Freedom from boundaries: Romantic voices of poetry and jazz in the Harlem Renaissance

The poetry of the Harlem Renaissance is filled with the rhythm and mood of jazz, as well as with aspects of Romanticism. All three of these art forms combine to create a truly original voice of America, the voice of African-Americans. Such concepts and typologies as individualism, crossing boundaries, rebellion and the Byronic hero soak the notes and words of the Harlem Renaissance with the ever-flowing waters of the Romantic imagination. Always this creative art sings the romantic reinvention of language. This language of hope and pride and spiritual freedom emerges from the deep grave of slavery to celebrate the voice of the African-American people. The emergence of this voice is best seen in the jazz-filled poetry of Langston Hughes, along with the works of James Weldon Johnson and Zora Neale Hurston. A look at slave songs, Frederick Douglass and Ralph Ellison provide this study with before-and-after context.