by Sandra Huber
The Harlem Renaissance was an artistic outburst of African American culture focused in Harlem, New York, that started in the early 1920s. The influence of African American poets was one of the most significant characteristics of this period. During the Harlem Renaissance, many poets created poems that reflected and shaped the American Experience. A couple of exemplary poems are “Saturday’s Child,” by Countee Cullen, and “I, Too,” by Langston Hughes. Both poems had tremendous influence that left an everlasting impression on African American culture during the Harlem Renaissance. “Saturday’s Child” is a somber poem that refers to the unimportance of the writer’s birth due to the fact that he was born poor. This, while others were born into wealthy families and given extravagant lifestyles that suggest how important they must have been. I admire “Saturday’s Child” since I relate closely with the poem. I was born into poverty and grew up feeling insecure because I didn’t have the same privileges as my friends. “I, Too” is an admirable poem that embodies the idea of much-needed hope for a brighter future for African Americans by expressing that social and economic conditions will be better eventually. The poems “Saturday’s Child,” by Countee Cullen, and “I, Too,” by Langston Hughes, reflect the American Experience by examining how the lives of blacks and whites differed (at this time) and shape the American Experience by celebrating African American culture.
For example, Countee Cullen’s poem, “Saturday’s Child,” reflects the American Experience by showing the socioeconomic differences between blacks and whites of the time period. This poem is a fascinating piece of literature that allows the reader to experience what it feels like to be born into poverty. He compares the wealthy versus the poor, stating that “some are swaddled in silk and down, / and heralded by a star; / they swathed my limbs in a sackcloth gown / on a night that was black as tar” (Cullen 1041). In this stanza, he is comparing the wealthy babies who are born and bundled by smooth cloth, as well as referring to their birth as if they were like Jesus Christ who was born under a new star. Countee Cullen’s speaker continues to describe his birth as poor by saying that they bandaged him in a rough fabric gown on a dark night without any light. The wealthy are associated with whiteness or lightness and the poor are associated with blackness or darkness. These comparisons show that the speaker believes that he is unworthy of expensive things since he was born poor and black. He writes about being born on Saturday which can be translated to being born on any regular day without cause for celebration and this provides context for his feeling of unimportance. The speaker explains that his father is concerned that he is “one mouth more to feed” (Cullen 1041). This suggests that his family struggles with poverty. The speaker seems to really resent being poor because it makes life so much harder. He says “for some, godfather and goddame / the opulent fairies be; / Dame Poverty gave me my name, / and pain godfathered me” (Cullen 1041). This stanza refers to others being born into wealth and provilege while he is being born into poverty and pain. Since birth, those two things were all he ever knew. This is very relatable in today’s society because many people still struggle through pain and poverty, consequently questioning their purpose in life. This poem gives many examples of the American Experience for early 20th century African Americans by comparing what it is like to be born wealthy and white versus poor and black.
Equally important, the poem, “I, Too,” by Langston Hughes, reflects the American Experience by providing examples of the way white people treated black people. It also promised hope for a brighter future for African-Americans during a time when things seemed very dark for their culture. In the poem “I, Too,” Langston Hughes writes, “I, too, sing America. / I am the darker brother. / They send me to eat in the kitchen / When company comes, / But I laugh, / And eat well, / And grow strong. / Tomorrow, / I’ll be at the table / When company comes. / Nobody’ll dare / Say to me, / “Eat in the kitchen,” / Then. / Besides, / They’ll see how beautiful I am / And be ashamed— / I, too, am America” (1045). I enjoyed this poem because the writer has so much enthusiasm in his writing. For example, when he gets sent away when company comes, he laughs and knows he will grow stronger for the future. Furthermore, he has a great love for his country, saying “I, too, sing America” and “I, too, am America” (Hughes 1045). Those words show that he was very patriotic and wanted to be included in the greatness that America had to offer. The speaker is saying that he is as American as others who are more enfranchised. He is very optimistic by talking about the fact that he won’t always be eating separately. He speaks of perseverance by gaining strength each day that he eats in the kitchen. He has high hopes that one day those who marginalize him will see him for what he really is: Beautiful. The speaker’s hopeful outlook is inspiring considering the dramatic racial discrimination that African-Americans endured. This inspirational quality is mirrored in Langston Hughes’s direct remarks in The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain:
We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, it doesn’t matter. We know we are beautiful..If colored people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, their displeasure doesn’t matter either. We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain, free within ourselves. (Hughes)
All things considered, “Saturday’s Child,” by Countee Cullen, and “I, Too,” by Langston Hughes, are poems that both reflect and shape the American Experience. These poems from the Harlem Renaissance were life-changing for African-Americans during this time period. They reflect the American Experience by exploring the socioeconomic differences between blacks and whites (of this era) while also shaping the American Experience by celebrating the culture of African-Americans. They gave hope to those who desperately needed it, and showed others that it was okay to stand up for what they believed in. White people often misinterpreted how African Americans lived, so these poems gave people a better understanding of the truth. “Saturday’s Child,” by Countee Cullen, and “I, Too,” by Langston Hughes offer honest insight into a different point of view that many did not fully understand at the time.
Cullen, Countee. “Saturday’s Child.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. 12th ed., W. W. Norton & Co., 2016. 1041. Print.
Hughes, Langston. “I, Too.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. 12th ed., W. W. Norton & Co., 2016. 1045. Print.
Hughes, Langston. The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain (1926). Rpt. Collected Works of Langston Hughes, ed. Christopher De Santis. Columbia: U Missouri Press, 2001. Print.
Image: Portrait of Countee Cullen by Winold Reiss (1925) via the National Portrait Gallery – Smithsonian Institution