Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
Secretaria de Estado de Educação
Superintendência da Educação
Departamento de Políticas e Programas Educacionais
Coordenação Estadual do PDE
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
Produção Didático - Pedagógica:
FOLHAS
Dream Variations
CURITIBA – PR
2009
1
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
Professor PDE: Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
Área PDE: Língua Inglesa
NRE: Área Metropolitana Sul
Professor Orientador IES: Francisco Carlos Fogaça
IES vinculada: Universidade Federal do Paraná- UFPr.
Escola de Implementação: Colégio Estadual São Cristóvão
Nível de Ensino: Ensino Médio
Público objeto da intervenção: Professores de Língua Inglesa e alunos do 3º Ano
Disciplina: Língua Inglesa
Conteúdo Estruturante: Discurso como Prática Social
Conteúdos Básicos: Leitura: intertextualidade/ situacionalidade/ finalidade /denotação
e conotação no texto poético; Oralidade: entonação e ritmo da poesia; Escrita:
elementos composicionais do gênero poesia ; análise lingüística: léxico, denotação e
conotação no texto poético.
Introdução
A presente unidade didática se caracteriza pela elaboração de um Folhas de
Língua Estrangeira Moderna – Inglês em que se busca fazer a interdisciplinaridade com
a disciplina de História, tendo como mote o discurso poético e suas relações com o
contexto sócio-histórico-cultural de produção. A opção por esse tipo de produção
didático-pedagógica pautou-se não apenas na necessidade de colocar à disposição de
professores e alunos um material da esfera social literária para ser trabalhado na sala
de aula de língua estrangeira, mas também em produzir material que atendesse à
proposta colocada pelas Diretrizes Curriculares Estaduais de Língua Estrangeira
Moderna, isto é, que trabalhassem com a língua como possibilidade de construção de
sentidos e como um espaço em que se encontram diferentes discursos, cada qual com
as suas peculiaridades e portadores de diversas visões de mundo. O Folhas “Dream
variations” procura explorar o gênero literário Poesia Afro-Americana e sua relação com
discursos históricos e sócio-culturais que circulavam e circulam na sociedade norteamericana. Para tal, partimos de alguns poemas de Langston Hughes que têm o sonho
2
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
como temática, buscando explorar o significado de dreams (sonhos), primeiramente no
universo do aluno/ da aluna e, após, no espaço da criação literária de Hughes. Nesses
contextos, o de vivência de mundo do aluno e o do poeta, procuramos sugerir
possibilidades de construção de sentidos para a poesia Afro-americana, tendo como
pano de fundo a história e a cultura norte-americana entre as décadas de 1920 e
1930, mas não se restringindo a elas, buscando nos discursos de fundação dessa
nação os ecos de vozes que se atualizam na poesia de Langston Hughes.
Abordagem Teórico-Metodológica
A concepção teórica e metodológica que embasa essa produção didáticopedagógica está centrada no ensino e aprendizagem de Língua Estrangeira de acordo
com o que colocam as Diretrizes Curriculares de Língua Estrangeira Moderna (DCEs
LEM) do Estado do Paraná. Tal concepção não vê a língua como um código a ser
decifrado ou memorizado e tampouco como meio para satisfazer apenas fins
comunicativos, mas sim propõe um resgate social e educacional, de tal forma que
A aula de Língua Estrangeira Moderna constitua um espaço para que o aluno
reconheça e compreenda a diversidade lingüística e cultural, de modo que se
envolva discursivamente e perceba possibilidades de construção de significados
em relação ao mundo em que vive. Espera-se que o aluno compreenda que os
significados são sociais e historicamente construídos e, portanto, passíveis de
transformação na prática social. (PARANÀ, 2008, p.53)
Nessa perspectiva, a abordagem adotada será sempre a de tentar mostrar ao
aluno/à aluna que inúmeros sentidos são possíveis desde que se respeitem as
peculiaridades de cada contexto de produção e de leituras. Daí que não se pode, de
imediato, apontar a resposta certa ou verdadeira a uma determinada questão, pois há
inúmeras variantes que vão fazer essa resposta ser diferente quando examinada por
outros ângulos.
