Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

Lesson Plan: Rhythmic, Lyrical Protests of the African American

Audience: High School English students

Rationale: Langston Hughes’ poetry became well known as the rhythmic, lyrical protests of all African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Today’s popular rap artists, like Arrested Development, whose lyrics speak of the society in which they live must credit their musical styles directly to the lyrical heritage of Langston Hughes. In fact, Hughes used to read his poetry to the accompaniment of music when he presented it publicly. Perhaps Langston Hughes is the original rap artist. This lesson compares the social protest inherent in the lyrics of songs like “Mister Landlord” or “Tennessee” by Arrested Development with the themes Hughes used 70 years ago in his poetry.

Objectives: The student will:

  1. recognize the similarity of theme in Langston Hughes’ poetry and some rap music.
  2. compare the use of language and rhythm in Hughes’ poetry and Arrested Development’s music.
  3. orally interpret Hughes’ poem “Ballad of the Landlord.”

Audience: Suggested for high school English students.

Time Frame: 1-2 class periods of approximately 40-50 minutes each

Materials: Hughes’ poem, “Ballad of the Landlord”; CD/Tape of Arrested Development’s songs “Tennessee” and/or “Revolution” and lyrics; CD/tape player

Procedures:

  1. Have Arrested Development’s song “Tennessee” playing as students enter the classroom and then once they are all seated play the song again. Inform students that many rap artists’ lyrics can trace their style to Langston Hughes.
  2. Introduce Hughes (if necessary) and then pass out the poem, “Ballad of the Landlord” to each student. Have students read the poem silently.
  3. Discuss the idea of choral reading (according to vocal timbre, pitch and choral assignment of soprano, alto, tenor, and bass).
  4. Role Play. Select students to act as the tenant, the landlord, a newspaper boy, and a judge. They should perform the action of the poem.
  5. Choral reading. Select the remainder of the class to perform the same poem but this time as a choral reading. Assign individual parts. Have students practice their parts for five minutes and then perform the piece. The teacher must also get involved in the choral reading. Point out the strong rhythms in the poem and the theme of social protest before performing the piece.
  6. Lead class discussion in which the following points are covered:

    • What is the condition of the tenant’s house?
    • What is the method used by the landlord for non-payment of rent?
    • Describe the nature of the threat by the landlord and the outcome of the threat.
    • How do you think Hughes feels about his characters?
    • How do you feel about them?
    • Hughes implies that African Americans cannot stand up for things that are right. How does he do this?
    • Are landlords now providing better housing for African Americans than they did ten years ago? Give examples.
    • How did the choral reading add to the poem’s meaning?
    • How does Hughes use rhythm in this poem?
  7. Listen to Arrested Development’s song “Mister Landlord” and read the lyrics. Compare and contrast this song with the Hughes poem and with the class’ choral reading of it. Some points to cover in the discussion include: theme, use of rhythm, language, feelings for the common man.

Evaluation:

Possibilities for evaluation include:

  1. Have students compare and contrast in writing this or another Hughes’ poem with another song by Arrested Development or another rap artist. (Students could also be asked to come up with their own comparisons.)
  2. Have students write an essay on the ways in which Langston Hughes could be considered the first rap artist. Or answer the question: What if Hughes were a rap artist today? What would he write about? What kind of image would he project?
  3. Have students write and/or perform an original rap using a similar theme to Hughes’ poem.
  4. Evaluate the poetry and the rap song according to the following standards: originality, sincerity, ideas, feelings, universality, rhythm and language.

Extensions:

  1. Study poem for oral presentation.
  2. Write another ending for the poem with victory for the tenant.
  3. Write an essay discussing whites who are forced to live in bad housing because they are poor.
  4. Compare the poetry of Hughes and Carl Sandburg. Some points for comparison are: the appropriateness of language, literary style, feelings for the common man, subject selections, etc.
  5. Read Carl Sandburg’s “Buyers and Sellers,” With whom does the poet sympathize? Would Hughes’ attitude be similar to that of Sandburg? Why? Why not?
    Read Vachel Lindsay’s “Factory Windows are Always Broken.” Does the poet indict the poor or society?
  6. Find other rap artists and songs that reflect the theme of social protest. Is this typically an American problem? What is being done politically to bring about change?
  7. Expand the ideas of the lesson into a skit.

Selected Recordings:

“Tennessee” Arrested Development 3 Years, 5 Months, And 2 Days in the Life Of (Chrysalis/1992)

“Mister Landlord” Arrested Development Zingalamaduni (Chrysalis/1994)

Background:

Langston Hughes (1902-1967), whose writing career spanned more than 40 years was the first black man to earn a living by writing. Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri into a unique African American family. Not only were his parents college educated, which was very rare at the time, but his grandmother and great uncle were also college graduates. This type of family history was almost unheard of for an African American at the turn of the century. Hughes felt the pressure to live up to the expectations of the family.

In high school he was elected to the school newspaper and published his most famous poem “the Negro Speaks of Rivers,” during his senior year. In the poem, he describes the role that the African Americans have played through history. In 1924 Hughes moved to Harlem where he spent the rest of his life. He wrote poetry, essays, plays, songs, short stories and novels-- much of it dealing with racial problems in American and with life as an African American. Hughes was a gentle spirit whose humor often pervaded much of what he wrote.

His writing is essentially urban, and his insight into the lives of ordinary blacks along with his skillful use of their language gained him the title of “Poet Laureate of Black America.” Black music--specifically jazz and the blues--was also a major influence on Hughes and he often performed his poetry to music. Even though rap did not exist during Hughes time, in some ways he may be considered the first rap artist.

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