"Hold fast to dreams. for when dreams go,life is a barren field frozen with snow."
Langston Hughes
Droning a drowsy syncopated tune, Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon, I heard a Negro play. Down on Lenox Avenue the other night By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light He did a lazy sway . . . He did a lazy sway . . . To the tune o’ those Weary Blues. With his ebony hands on each ivory key He made that poor piano moan with melody. O Blues! Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool. Sweet Blues! Coming from a black man’s soul. O Blues! In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan— “Ain’t got nobody in all this world, Ain’t got nobody but ma self. I’s gwine to quit ma frownin’ And put ma troubles on the shelf.” Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor. He played a few chords then he sang some more— “I got the Weary Blues And I can’t be satisfied. Got the Weary Blues And can’t be satisfied— I ain’t happy no mo’ And I wish that I had died.” And far into the night he crooned that tune. The stars went out and so did the moon. The singer stopped playing and went to bed While the Weary Blues echoed through his head. He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead. In the poem entitled The Weary Blues, Hughes utilizes free verse; however, the “music” of the poem comes from how the rhythm can fall in and out of patterns. For instance, in the longer parts of the poem, the lines seem to have pauses in the middle.The rhyme scheme that Hughes utilizes in the poem, reminds me of blues songs.In the poem, Hughes has two lines rhyme and then then third is sometimes repeated, which is the typical blues form. Also, the rhythm is also in Blues form. This helps the poem to feel like a real Blues song.Moreover, the poem does not follow a steady pattern.Many of the lines are not song lyrics. Lastly, the last three rhyming lines build up to the conclusion, which was “He did a lazy sway.” This allows the poem to have a sense of closure and for the reader to get the idea of what a man would do if he was singing the blues.
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Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor-- Bare. But all the time I’se been a-climbin’ on, And reachin’ landin’s, And turnin’ corners, And sometimes goin’ in the dark Where there ain’t been no light. So boy, don’t you turn back. Don’t you set down on the steps ’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard. Don’t you fall now-- For I’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin’, And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. In the poem entitled, “Mother to Son”, Hughes’ theme is to have determination and to never give up. The poet utilizes imagery in order to convey the theme throughout the poem. In the first line, the mother starts off the conversation telling her son that her life hasn’t been easy for her when she states, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” Hughes then uses symbols such as tacks, uncarpeted floors, and splinters to portray her struggles. The staircase symbolizes her persevering through everything she went through. In the second stanza, the mother elucidates how she didn’t give up even when she wanted to, and she felt that she couldn’t keep going anymore. This is when the reader starts to see, her caring personality and how she doesn’t want her son to give up because she didn’t. The imagery of the broken stairs describes how badly her struggle was and how hard it was and is to keep pushing threw.
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the KITCHEN When company comes, But I laugh, And EAT WELL, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then. Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed-- I, too, am America. In the poem, Hughes speaks of freedom and equality.Hughes explains his vision of the future and how he won't be sent to eat in the kitchen, but rather he'll eat at the table with the others. Because Hughes is an African American man, he doesn't get treated as an American citizen. This poem reflects back to the years of slavery. The poem's theme is race and freedom. In "I Too Sing America", freedom is the ultimate goal for the speaker. Although Hughes is treated differently than whites, he's not enslaved mentally. As far as race goes, in the poem it talks about a white household having black servants. It speaks of the day when whites finally acknowledge blacks being their equals. Lastly, the tone in this poem changes. In the beginning of the poem its patriotic. I the first line he states, "I too sing America", which indicates that he's singing the national anthem. However, the tone goes to anger when he speaks about the whites letting him eat in the kitchen. In the last stanza, Hughes tone goes back to patriotic when he states, "Besides, they'll how beautiful I am and be ashamed. I too sing America. Hughes speaks proudly of himself being an African American male and knowing that equality will come soon. I’ve known rivers: I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young. I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep. I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it. I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset. I’ve known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers. In the poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers, Hughes informs the readers on his familiarity with the rivers. In the poem he states, "I've known rivers", which the audience could assume that there has been a great amount of time since he had an encountered with the rivers. Moreover, this also tells the audience that he has spent quality time setting by the rivers. When Hughes states, “My soul has grown deep like the rivers, this means that he has an connection with the Earth and that he understands it.
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October 2014
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