Partindo do pressuposto de que a língua é “uma construção histórica e cultural
em constante transformação” (PARANÁ, 2008, p.53) e, portanto, passível de ser
alterada pelos usos e pelas comunidades que a utilizam, o que, consequentemente, faz
com que os significados sejam sempre provisórios, procuramos iniciar o trabalho com
esta unidade didática de tal forma que o aluno/a aluna possa tomar consciência dessas
3
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
características. Levando em conta que “toda enunciação envolve a presença de pelo
menos duas vozes, a voz do eu e a do outro” (BAKHTIN, 1988), optamos por atividades
que mostrassem as relações, harmônicas ou contraditórias, entre os discursos vigentes
na sociedade norte-americana e o poeta Langston Hughes. A metodologia proposta
pelo Folhas “Dream Variations” é a de iniciar por uma problematização que faça o
aluno buscar suas próprias respostas para o texto poético e para os significados
literários e sociais de alguns conceitos/metáforas presentes nos poemas de Langston
Hughes, como as inúmeras possibilidades de sentido para a poesia, ou para “dreams”
(sonhos). Somente após essas possibilidades serem exploradas na relação que o
aluno/a aluna, com sua vivência de mundo e de leituras, estabelece com o texto, é que
devem-se buscar os sentidos que esse conceito (sonhos) assume especificamente na
poesia de Hughes. Nesse aspecto, procuramos fazer com que se desenvolvesse “uma
prática analítica e crítica” (PARANÁ, 2008, p.53) ampliando os conhecimentos
lingüísticos, culturais, literários e sociais.
Usar a aula de LEM como um espaço para desenvolver a criticidade é um dos
objetivos apontados pelas DCES de LEM, o que nos remete à abordagem proposta
pelo letramento crítico, em que se busca levar os alunos a perceberem que a
linguagem é, como bem diz Bakhtin, uma “arena de conflitos” (1992). Essa arena de
conflitos é bem representada quando contrastamos diferentes discursos que dialogam
ou mostram antagonismo entre si, como é o caso de alguns poemas de Hughes e de
Whitman que selecionamos para desenvolver o projeto de intervenção pedagógica.
O desenvolvimento de uma leitura crítica, do mundo e da palavra, acontece no
confronto entre diferentes perspectivas. Ao comparar os poemas de Hughes e de Walt
Whitman, conhecido como o poeta que canta a América, procuramos levantar questões
que problematizem o status que ambos os poetas conferem, de forma diferenciada, a
mesma nação (Whitman vê a América como a terra ideal. Hughes discorda, apontando
que a América de Whitman nunca foi sua América). Nesse aspecto, seria interessante
que se desenvolvesse uma parceria com o professor de História, para que este
pudesse fazer a contextualização histórica da colonização dos Estados Unidos da
América, dos ideais de justiça e democracia, da idéia de “self-made man” aliada ao
sonho de sucesso americano, e como isso se relacionava com a história Afroamericana na construção da nação.
Ainda na abordagem dos poemas, quando da análise linguística, partimos da
4
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
perspectiva de que não há leituras e interpretações certas ou erradas. O que nos
parece mais acertado aqui é levar o aluno/a aluna a pensar na razão para utilizar uma
palavra ou enunciado em determinado contexto e se perguntar até onde essa escolha
lingüística altera as possibilidades de significação.
Quando trabalhamos com o gênero discursivo poesia Afro-americana, não nos
concentramos muito nos aspectos formais desse gênero, como rima, métrica, forma
etc, mas sim nos usos que se fazem de determinadas metáforas e imagens e nos
significados que podem ser criados quando se comparam diferentes autores ou se
complementam diferentes gêneros discursivos, como é o caso do uso do texto histórico
e biográfico para ampliar as leituras dos poemas propostos. Optamos por essa
abordagem do texto poético por acharmos que ela nos permite explorar mais o viés da
criticidade do que o trabalho com aspectos formais da poesia.
Justificativa
A perspectiva norteadora das DCEs de LEM está centrada na visão de língua
como discurso que se dá na prática social. A proposta de trabalho desta unidade
didático-pedagógica está pautada no letramento crítico e ancorada na abordagem dos
gêneros discursivos proposta por Bakhtin, concentrando-se na poesia e em questões
relativas à história, à cultura e à identidade Afro-americana, e é, por isso, uma resposta
ao desafio de trabalhar a língua inglesa como produtora de sentidos possíveis,
Objetivo geral:
Trabalhar com o gênero literário poesia como uma possibilidade de diálogo,
harmônico ou não, com outros discursos de âmbito sócio-histórico-cultural, contribuindo
para desenvolver o senso crítico do aluno/da aluna.
