I look at the world

“I look at the world” by Langston Hughes belongs to the lyric genre of poetry; it’s relatively short and expresses the personal views of the poet and speaker. In “I look at the world,” the speaker is a Black person conveying their individual perceptions about the United States and racism. Although the problems the speaker witnesses are personal and seen through their lens, the issues are universal within the Black community.

While the primary theme of the poem is racism, the speaker doesn’t lack confidence. Racism hasn't made them meek. Their tone is confident: “I look at the world,” declares the speaker (Line 1). They possess the poise to confront the world and evaluate it. They address race by describing how they look at the world through “awakening eyes in a black face” (Line 2). Continuing the declarative tone, the speaker tells the reader what they see.

The speaker reveals their observations: “This fenced-off narrow space / Assigned to me” (Lines 4-5). The last line—“Assigned to me”—reveals further details about the speaker. They didn’t choose to occupy this marginalized space. Rather, someone placed them in a restricted area due to their skin color. There is nothing natural or inevitable about where the speaker is. It’s a result of nonsensical, baseless beliefs.

In Stanza 2, the speaker’s self-awareness emerges. Oppression doesn’t make them feel unequal or inferior: They know the “walls,” which are symbols of racism, are “silly” (Line 6). Prejudice has no sound basis, and it doesn’t cause the speaker to devalue themselves or who they are. Indeed, in Line 7, the speaker reasserts their Black identity for the second time. They want to make sure that everyone knows that they are Black and not ashamed.

In Line 8, the speaker continues narrating in a declarative tone. Looking at the world has taught them a thing or two, and now they’re going to share their knowledge: “This is what I know” (Line 8). The speaker keenly understands that “all these walls oppression builds / Will have to go!” (Lines 9-10). Hughes uses personification. He attaches human characteristics to a nonhuman thing: oppression. Oppression becomes an entity that can build walls and marginalize people.

In the final stanza, the speaker directs their gaze inward. Now, they’re not looking at the world or its despotic walls but their “own body” (Line 11). The speaker uses figurative language: “With eyes no longer blind" (Line 12). The speaker was not medically blind before this moment. Rather, blindness signifies a realization. By looking at the world, the walls, and their own body, the speaker figures something out—they see something new.

The speaker discovers: “I see that my own hands can make / The world that’s in my mind” (Line 13-14). These lines express the speaker’s epiphany or realization. Although the speaker doesn’t explicitly tell us what they’re thinking, they allude to it. Allusion is a literary device that allows the speaker to reference something without having to state it outright. The lack of clarity arguably makes it more powerful because it allows the reader to figure it out on their own. Based on the speaker’s portrayal of the world they see, the world in their mind lacks oppression.

The speaker becomes excited. Galvanized by the idea that they have the power to change the world and strike back against bigotry, the speaker invites other people—the sympathetic reader, presumably, among them—to “hurry” (Line 15) and help them.

The speaker uses another allusion, “comrades” (Line 15). Often linked to communism, the term reveals the speaker’s belief that people need to work together as a community; this way everyone can get on the “road” and “find” (Line 16) a world where people aren’t persecuted and oppressed.

By the end of the poem, the speaker comes across as an activist. They’re not just writing a poem for the reader to mull over—they’re conveying a call to action. Their tone is active and energetic. They want to bring the poem’s words into the physical realm. Now that the poem is complete, there’s something the speaker and reader can do in the material world. If they work together as allies or “comrades,” they can make a just, fairer America instead of only talking about one.