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Hughes structured “Let America Be America Again” in three sections, where the speaker advances from an attitude of irony to one of critique, then exhortation. The ironic opening section (lines 1–16) appears in the form of an English sonnet, complete with three quatrains and a couplet, all rhyming and written in loose iambic pentameter. This sonnet conjures an idealistic vision of what American could—and indeed should—be. Yet the speaker also introduces a critical counterpoint in the form of single-line parenthetical statements that actively deflate the vision offered in the quatrains. In line 5, for instance, the speaker insists, “(America never was America to me.)” The counterpoint between the idealism expressed in the sonnet and the skepticism expressed in the parenthetical statements results in an overall attitude of irony. This attitude leaves the reader unsure about how earnest the speaker is about restoring the original dream of America.

Following the implied sonnet that opens the poem, the speaker moves into the second section (lines 17–61), the dominant attitude of which is critique. Here, the speaker launches a full-on attack against the original dream of America, making it clear that this dream has failed most Americans. Whereas in the opening section the speaker made use of the sonnet form, here they turn to other rhetorical tactics. In particular, they use a form of repetition known as anaphora. The speaker uses anaphora in different ways throughout the section, but it essentially functions to create lists. In one instance, the list enables the speaker to adopt the perspectives of different underprivileged communities (lines 19–22). In another instance, the list provides a catalog of the crimes committed by the ruling class (lines 27–30). In every case, however, the speaker uses anaphora to offer a critique of America as it currently exists.

In the poem’s final section (lines 62–86), the speaker ceases to enumerate the many ways in which the original dream of America has failed. Indeed, they shift away from critique and address the reader in an attitude of earnest exhortation. This section begins with a refrain that repeats the opening line almost verbatim: “O, let America be America again” (line 62). Whereas the speaker uttered the opening line in an ironic attitude that made its tone ambiguous, here the speaker declares it as an earnest call to arms. Throughout this section, the speaker addresses the reader and attempts to rouse us with different rhetorical techniques. First, they repeatedly begin lines with the hortatory “O,” which signals their intent for us to listen to them. The speaker also begins to speak in the plural third person, invoking an ethos of collectivity and solidarity. Hence their call, near the poem’s end: “We, the people, must redeem / The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers” (lines 82–83). Only through such collective action will we be able to “make America again” (line 86).

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