Vernacular Tradition's Impact on African American Literature
The vernacular tradition has been a well-known theme in African American literature. This distinctive tradition carries with it the stories and emotions of the oppressed African American people who desperately tried to preserve their culture. From narratives to poems or everyday speech, the vernacular tradition conveyed emotions beyond words. In particular, this uniqueness of the vernacular tradition made it notable in everyday speech, but especially noteworthy in literature. By using this style, it ensured that speakers' voices could be remembered and unable to be erased throughout history. Langston Hughes' "Bound No'th Blues" was one of the pieces of literature that featured the vernacular tradition in a poetic form. This poem blends together a tragic personal testimony with the voice of an oral storytelling. In "Bound No'th Blues", Hughes purposefully utilized language and phrasing to capture the vernacular tradition and the cultural wei...