Juke Box Love Song by Langston Hughes

I could take the Harlem night
and wrap around you,
Take the neon lights and make a crown,
Take the Lenox Avenue busses,
Taxis, subways,
And for your love song tone their rumble down.
Take Harlem's heartbeat,
Make a drumbeat,
Put it on a record, let it whirl,
And while we listen to it play,
Dance with you till day--
Dance with you, my sweet brown Harlem girl.

            The song is capturing all of the liveliness and soul of Harlem during this period of time. It also seems to be dedicated to a certain "Harlem girl" who encompasses all that Harlem represents to Hughes and others. From the lines, "I could take the Harlem night and wrap around you" Hughes shows that he is embodying all that Harlem symbolizes for him, and taking all of the culture and vitality of Harlem and presenting it to someone, someone with an outside perspective, someone not caught up in it all, who can truly cherish all of the beauty and life of Harlem.
            Exploration of Negro heritage and history is a present theme in that Hughes is embodying many aspects of black culture in his poem. In fact he is discussing taking these parts of black culture and concentrating them, presenting a simplified version of these things. He is describing the process of considering all that these aspects of black culture represent, and then taking all that and then manipulating the form of these things, condensing them into a "crown" or a "record".
            Hughes uses imagery, personification, and rhyme to enhance the tone and feel of his poem. He uses imagery in the way that he describes the numerous facets of Harlem nightlife. He creates a vivid picture of a bustling, glowing scene of cars, lights, dance and music in the mind of the reader. Hughes uses personification in that he is taking inanimate concepts such as "the Harlem night" and wrapping it around somebody as if it were a blanket. He discusses taking "Harlem's heartbeat", and then playing that as a record. Hughes uses this technique to create a certain profundity to the things he's discussing. By talking about them in this abstract way Hughes is depicting them as magical and wondrous. Lastly, Hughes uses rhyme to give his poem an upbeat feel and to cause the words to flow elegantly and gracefully, as a night in Harlem might.