A Slaves Soul Runs Deep The poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes is about a man with a vast knowledge and understanding of rivers. The first two sentences of the poem are similar, as in both Hughes states, Ive known rivers. From this the reader gathers that this man has been around rivers and probably lived around rivers. He talks about different experiences he has had on four different rivers. For example he says, I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young and this gives the impression that he was around long ago when the river was just starting to form. Another quote, I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans shows a passage of time from the first quote as this historically places him in a much more modern time frame. On an unobjective level I think that this is a poem about different rivers that Hughes feels attached to for some unexplained reason. However, based on a close reading I would argue through the explication approach that this poem can be seen in a different light. While some may argue otherwise, I believe that on an explicative level Hughes is creating a comparison between his soul and the rivers. In taking a closer look at many different aspects such as genre, my close reading interpretation, and outside research I have reached a conclusion. I have discovered that Hughes did a wonderful job of describing the slave experience as seen through his soul and the souls of all others who have experienced slavery.I believe that Hughes poem is oral. It seems to read as if he is passionately reciting to some fictional audience. It makes sense for his presentation to be oral as he is describing his history as well as the slavery issue, two topics he would think it important for people to hear. At the same time, Hughes writes in prose. This suggests a seriousness to his poetry which would be fitting to my interpretation of his poem.While trying to interpret Hughe...
