Langston Hughes video on "The Weary Blues"

Langston Hughes video on "The Weary Blues" was enjoyable and soothing. His voice co-insides with the poem perfectly. It gave more feeling and passion about African American musicians and the connection that was made to the audience during the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was a time when African Americans expressed their art and music and was recognized for it. The darkness, dim lighting, and soft tone in the video, as well as the silent instrumental music playing, made the era of the Blues come more to life and appreciate its mournful rhythm.

In this poem, line four says "Down on Lenox Avenue the other night", I did not quite understand it. It became more apparent to me when Hughes read it in the video. With the map given to us for class, Lenox Avenue is a main street that is located uptown in New York. What I didn't understand is why the speaker said "down". Is the speaker trying to focus more on the word down to connect with the blues feeling? Or was the speaker trying to emphasize on the class of African Americans at the time? Anyone care to share any insights? 

Poe, Dickinson, and Whitman poems

Poe
I personally enjoyed watching the video on "The Raven". The voice of each person really brought the poem to life. It made me realize that there are several ways of understanding a poem. Listening to Christopher Walken recite this poem was very enjoyable. It was the perfect voice for this poem and made me feel the poem more as well. The Simpsons have always had a way of making things a bit more humorous. I enjoyed watching this video as well.

Dickinson
The video on Emily Dickinson was humorous at first, but kind of a creepy way of learning about her. Although I learned a few things about her, the thought of Emily speaking from the "after life" was a little creepy.

Whitman
I looked at a few more videos on Whitman's poems and they really tend to bring the meaning of the poems out a lot more. Each poem had a different feel or mood and each inspired me differently. I really enjoyed listening to Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" and "O Captain! My Captain!".

Overall, I am really starting to get more interested in poetry and exploring different ways of reading and understanding a poem. Poetry is inspirational and all of these poems tend to have a timeless era that many individuals can relate to.