Worksheet

• Begin by reading aloud/ listening to “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman- Link

  Write your thought about the Whitman poem.

• Next, begin reading aloud/ listening to “I Too Sing America” by Langston Hughes – Link

  Write your thought about the Whitman poem.

POETRY WORKSHEET – Langston Hughes & Walt Whitman

· Begin by reading aloud/ listening to “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman

· Write your thought about the Whitman poem.

· Next, begin reading aloud/ listening to “I Too Sing America” by Langston Hughes

· Write your thought about the Whitman poem.

Whitman Hughes

Whitman writes: “I hear America singing.” Review the many characters of his poem and the description of what the poet hears them singing.

Choose 2 or 3 of his characters from the poem.

1. Consider and Explain aspects of life that echo or “sing” America in those characters (that is, what of their thoughts/ philosophies/ or actions are reflective of America).

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Hughes writes: “I Too, Sing America.” Review the images of his poem and the description of what the poet hears them singing.

Choose 2 or 3 of the images from the poem.

2. Consider and Explain why might Hughes have thought Whitman’s poem needed to be answered? (that is, what of his thoughts/ philosophies/ or actions are reflective of his America (i.e., Black America of the 1920-30s).

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3. What do the singers have in common?

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4. What is different?

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5. In what way is the poem a celebration of America?

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6. What is a theme of the poem?

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