Avaliação:
Partimos do pressuposto de que a avaliação deve ser contínua e de processo,
cumulando, assim, nessa unidade didático-pedagógica, com uma produção textual que
reúna os conhecimentos desenvolvidos durante a aplicação do Folhas “Dream
Variations”. Além da observação em relação ao envolvimento dos alunos/alunas no que
5
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
diz respeito à participação, elaboração das atividades e pesquisas, deverá ser
solicitada a produção de algum material em que se use a poesia de Langston Hughes,
envolvendo a escrita e a oralidade. Esse material pode ser desenvolvido com o auxílio
dos professores de História e de Artes, desde que os três professores (Inglês, História
e Artes) trabalhem juntos. O professor de História dará o background histórico dos
Estados Unidos, o que ajudará a entender melhor com que outros discursos a poesia
de Hughes conversa, ou a quais se opõe. Com a professora de artes pode-se combinar
de desenvolver a parte da música negra (blues e jazz) e dos recursos audiovisuais que
podem ser utilizados para a elaboração de um vídeo ou de imagens para
apresentações em Power Point, ou ainda de encenações dramáticas ou declamação de
poemas. A professora/o professor de inglês deve acompanhar a parte da oralidade e
das significações possíveis de serem construídas nos textos poéticos com que os
alunos desejam trabalhar. Os alunos devem ter a liberdade de escolher os poemas que
serão apresentados, mas é necessário o acompanhamento da professora/do professor
no sentido de evitar que haja repetição.
Independentemente de que atividade os
alunos escolham, cabe aos professores acompanhar o trabalho e fazer as
implementações necessárias para que os alunos/as alunas atinjam o conhecimento.
REFERÊNCIAS:
PARANÁ, SECRETARIA DE ESTADO DA EDUCAÇÃO. Diretrizes Curriculares de
Língua Estrangeira Moderna para os anos finais do Ensino Fundamental e
para
o
Ensino
Médio.
Curitiba-Paraná,
2008.
Disponível
em:
<http://www.diaadiaeducacao.pr.gov.br/diaadia/diadia/arquivos/File/livro_e_diretrizes/diretrizes
/diretrizeslem72008.pdf
OBRAS CONSULTADAS:
BAKHTIN, M. Marxismo e filosofia da linguagem. São Paulo: Hucitec, 1988.
CARTER, Ronald & LONG, Michael. Teaching Literature. New York: Longman, 1991.
HIGH, Peter B. An Outline of American Literature. New York: Longman, 1986
6
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
JORDÃO, C. “O ensino de línguas estrangeiras: de código a discurso.” IN: VAZ BONI,
V. Tendências contemporâneas no ensino de línguas. União da Vitória: Kaygangue,
2006.
JORDÃO, C. & FOGAÇA, F. C. “Ensino de inglês, letramento crítico e cidadania: um
triângulo amoroso bem sucedido.” IN: Estudos lingüísticos. Vol 8, nº 14, 1º sem.
2007, p79-105.
7
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
NRE: Área Metropolitana Sul
Município: São José dos Pinhais
Nome do Professor: Elza de Fátima Dissenha e-mail:
Costa
[email protected]
Escola: Colégio Estadual São Cristóvão
Fone: (41) 3283-5067
Disciplina: Inglês
Conteúdo Estruturante: Discurso
Conteúdo Básico: Intertextualidade / Interpretação Textual/ Texto literário
Conteúdo Específico: Descrição / Análise dos textos.
Título: Dream Variations
Relação interdisciplinar 1:História
Colaborador 1: Léia Aparecida Molon
Colaborador da disciplina do autor:
DREAM VARIATIONS
“Dream Variations” is the title of a poem written by Langston Hughes, an
African American writer and Black Movement Activist of the 1920s in the USA.
What dream is Hughes talking about?
And what variations is he referring to?
From: obliqueconfessions.com/imitation_of_life.aspx Google Clipart
You are invited to dream through poetry and some of Langston Hughes’ poems and to
speculate what dream variations he is talking about and what dream he is referring to in
his work. Before we start reading and enjoying Hughes’ poems, let’s think a bit about
poetry and how you feel in relation to it. Follow the instructions:
a) Make arrangements with your classmates and go to the library of your school, or
8
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
b)
c)
d)
e)
to the public library in your city or access the Internet and search for poems in
Portuguese or in English. Choose some poems, copy them and bring them to
class.
