著者

KOGA Tetsuo

出版者

大阪市立大学大学院文学研究科

雑誌

人文研究 : 大阪市立大学大学院文学研究科紀要 = Studies in the humanities : Bulletin of the Graduate School of Literature and Human Sciences, Osaka City University (ISSN:04913329)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.69, pp.5-20, 2018

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Langston Hughes' last book of poetry is here reasserted as the author's major and critical attempt at summarizing his whole poetic output, rather than being a mere deathbed volume to combat the changing political situation of the times. By carefully documenting and discussing the poet's editorial work of recharging the older poems under the new and changed titles, in addition to the genuinely new poems, it may finally be shown that the principal intent of the poet's endeavors should lie in resonating his "original" stance in the matters of freedom and democracy, matters which are the two most "popular" themes for black people in America. After a brief introduction of the situation where the poet decides to publish his newest volume of poetry, the question of "originality" is raised as a topic which, in an Emersonian context, never collides with the notion of popularity, but merely accentuates the poet's prophetic vision of racial emancipation and an uplift of the democratic ideal in the mode of a popular address to the masses. The sections titled "The New Beat of The Panther and the Lash," "'American Heartbreak' through 'Dinner Guest; Me,'" and "Daybreak in Alabama" all tackle to analyze the major poems, and also to ascertain the poet's motive for summarizing his lifelong struggle for racial equality.