renaissance. Both Hughes and Mckay's piece's gave me a feel of what was going on at that time.
ReplyDeleteMegan S.
The art of the Harlem Renaissance--writing, singing, dancing, painting, "Ballad of the Landlord" by Langston Hughes, and "America" by Claude McKay, among them express the feelings of sadness and bitterness which people treat them unfairly because of their race. During that time, African American were struggling and suffering from poverty. They were segregated and lived in poor condition. They did not have equal rights and opportunities like the white American did. However, African American did not give up, all these things just made them stronger. In Claude's poem, people could see the hope in the future. They were ready to fight back and got the lives they deserved it.
ReplyDelete-Peng Q
The art during the Harlem Renaissance shown through the writing, singing, and dancing was amazing during this time period. Every African American writer and singer during the renaissance were some of the most talented people in history. Langston Hughes and Claude McKay are two of the best poets of their time. They revolutionized the art of poetry with their talents.
ReplyDelete-Anthony C.
The Harlem Renaissance was a time for people to express their thoughts and feelings throughout the arts of writing, singing, dancing, and painting. In Claude McKay’s poem “America” you get a sense of unhappiness but, hope for change from the speaker. You also get a sort of mixed message of thankfulness for the hardships, especially when the speaker says, “I love this cultured hell that tests my youth!” and “Giving me strength erect against her hate.” As for Langston Hughes’ poem “Ballad of the Landlord”, the speakers message is very clear that there is desperate need for equality, the speaker clearly is treated unfairly. The last three lines of the poem say, “Man threatens landlord / Tenant held no bail / Judge gives negro 90 days in county jail”. The need for equality and better lives were greatly expressed throughout these arts.
ReplyDelete-Megan H.