Langston Hughes is one of the most renowned poets during the Harlem Renaissance. Mike Chasar takes this ideal and analyzes Hughes and other poets such as Claude McKay and Sterling Brown in his article titled “The Sounds of Black Laughter and the Harlem Renaissance: Claude McKay, Sterling Brown, and Langston Hughes. He emphasizes how laughter and other sounds are evident in their poetry which is a source of uplift to blacks and understanding blacks in America.
Chasar starts off his article by stating that black poets incorporated inspirations from black culture which makes them unique in the realms of Modern Poetry. He lists how these inspirations came from noises and sounds in their everyday lives such as “hushes, whispers, songs, cries and etc” (57). Moreover, Chasar highlights the importance of these noises by quoting economist Jacques Attali’s view of noise. He believes that “noise” is crucial to understanding the various kinds of people in the human race. In the words of Attali, “[noise] is a reflection of power… it is essentially political… In noise can be read the codes of life, the relations among men (57). Here, it is understandable why Chasar was inspired by Attali’s quote because his words parallels to black poets during the Harlem Rennisance to seek and find their identities so they can be socially understood.
Zooming in specifically to Langston Hughes’s poetry and style, Chasar discusses how laughter brings uplift and power to blacks. Chasar states how laughter and black power are a strong force: ” black laughter [is] and elemental force connected to black power” (73). Chasar goes in depth with this ideal as he analyzes laughter and black power in Hughes’s poem “I, Too”. This poem is presented by noting how a black servant’s low status in life is not impeded by his true strength which is shown through his laughter. Chasar delves into this matter as he talks of the plot of the poem which is a black house servant who is sent away by his white employers during dinner to eat in the kitchen. He writes, “the “darker brother” is sent to the kitchen to eat” (73). He continues by quoting Hughes’s poem of what the house servant does after being sent to the kitchen: “But I laugh/…And eat well,/ And grow strong” (73). It is essential to note how black power and laughter truly does bring a sense of well being. Chasar explains this more in detail as he claims, “The connection between laughter and strength is (con) sequential; eating builds a strong body, and laughter builds a strong spirit or resolve (73). Basically, the goal of the black servant is to stay mentally strong and to continue to prosper.
With this analysis of laughter in Hughes’s poetry, it is truly inspirational that poets such as himself was the source of uplift for blacks in America. During this time in the 1920’s, blacks were oppressed because of the color of their skin and along with the previous demise of slavery, their sense of well being was distorted. The essence of black power in “I, Too” reveals that blacks are mentally and emotionally strong and that staying positive would eventually flourish into prosperity.
Chasar, Mike. “The Sounds Of Black Laughter And The Harlem Renaissance: Claude Mckay, Sterling Brown, Langston Hughes.” American Literature 80.1 (2008): 57-81. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.