In classroom, in groups of four, read the poems you selected to the participants
of your group. Everyone in your group has to do the same.
After finishing the readings, the group has to choose one poem that is going to
represent them and, based on this poem, complete the chart that follows.
Now it is time for your group to read the chosen poem to the other groups. After
each reading, the groups have to complete the chart about the theme, sounds,
images and reactions of the group.
Compare your answers and discuss about them.
Title of the Theme
poem
(what is the
poem
about?
Love, hate, pain,
the art of poetry,
beauty, poverty
etc)
Rhymes/sounds
Images
Reactions
(what rhymes and
sounds
are
emphasized in the
poem? In what sense
the
sounds
are
related
to
the
theme?)
(what kind of
images appear
in the poem?
How are they
connected to the
theme? To what
meanings
are
these
images
related to?)
(your feelings/
emotions/reactions
to the poem)
What is poetry?
There are as many definitions of poetry as there are poets. Some poets, as
Wordsworth for example, defined poetry as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful
feelings." And Emily Dickinson said, "If I read a book and it makes my body so cold
no fire ever can warm me, I know that is poetry." Economy of language, careful
selection of words, their emotive qualities, musical value, spacing, and spatial
relationship to the page, together with a sense of intense emotion and surprise are
some characteristics of poetry. However, some people say it is not important to
define poetry. What is important is to read and feel it in order to develop our
sensibility.
Adapted from http://contemporarylit.about.com/od/poetry/a/poetry.htm
Your answers are going to help you to fill in one of the boxes bellow.
9
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
•
Do you like poetry? Why?
Yes, I like poetry because...
No, I don’t
because....
like
poetry Well, I sort of like poetry
because…
Here you have some possible answers for the questions:
I like poetry because:
•
It is a way of showing my emotions.
•
It makes me feel better when I am bad.
•
It translates the way I feel.
•
I like rhymes and some peculiar sounds.
•
It has uncommon ways of showing common things of our everyday life.
•
It makes me learn and think about life.
•
It stimulates my imagination.
•
It helps me to see things in a different way.
•
Other……………………………………………………..
I don’t like poetry because:
•
It is too difficult to understand.
•
It bothers me.
•
It makes me feel more sentimental and I don’t feel comfortable with this feeling.
•
It makes me feel worst when I am bad.
•
It is not useful or practical.
•
Other……………………………………………………….
I sort of like poetry because:
§
•
Sometimes I can learn something with that.
•
Some sounds and rhymes are nice.
•
Sometimes it is stimulating to my mind.
•
It is usually faster to read than novels and short stories.
•
Other……………………………………………………….
Now compare your answer to your friends’ and discuss about your choices. You can
10
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
use Portuguese for that.
Many people relate poetry to dreams, and the poet to the dreamer or the visionary writer
that can speak the unspeakable using words in unusual ways. While we examine some
of Hughes’ poems, think about that.
The Free Online Dictionary defines the noun Dream as :
1. A series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations occurring involuntarily in the
mind during certain stages of sleep.
2. A daydream; a reverie.
3. A state of abstraction; a trance.
4. A wild fancy or hope.
5. A condition or achievement that is longed for; an aspiration: a dream of owning
their own business.
6. One that is exceptionally gratifying, excellent, or beautiful: Our new car runs like
a dream
From: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dream.
§ Dreams are recurrent motives in Hughes’ poetry. What kind of images do you
think you may find in a poem that speaks about dreams?
§
(
) blue skies
(
) broken hearts
(
) green fields
(
) calm places
(
) deep sea
(
) high mountains
(
) winged birds
(
) barren land
(
) angels flying (
) tall trees
(
) other………
) beautiful gardens (
Check if what you selected appears in Hughes’ poem “Dreams”
11
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
Dreams
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow
Image from Google at
http://s83.photobucket.com/albums/j310/nicksflicks/?action=view&current=_sadness__by_Modifidous.jpg
If you had to define the noun dream in a few words, what would be your definition?
Write it bellow:
A dream is ………………………………………………………………………………………..
Compare your answer to the ones your friends gave and discuss about the following
questions either in English or in Portuguese:
v Are your answers similar or different?
v In what sense are they similar or different?
v Can you find reasons for the similarities or differences you have found?
