1. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”
By Langston Hughes
Pg 902

2. In His Own Words
Langston Hughes talks about writing the poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.”
Image from Audio from from The Voice of Langston Hughes by Folkways Records via poets.org

3. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”
I've known rivers:
I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

4. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”
I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

5. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”
I've known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
From The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes, published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Copyright © 1994 the Estate of Langston Hughes. Used with permission.

6. On “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”
Go to the following website that contains several commentaries on the poem -
Read two different commentaries on the poem.
In a paragraph, contrast the two viewpoints of the poem as illustrated in the commentaries you read.

7. On “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”
Read the commentaries on the poem.
Select two different commentaries on the poem.
In a paragraph, compare/contrast the two viewpoints of the poem as illustrated in the commentaries you read. The paragraph needs to be at least half a page and include quotes and paraphrasing from the commentaries.