Poetry Essay

Prompt: Write an essay in which you relate the imagery of the last stanza to the speaker’s view of himself and his situation earlier in the poem.

Poem: "The Weary Blues" by Langston Hughes

Why I chose the prompt with this poem: I felt the prompt fit quite well, the last stanza of Hughes poem provides imagery comparing the character to a rock or a dead man, and the entire poem depicts a man in complete depression/loneliness. 

Langston Hughes depicts everything his character is, and everything his character is feeling in the last stanza of his poem "The Weary Blues." Hughes clearly shows how the immense sadness and grief found throughout the whole poem, as well as the loneliness experienced by the piano-playing character will lead him to a profound, if not eternal, sleep. But the emotions experienced at the end may have an even deeper meaning than first meets the eye. 

The situation in the poem depicts a man singing the Blues on Lenox Avenue. This Avenue which is located in Harlem is, for some, the most important street for African Americans and other minority groups. It was a street that managed to connect Hispanics, African Americans, West Indians, and even the British through a love of cultural food and jazz music. In the poem "The Weary Blues," Hughes depicts the emotion of loneliness and depression through the melody of displaced accents and beat of the song. The African American man is depicted as depressed through the entire poem. Hughes clearly writes that the man played a "syncopated tune," a tune where strong beats become weak, and weak beats become strong. This change in accents in beat may allude to the idea that the musician wishes things would reverse, or that at least equality would ring for all people. That the weak would no longer be suppressed by those who are "strong." The tone Hughes uses makes the reader envision a lonely man, the song he sings clearly stating that he feels as though he "Ain't got nobody in all this world." Music has always been a prime form of expression, and this Blues singer and musician expresses the true extent of his emotions through the song that is relentlessly alluded to in the poem. All of this may have to do with the context of the poem, a time when African Americans and minorities were still struggling to get a foothold on "white" society. The reason for this man's sadness may very well be the treatment he receives for being of a different culture, color, and race. 

The last stanza consists of a man laying down to a sleep, but this is a man who is ready for death. The piano player says he is not satisfied, that he will never be satisfied, and that he would much prefer to face his death. In his last stanza Hughes clearly tells the reader the emotion that has been strung throughout the length of the poem, "I ain't happy no mo'/And I wish that I had died." This unsatisfied feeling may come from not being treated as an equal, being looked down upon as an inferior, etc. Even in his slumber, the man cannot escape the injustice, as the Blues continue to play in his mind throughout the night. 

The repetition of sad emotions, the inclusion of Blues song lyrics, and the diction and style of this poem allow the reader to experience an actual Blues tone, tempo, and the state of mind of the artist. Hughes poem depicts more than just a sad man wishing to die, he reveals the injustices that minorities went and continue to go through, he creates a lyrical form of criticizing society, as well as showcasing the true form of the Blues.