§
Exploring the poem “Dreams”:
v In poems we have what is called “the persona”, that is, the voice that
speaks in the poem. In Langston Hughes’ poem “Dreams”, what is the
meaning of dreams to the persona in the poem?
v Why does the persona warn us to “hold fast to dreams”? What may
happen if we don’t do that?
v Two metaphors are used to refer to a life without dreams. One is “a
broken-winged bird/ that cannot fly” and the other is “a barren field/frozen
with snow”. To what ideas are these metaphors connected? Mark the best
possibilities;
12
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
(
) stillness
(
) delight
(
) confinement
(
) suffering
(
) happiness
(
) immobility
(
) passivity
(
) death
v Now compare the noun dreams to the noun hope (look up in a dictionary
or talk to your friends to define what hope is).
v If you substitute the word dreams for hope, would this change the
meaning of the poem? Explain it.
v Do you agree with what the poem says? Why?
§
Now, take a look at another poem written by Langston Hughes:
Here you find some verbs that are going to appear in the poem “Dream Variations”.
Match the columns between the verb and its meaning:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Fling arms
Whirl
Done
Rest
Come on
•
Below there is the first stanza of the poem “Dream variations”. Try to complete it.
(
(
(
(
(
) arrive, referring to the night or to the day
) be still or quiet, relaxing
) throw your arms violently in the air
) move quickly round and round
) finished
Use the words in the box.
night dream sun white wide tree
1. To fling my arms ________
2. In some place of the _______
3. To whirl and to dance
4. Till the _______ day is done
5. Then rest at cool evening
6. Beneath a tall __________
7. While ________ comes on gently,
8.
Dark like me
9. That is my __________
13
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
Compare your answers to your friends’ and talk about the reasons for your choices, that
is, the reasons for putting that word into that line and not into another. Do your choices
make sense within the poem?
•
Now, let’s go to the second stanza. We have to organize the lines, so you have
to number them from 10 to 17, continuing the sequence of the first stanza. In
order to do that, pay attention to the lines of the first stanza. The sequence of
these lines may help you organize the second stanza if you compare line by line.
Goolge Clipart image at flickr.com/photos/37043062@N00/209956520
(
) Black like me
( 14 ) Rest at pale evening...
( 12 ) Dance! Whirl! Whirl!
( 10 ) To fling my arms wide
(
(
) In the face of the sun
) Till the quick day is done
(
) A tall, slim tree...
( 16 ) Night coming tenderly
•
Time to listen to the poem and check your answers: If it is possible, go to the
computer laboratory in your school and watch a video of this poem at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raadzXkq_Q4. If this is not possible, check with
your friends if they can access Langston Hughes’ poetry site and bring copies of this
poem to class.
14
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
•
Exploring the poem “Dream variations”
•
Why the title of this poem is “Dream variations” and not only “dream”?
•
If there are variations, they are so in relation to what? What other dream is the
voice in the poem talking to or opposing to?
Copy the poem in two parts in a sheet of paper: the first stanza on one side, the second
on the other, and compare the two line by line. Here you find some questions that can
help.
o Why “In some place of the sun” in the first stanza and “In the face of the
Sun” in the second?
o Why “to whirl and to dance” in the first stanza and the imperative “Dance!
whirl! whirl!” in the second?
o What are the meanings of the metaphors “white day” in the first stanza
and “quick day” in the second? To what these metaphors may be related?
Do you think it is possible to relate the expression “white day” to the days
in which blacks served whites?
o Why is there “a tall tree” in the first stanza and “A tall, slim tree” in the
second? What is the difference between the trees? What does this
difference has to do with the poem and with the situation of black people
in North America?
o Why the persona in the poem does not repeat the last line of the first
stanza “That is my dream” in the second stanza?
There are many possible meanings we can find in a poem. If we read the poem relating
it to the historical, cultural and personal context in which it was produced, we may have
different meanings from those taken when we read the poem relating it to our own
contexts and our experiences. This means that when we read we can find a multitude of
possibilities of signification, each one of them valid if they deep our knowledge and
15
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
understanding of the theme that is being explored. Up to now, we tried to get meaning
from Langston Hughes’ poems exploring our own experiences. From now own, we are
going to learn a bit more about the context in which these poems were written and
enlarge our possibilities of reading.
•
What about learning a bit about the poet Langston Hughes (1902-1967) and the
historical context of his times?
If you have a computer in your school, visit youtube videos in
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qupXmDzcJxU and find more about me.
READING COMPREHENSION
Use the regular verbs in the box to complete the text. In
parenthesis you find the meaning of these verbs.
