Exploring the Text

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  1. Who do you think is the “I” of the poem?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Who do you think is the “I” of the poem?
  2. What is the central metaphor of this poem? Are there secondary metaphors? Describe them.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - What is the central metaphor of this poem? Are there secondary metaphors? Describe them.
  3. What do three of the four rivers Hughes mentions have in common? Why is the fourth one different? What does this tell us about Hughes’s purpose in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - What do three of the four rivers Hughes mentions have in common? Why is the fourth one different? What does this tell us about Hughes’s purpose in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”?
  4. Characterize the diction of “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.”

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Characterize the diction of “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.”
  5. Abraham Lincoln is said to have formed his antislavery views after boat trips down the Mississippi to New Orleans, where he saw the slave trade firsthand. How does Hughes characterize that connection in lines 8–9?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Abraham Lincoln is said to have formed his antislavery views after boat trips down the Mississippi to New Orleans, where he saw the slave trade firsthand. How does Hughes characterize that connection in lines 8–9?
  6. What arguments does “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” make about the African American experience in the United States? How does the structure of the poem help Hughes develop them?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - What arguments does “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” make about the African American experience in the United States? How does the structure of the poem help Hughes develop them?