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Hughes’s poem has a quietly self-assured tone that’s evident as much in what the speaker says as in how the speaker says it. From the very beginning, the speaker articulates a strong sense of identity (lines 1-2):

I’ve known rivers:
I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.

The repetition of the phrase “I’ve known rivers” has two immediate effects. First, by repeating the word “I,” the speaker indicates a strong sense of self. Second, the phrase “I’ve known rivers” emphasizes how the speaker’s self-confidence derives from the knowledge gained from experience. The speaker explicitly affirms this connection between experience and self-knowledge in the third line: “My soul has grown deep like the rivers.” The speaker then continues to develop this same basic idea throughout the rest of the poem, offering a list of specific rivers that have contributed to the deepening of his or her “soul.” The continuity of the speaker’s message cements a sense of self-assuredness. However, it’s important to note that the speaker’s self-assured nature comes across in a decidedly quiet way. Other than the wide range in line lengths, there is very little in the poem that is stylistically flamboyant. The speaker uses straightforward language and the ordinary rhythms of speech to convey a simple—yet profound—message of self-possession.

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