Remember:
When you use regular verbs in the past, it is
necessary to ad ed at the end of the verb.
travel
divorce
finish
reflect
move
want
die
publish
raise
Langston Hughes
image from Google at
http://www.poemhunter.co
James Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri on
m/poem/dreams-2/
February 1, 1902. When he was a small child, his parents
_________ (not being married anymore), and his father
moved to Mexico. He was ___________ (to bring up) by his
grandmother until he was thirteen. At this age, he ________
(to change from place to place) to Lincoln, Illinois, to live with his mother and her
husband. It was in Lincoln, Illinois, that Hughes began writing poetry. Following high
school graduation, he spent a year in Mexico and a year at Columbia University. During
these years, he held odd jobs as an assistant cook, launderer, and a busboy, and
___________ (to move from one place to another as in a trip) to Africa and Europe
working as a seaman. Hughes' travels ranged to such diverse locations as Senegal,
Nigeria, the Cameroons, the Belgian Congo, Angola, and Guinea in Africa; to Italy,
France, Russia and Spain.
Whether abroad, or at home in the US, Hughes loved to sit in the clubs listening to
blues, jazz and writing poetry. A 'new rhythm' emerged in his writing, as evidenced by
his collection of poems, "The Weary Blues". Returning to live in Harlem in 1924 -during
a period often referred to as the 'Harlem Renaissance'- his work was frequently
published and he wrote prolifically. Moving to Washington D.C., in 1925, his time spent
in blues and jazz clubs increased even further. Hughes's first book of poetry, The
16
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
Weary Blues, was ___________ (to prepare a book for distribution) by Alfred A. Knopf
in 1926. He ____________ (to end something) his college education at Lincoln
University in Pennsylvania three years later. In 1930 his first novel, Not Without
Laughter, won the Harmon gold medal for literature.
Paul Laurence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman were Hughes’ primary
influences. Langston Hughes is particularly known for his portrayals of black life in
America from the twenties through the sixties. He wrote poetry, novels, short stories,
sketches, plays, lyrics for musicals and operas, radio and television scripts, two
autobiographies, translations, essays and articles on many topics. He is also known for
his engagement with the world of jazz and the influence it had on his writing. His life
and work were important in shaping the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance
of the 1920s. He _____________ (to desire) to tell the stories of his people in ways
that _________________ (to show an image of) their culture, including their suffering
and their love of music, laughter, and language itself.
Hughes argued, "no great poet has ever been afraid of being himself." And
complemented that saying: "We younger Negro artists now intend to express our
individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. […] We build our temples for
tomorrow, as strong as we know how and we stand on the top of the mountain, free
within ourselves." Langston Hughes ________ (opposite of to live) of complications
from prostate cancer in New York on May 22, 1967.
(Adapted
from
hughes/biography)
http://www.poets.org/poet.php
and
http://www.poemhunter.com/langston-
The Harlem Renaissance was a movement that impacted urban centers throughout the United
States. Exploring cultural aspects (literature, drama, music, visual art, dance) and also social
thought (sociology, historiography, philosophy), artists and intellectuals found new ways to
explore the historical experiences of black America and the contemporary experiences of
black life. Artists and intellectuals of the Harlem Renaissance rejected imitating the styles of
Europeans and white Americans and instead celebrated black dignity and creativity.
(Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
•
Mark T (true) or F (false) correcting the ones you marked as false.
( ) Hughes’ main concern was to talk about the cultural and everyday experiences
of black people in America.
( ) His poetry was not influenced by other famous American poets.
( ) He was involved with Harlem Renaissance concerns, a movement that imitated
European and American styles in art and culture.
( ) He has lived a variety of experiences in his jobs.
Hughes was really concerned to give a vivid portrait of the lives of black people in USA.
In order to do that, he used his writings, relating his work to the lives, dreams and
aspirations of his people, connecting them to the dreams and aspirations of the
founders of the American nation. In a way, his writings “talk” to the context of his times
and establish a dialog with discourses that circulated in society since the beginning of
17
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
the colonization of North America, relating black history to the history of the United
States. Among the discourses that were very strong in North America (and still are) we
find the ideals of democracy and equality and also the American Dream of success,
discourses that are within Hughes’ poetry. These discourses, nevertheless, clashed with
the situation of American black people in their everyday life, as Hughes very well
portrayed in his work.
Take a look at the image bellow. It is the cover of the book Financing the American
Dream: a cultural history of consumer credit, written by Lendon Calder in 2001, that
represents the idea of the American dream of success. Take a look at it and make a list
of the things you see in the cover.
