INTRODUCTION LITERATURE
GROUP 3
CITRA INDAH SYAPUTRI
HARDIANI
LISAF DININGSIH
LUTHFI ELKO M.S
LECTURER: SUPRIYADI.MPd
ANALYSIS POETRY II
As I Grew Older
It was a long time ago.
I have almost forgotten my dream.
But it was there then,
In front of me,
Bright like a sun—
My dream.
And then the wall rose,
Rose slowly,
Slowly,
Between me and my dream.
Rose until it touched the sky—
The wall.
Shadow.
I am black.
I lie down in the shadow.
No longer the light of my dream before me,
Above me.
Only the thick wall.
Only the shadow.
My hands!
My dark hands!
Break through the wall!
Find my dream!
Help me to shatter this darkness,
To smash this night,
To break this shadow
Into a thousand lights of sun,
Into a thousand whirling dreams
Of sun!
By: Langston Hughes
About Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was a famous African-American poet, social activist, novelist and playwright and was recognized as an important literary figure who lived during the time of worldwide racial oppression and discrimination against the blacks. He was born on 1st of February, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. Langston was involved in the Civil Rights Movement and also wrote protest poetry. He believed that poetry and art can bring out about changes and equality in a society. He was also a part of the Harlem Renaissance as one of the first poets to promote African-American culture, such as the jazz music, known for its free flow and expression. Langston Hughes was very much concerned about creating the African-American poetry as an independent genre in the world of literature
ANALYSIS
PURPOSE, THEME AND MESSAGE
PURPOSE
Poet’s purpose in writing “As i grew older” is wrote protest poetry . He believed that poetry and art can bring out about changes and equality in a society ita poem about the dreams that the poet was unable to achieve because of racial subjugation and discrimination. The poet, in his childhood, had dreams but as time passed and he grew up, he was subjected to racial prejudice and oppression.
THEME
The poem is in negative effects of racism, prejudice and discrimination. It is a comment on any form of racial oppression where one is unable to achieve their dreams, whether it is because of age, gender, nationality or religion.
MESSAGE
The poem puts up a message that we should believe in ourselves and stand up against the unjust society and rise above any sort of discrimination.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
TONE
The tone/mood of the poem, ‘As I Grew Older’, keeps changing as the poem progresses. In lines 1-6, the tone in the speaker’s voice is optimistic, naïve and innocent. In the next lines 7-16, the tone turns into a depressing, angry one. Lines 17-23, show a sign of pessimism and anger in the speaker’s voice. Finally in the lines 24-33, there is hope and the whole stanza expresses that he can still achieve his dream.
The poem’s changing tone signifies the speaker’s changing perspective on life as he moves from childhood to adulthood. Lines 1-6 show the speaker’s viewpoint when he was a child. Lines 7-16 reflect the change in the speaker’s viewpoint. Lines 24-33 show the present perspective of the speaker, that the time when the poem was composed.
METAPHOR:
The wall has been used as a metaphor. The wall is presented as an obstacle to the poet’s dream. The obstacle is racism and discrimination against the blacks. The poet feels defeated but at the same time he is not going to give up his dream. His ‘dark hands’ will help him to shatter the metaphoric wall which has been created by the whites and will destroy hatred and racism.
PERSONIFICATION:
Personification occurs when a poet gives human qualities or emotions to inanimate objects. Personification creates empathy and understanding in the reader. Hughes writes the wall "Rose until it touched the sky." By personifying the wall, Hughes helps the reader see it as an active, vibrant threat to the speaker's well-being. As the wall takes on life, the speaker further grasps the serious nature of the oppression with which the speaker grapples.
IRONY:
Don’t have irony in that poet
SUMMARY
Langston Hughes ‘As I Grew Older’ begins about a dream that the poet had ‘long time ago.’ The poet says his dream, bright as the sun, was right in front of him until a wall rose between him and his dream. The poet is an old man now and he is thinking about his dream which he dreamt long time ago. He thinks he has almost forgotten his dream. He remembers that his dream was not fulfilled as a strong barrier was created by his fellow white people who will not let his dream come true. The wall seems to grow forever and ever and it has become it has become so taller that it ‘rose until it touched the sky.’ The dream which was as bright as the sun has now turned dark. The wall has become a long dark shadow and has been blocking his dream. The dream being replaced by a shadow, the poet has become black.
The poet lies down beside the shadow which means he feels defeated and helpless. He finds that his dream is no longer above him and so he feels vanquished. Instead of his dreams, he finds the ‘thick wall’ and the ‘shadow’ above him. A plausible interpretation can be that the dream of freedom and independence is no longer real for the blacks and it has been overshadowed by the wall created by the fellow white people.
WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THE WHOLE POEM FOR YOU?
The impact of the poem for us, we must belive with our dreams make a change to make our dream come true don’t make differently as a obstacle to grow up like langston hughes said “we should believe in ourselves and stand up against the unjust society and rise above any sort of discrimination”
REFERENCES:
http://beamingnotes.com
http://education.seattlepi,com
http://www.ehow.com
http://www.gradeserver.com
