Comparing Countee Cullen And Langston Hughes

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Pages: 3

Effects of Time
Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes, both great feats of the Harlem Renaissance. Although they have that similarity, there are many differences. Not only is this in how they grew up but also in their writing styles. One of the Famous poems “Harlem” by Langston Hughes, shows more of an inner struggle rather than a struggle between races. On the other hand Countee Cullen shows in his poem “Tableau” that the world is being divided by both races. Through this representation Innocent and Captivated Children are looked down upon behind closed curtains.
The Syntax in both of these poems are outstanding, but these authors use it in very different ways. Langston Hughes shows this through reptition of vowels. This can be seen in the lines “or fester like a sore--” and “or crust and sugar over--”. These sentences have the exact same layout and almost look as if he just added a few words. Then with Countee Cullen you will see the repetition through rhyme also but, the sentences are more so different that Langston Hughes'. All of this can be seen in the first stanza where it states “The black boy and the white,” and “The sable pride of night.”
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Right in the beginning of the second stanza Countee Cullen writes, “Indignant that these two should dare In unison to walk.” It shows a seamless and elegant slang, where the two children are oblivious that they should or should not be friends. Much less walk side by side during plain sight. This is much more noticeable than this piece from “Harlem” where Langston Hughes writes, “like a syrupy sweet.” This can be read and understood without meaning, but when Syrupy Sweet is read, it is understood as Maple Syrup or any sweet dark syrup put on top of a roll or pancake. The difference in the Diction they use is massive, but this shows in where Langston Hughes is more descriptive