Question

Read the excerpt, and then complete the sentence that follows. Deferred by Langston Hughes (excerpt) This year, maybe, do you think I can graduate? I’m already two years late. Dropped out six months when I was seven, a year when I was eleven, then got put back when we come North…
Maybe now I can have that white enamel stove I dreamed about when we first fell in love eighteen years ago. But you know, rooming and everything then kids...

Me, I always did want to study French. It don't make sense— I'll never go to France, but night schools teach French . . .

Someday, I'm gonna buy two new suits at once!
All I want is one more bottle of gin.
All I want is to see my furniture paid for.

Langston Hughes uses _______ and _______ jazz formats in this poem to emphasize how African American dreams remained unfulfilled.


Langston Hughes uses ______...
A.) Improvisation
B.) Scat
C.) Blues
D.) Alliteration

And... ______
A.) Swing
B.) Call and response
C.) Alliteration
D.) Syncopation

Answer 1

During the Harlem Renaissance, improvisation, and syncopation also combined with poetry to create jazz poetry.
The correct answers are:
Langston Hughes uses IMPROVISATION and SYNCOPATION jazz formats in this poem to emphasize how African American dreams remained unfulfilled.

Answer 2

Answer: A) Improvisation and D) Syncopation

Langston Hughes poetry was influenced by the jazz music that became popular during the Harlem Renaissance. In this excerpt, we can appreciate two of its distinguishable elements.

Improvisation is present in the way Hughes uses dialogue. The lines resemble a "call and response" type of conversation (several speakers respond to each other). On the other hand, Hughes also uses syncopation, which refers to an unexpected interruption on the rhythm of the poem.