Image from http://www.amazon.com/Financing-American-Dream-CulturalConsumer/dp/0691074550#reader
Now, try to define the American dream and discuss the following questions with your
classmates:
• Is the American dream possible? If yes, to whom is it possible? Are black people
included in this dream? Why?
• Do you think this is the dream Hughes is referring to in his poems? Or are there
other kinds of dreams he wanted to talk about?
In one of the texts above, there is a mention to the influence of the American poet Walt
Whitman in Hughes’ poetry. This influence was not only in terms of poetic form, that is,
the use of a freer form in writing poetry, but also in terms of content. Walt Whitman was
also known as the poet who sings America. Take a look at two fragments of Whitman’s
poems we selected for you.
18
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
I Hear America Singing
I hear America singing, the varied carols I
hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his
as it would be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures
his plank or beam,
(…)
The delicious singing of the mother, or of
the young wife at work, or of the girl
sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her
and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day--at night
the
party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong
melodious songs.
From "Leaves of Grass", 1900
Walt Whitman
Google image from:
www.lib.unc.edu/.../engl/F08_engl125_001.html
American Feuillage
(…)
Always the free range and diversity! always
the continent of Democracy!
(…)
Factories, machinery, the mechanical
forces—the windlass, lever, pulley—All
certainties,
The certainty of space, increase, freedom,
futurity,
In space, the sporades, the scatter’d
islands, the stars—on the firm earth, the
lands, my
lands;
O lands! all so dear to me—what you are,
(whatever it is,) I become a part of that,
whatever it
is;
From “Leaves of grass”, 1900
• What kinds of images are presented in the two poems? Are they positive or
negative?
• What kinds of people are included in the representations of “I hear America
Singing”? What are these people doing? How do you think the persona in the
poem sees those people (sad, happy, anxious etc)?
• To what spaces the second poem (“American Feuillage”) is related to? How are
these spaces described? How does the persona feel in relation to these spaces?
• In what ways is Whitman a poet who sings America? What America is the one he
portrays? Is it a real place or an imaginary place? Explain your answers.
Bellow you have two other poems by Langston Hughes. In the two, he mentions a place
called America. To what America is he referring to? Is it the same as Whitman’s? Why?
19
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
Let America be America
Again
Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.
(America never was America to me.)
Google
image
www.amazon.com/.../dp/1883332435
I, Too, Sing America
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.
at
(…)
I am the young man, full of strength and
hope,
Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of
satisfying need!
(…)
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief
today?
(…)
The millions who have nothing for our pay-Except the dream that's almost dead today.
(…)
(…)
I, too, am America.
You have been in contact with some of Hughes’ poems and dreams. Coming back to
the first poems we have analyzed here, try to read them again. What has changed in
your reading and in your understanding of these poems?
As a final activity, take a look at other Hughes’ poems (you can find them at a search
site, as Google, for example) and, in groups, choose one or two of them. You can
rehearse them and make short videos, or make a power point presentation with images
and the verses, together with songs that you think match the poems (you can find some
examples of these videos on the Net, at Youtube). Anyway, talk to your friends and use
your creativity. And, most of all, feel the poems.
20
Produção Didático-pedagógica - PDE 2008 - Folhas
Dream Variations
Elza de Fátima Dissenha Costa
References:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raadzXkq_Q4 Access in December 14, 2008.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qupXmDzcJxU Access in December 18, 2008.
http://www.poets.org/poet.php Access in December, 18, 2008.
http://www.poemhunter.com/langston-hughes/biography Access in December 21, 2008.
http://www.poetrymagic.co.uk/whatispoetry.html Access in December 28, 2008.
http://contemporarylit.about.com/od/poetry/a/poetry.htm. Access in December 28, 2008.
http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishworks/literature/poetry.html Access in January 2, 2009.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com Access in January 25, 2009.
http://afroamhistory.about.com/ Access in November 17, 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American_history Access in November 20, 2008.
PARANÁ. Secretaria do Estado da Educação. Superintendência de Educação.
Diretrizes Curriculares da Educação Básica: Língua Estrangeira Moderna.
Curitiba: 2008.
GOWER, Roger & PEARSON, Margaret. Reading Literature. Hong Kong: Longman,
1990.
HIGH, Peter B. An Outline of American Literature. New York: Longman, 1986.
21