Imitation 2: Give Peace a Chance John Lennon

John Lennon's song Give Peace a Chance was a pro peace song originally written and played during Yoko Ono and Lennon's Bed-In honeymoon in 1969. A reporter asked Lennon the purpose of staying in bed and Lennon put it simply saying, "All we are saying is give peace a chance". He liked the phrase so much that he wrote a song around it, using it as the chorus. Lennon uses the repetition of the phrase to force a message he felt needed to be recognized. That war wasn't the answer, not Vietnam or anywhere else. There is internal rhyming in just about every line except the chorus and the final verse of the song. Despite this Lennon sends a clear message in the last verse. Lennon isn't singing the song alone but with his wife and many other pro peace protesters who he recognizes. This emphasizes the tone of the song which can only be described as togetherness. He's surrounded by people he loves and just wants everyone else to be as well. He uses lyrical poetry to try and get people to understand his message. The last way he does this is to have to the song repeat until the tape runs out. He wants the message to go out to just give peace chance.

Imitation 1: Mother to Son by Langston Hughes

Mother to Son is an interesting poem that Langston Hughes wrote from the perspective of a mother talking to her son. I find this poem interesting as I believe it reflects Hughes respect for his mother and the advice she gave. The poems stark and somewhat cynical description of life reflects the struggles Hughes most likely suffered during his life up to that point and may reflect how he realized that his mother's harsh advice at times was for his own good. He uses a great deal of repetition to emphasize key points the most important of which being this truth in his mother's advice shown by the line "And life for me ain't been no crystal stair. " For this reason I feel it is a confession. There is very little if any rhyming (although certain words could rhyme if pronounced in certain dialects) in the poem however Hughes heavy use of other devices such as metaphor, which he uses to compare a flight of crystal stairs to one that is broken and splintered. He also uses it again to compare a dark time in a persons' life to literal darkness. I like this poem because of it's metaphorical nature as well as how it's a narrative. What makes it most unique is how he frames it as a mother telling a story. The fact that Hughes is writing from another person's perspective (especially one so different than his own) and the fact that he goes so far as to copy her diction is what impresses me most about this poem.

Langston Hughes and the Racial Mountain

Langston Hughes piece "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" is a strong piece about racial and cultural identity. Race played an important role in the creation of many important genres and fields of art. Jazz and Blues have deep roots to songs that were sung by impoverished second class citizens, people who were at one point held against their will. That kind of emotion is the kind that can only be found in music like the blues. It couldn't be felt exactly the same by anyone else. Likewise however race is not an impassable wall. The proof is in the number of talented white jazz musicians who would come along much later. It is not that blacks are the only people who can play such soulful music, however the cultural background that the pioneers of it came from made them the only ones who could truly create and define the genre. In that same vein even a white man could know suffering, he could still relate to the blues even if he didn't have the years of prejudice and suffering. Hughes is adamant about his fellow black people being proud of their arts but I think it is important to remember that it is not their race or skin tone that is important, it's their life. It's their past. It's everything about who people are not just the color of their skin. Hughes put it perfectly when he said "No great poet has ever been afraid of being himself."