Analysis

The analysis of the poem “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes shows that the outer composition is complex, with the poem being split into seventeen stanzas of different lengths. The inner composition presents the speaker’s call for working-class Americans to reclaim America. 

The main speaker of the poem claims that he embodies the lower-class and working-class categories that have built America, and for whom freedom and equality never existed.

The setting of the poem is the United States of America. The speaker focuses on America’s natural landscape and on America’s industry to show how working-class citizens have never seen America as their true home. 

The language reflects the style of the time when the poem was written. The language creates a tense atmosphere and shows how the meaning of the American Dream does not apply to lower-class Americans.

The poet uses several poetic devices, including rhetorical questions, alliteration, repetition, and metaphors. Repetition, in particular, helps the poet emphasize the idea that the American dream will be possible as long as working-class people reclaim America. 

You can read a more detailed analysis on the following pages.