"NOTHING HUMAN IS FOREIGN": POLYPHONY AND RECOGNITION IN THE POETRY OF ROBERT HAYDEN

This essay argues that the polyphony that features so prominently in many of Robert Hayden's poems serves as a linguistic parallel for the recognition between distanced subjects his poems both depict and encourage. Drawing on the work of Fanon, Hegel, and Bakhtin, the essay defines recognition...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:College literature 2016-07, Vol.43 (3), p.481-508
Main Author: DeJONG, TIM
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African American Culture
African Americans
Authorial voice
Beliefs
Black history
Careers
Chrisman, Robert
Cultural heritage
Hayden, Robert (1913-1980)
Poetics
Poetry
Poets
Politics
Race
Racial Discrimination
Racial Relations
Recognition
Theme
Topography
United States History
Yeats, William Butler (1865-1939)
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Summary:This essay argues that the polyphony that features so prominently in many of Robert Hayden's poems serves as a linguistic parallel for the recognition between distanced subjects his poems both depict and encourage. Drawing on the work of Fanon, Hegel, and Bakhtin, the essay defines recognition as the awareness of mutuality or common ground linking two otherwise distanced subjects. Paying close attention to three of Hayden's poems—"Night, Death, Mississippi," "Runagate Runagate," and "Middle Passage"—the essay then demonstrates how he uses multiple and interweaving voices in his poetry to provoke and evoke recognition. Revealing that the trope of recognition is central to Hayden's understanding of race, agency, and the human self, this analysis helps us to better understand how he balanced careful attention to his own socio-historical context with a determination to be an internationalist poet not limited by narrow political affiliations.
ISSN:0093-3139
1542-4286
1542-4286
DOI:10.1353/lit.2016.0032