When i first read I too sing America I only imagined one person, one place, and one incident. When looking deeper into the poem, I saw that it represents much more than it lets on. The imagery of this poem is of a home, particularly the kitchen and dining rooms. The kitchen is where the "darker brother" (line 2) has been banished too. I can imagine a small room, loud, and bustling with food, obviously not a proper eating area. This imagery shows how he was treated like an animal, banished to his cage, because of his skin color. Although treated poorly, he is not ashamed and does not give up. He waits and eats his food, so he can grow strong. The food is the savior, in a way, because it allows him to get to finally sit at the table. I find that the table is an important piece of imagery because its was the goal all along, racial equality.
For such a small poem with no meter or rhyme , there are a decent number of sound devices. "I'll be at the table/ When company comes." is not not only an enjambment but it is also an alliteration. The enjambment plays into the "beat" and flow of the poem by turning this sentence into two. Although it has no meter there are small da-da-dum beats in lines 5-7. "But I laugh/And eat well/ And grow strong." This pattern slows down the poem and makes its short lines slower and rhythmic. The sound device within the da-da-dum rhythm is the laughter. I can hear it, hear him. I find the laughter mocking, as if to say, you just wait, I'll have my day, you just wait.
As far as figures of speech go, I, Too, Sing America is extremely straightforward. This may be due to the fact that Hughes wanted people to understand this poem and really know what he felt and meant when he wrote it; he wants to be treated like the white men are. He calls them his brother in the second line "I am the darker brother." This metaphor shows this yearning for acceptance because he compares himself to his "brothers", a.k.a., all other men in the country.Although there aren't many small figures of speech, the whole poem can be viewed as an understatement. Langston Hughes may have very well meant for this poem to be about one incident where he sat at a table with white men, but it's highly unlikely. This poem is an understatement for the discrimination so many people faced, the revolt and gaining of the civil rights movement, and, finally, the success of the civil rights act. The discrimination represents when he was sent to the kitchen, the movement represents the food and the gaining of strength, and the final success of civil rights represents his seating at the table. This figure of speech is huge for this poem because, in a way, it sums up everything that has ever happened to African Americans in America.
As far as figures of speech go, I, Too, Sing America is extremely straightforward. This may be due to the fact that Hughes wanted people to understand this poem and really know what he felt and meant when he wrote it; he wants to be treated like the white men are. He calls them his brother in the second line "I am the darker brother." This metaphor shows this yearning for acceptance because he compares himself to his "brothers", a.k.a., all other men in the country.Although there aren't many small figures of speech, the whole poem can be viewed as an understatement. Langston Hughes may have very well meant for this poem to be about one incident where he sat at a table with white men, but it's highly unlikely. This poem is an understatement for the discrimination so many people faced, the revolt and gaining of the civil rights movement, and, finally, the success of the civil rights act. The discrimination represents when he was sent to the kitchen, the movement represents the food and the gaining of strength, and the final success of civil rights represents his seating at the table. This figure of speech is huge for this poem because, in a way, it sums up everything that has ever happened to African Americans in America.
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