"The Harlem Dancer"

"The Harlem Dancer" written by Langston Hughes has a lot of emotion, not just from the poet but also the charcter in the poem. It's about a woman who dances to earn a living and make money. But you can tell she doesn't enjoy dancing because it says, "but looking at her falsley-smiling face". But just because her emotion isn't happy, Langston Hughes put in the emotion of other people. For instance, "Applauding youths laughed with young prostitutes". This is saying the young boys and girls watching her were having a good time laughing and enjoying themselves. There are two very opposite emotions portrayed here with just one story. Also, I think Hughes uses imagery very well here. Like when it says, "The wine-flushed, bold-eyed boys, and even the girls, devoured her shape with eager, passionate gaze". It paints a picture in your head what they are seeing and their reactions to it. I liked Langston Hughes poems because you could actually understand them. There weren't any hidden messages. It was straight to the point he was trying to make. He was an African American writer, writing his thoughts during the Harlem Renaisance and exressed his feeling through his poems which made him a fantastic poet.