Thereissubstantialevidencethatby1926,withthepublicationofTheWearyBlues,LangstonHugheshadbrokenwithtwowell-establishedtraditionsinAfricanAmericanliterature.InTheWearyBlues,HugheschosetomodifythetraditionsthatdecreedthatAfricanAmericanliteraturemustpromoteracialacceptanceandintegration,andthat,inordertodoso,itmustreflectanunderstandingandmasteryofWesternEuropeanliterarytechniquesandstyles.Necessarilyexcludedbythisdecree,linguisticallyandthematically,wasthevastamountofsecularfolkmaterialintheoraltraditionthathadbeencreatedbyBlackpeopleintheyearsofslaveryandafter.Itmightbepointedoutthateventhespiritualsor“sorrowsongs”oftheslaves—asdistinctfromtheirsecularsongsandstories—hadbeenEuropeanizedtomakethemacceptablewithintheseAfricanAmericantraditionsaftertheCivilWar.In1862northernWhitewritershadcommentedfavorablyontheuniqueandprovocativemelodiesofthese“sorrowsongs”whentheyfirstheardthemsungbyslavesintheCarolinaseaislands.Butby1916,tenyearsbeforethepublicationofTheWearyBlues,HurryT.Burleigh,theBlackbaritonesoloistatNewYork’sultrafashionableSaintGeorge’sEpiscopalChurch,hadpublishedJubileeSongsoftheUnitedStates,witheveryspiritualarrangedsothataconcertsingercouldsingit“inthemannerofanartsong.”Clearly,theartisticworkofBlackpeoplecouldbeusedtopromoteracialacceptanceandintegrationonlyontheconditionthatitbecameEuropeanized. EvenmorethanhisrebellionagainstthisrestrictivetraditioninAfricanAmericanart,Hughes’sexpressionofthevibrantfolkcultureofBlackpeopleestablishedhiswritingasalandmarkinthehistoryofAfricanAmericanliterature.Mostofhisfolkpoemshavethedistinctivemarksofthisfolkculture’soraltradition:theycontainmanyinstancesofnamingandenumeration,considerablehyperboleandunderstatement,andastronginfusionofstreet-talkrhyming.Thereisadeceptiveveilofartlessnessinthesepoems.Hughespridedhimselfonbeinganimpromptuandimpressionisticwriterofpoetry.His,heinsisted,wasnotanartfullyconstructedpoetry.Yetananalysisofhisdramaticmonologuesandotherpoemsrevealsthathispoetrywascarefullyandartfullycrafted.Inhisfolkpoetrywefindfeaturescommontoallfolkliterature,suchasdramaticellipsis,narrativecompression,rhythmicrepetition,andmonosyllabicemphasis.Thepeculiarmixtureofironyandhumorwefindinhiswritingisadistinguishingfeatureofhisfolkpoetry.Together,theseaspects,ofHughes’swritinghelpedtomodifythepreviousrestrictionsonthetechniquesandsubjectmatterofBlackwritersandconsequentlytobroadenthelinguisticandthematicrangeofAfricanAmericanliterature. ThepassagesuggeststhattheauthorwouldbemostlikelytoagreewithwhichoneofthefollowingstatementsabouttherequirementthatBlackwritersemployWesternEuropeanliterarytechniques?
A.The requirement was imposed more for social than for aesthetic reasons.
B.The requirement was a relatively unimportant aspect of the African American tradition.
C.The requirement was the chief reason for Hughes’s success as a writer.
D.The requirement was appropriated for some forms of expression but not for others.
正确答案是A