Poetry Analysis: Langston Hughes’ “The Weary Blues”

Langston Hughes’ ”The Weary Blues” focuses on a musician in upper Manhattan. The musical instrument of the whites is taken over by a black, for, music is universal. His rendering of the music is termed as ’droning’. The term ’droning’ may refer to the fact how he labouredly delivered music for a living. Since drones thrive in communities, the music may signify the collective consciousness of the blacks. This is why probably the music is ‘syncopated’.’ Syncopated’ means stressing a normally weak beat. The aspect of the blacks-the Harlem Renaissance is foregrounded with the stressing of this weak beat .The musician oscillated to the music that mellowed to a sentimental humming(croon).

The poet has penned the phrase ‘”down on Lenox Avenue” instead on “up on Lenox Avenue” as blacks inhabited the Northern part of Harlem. The word “down” may also signify the architecture of Harlem colonies, with the multi-storied apartments looking down on the avenues, as people resided in the upper floors of the buildings. The lower apartments were reserved for business purposes. The African Americans were responsible for the birth of the jazz and blues music that was born out of “irresistible impulse of blacks to create boldly expressive art of a high quality as a primary response to their social conditions, as an affirmation of their dignity and humanity in the face of poverty and racism” (Norton Anthology of African American Literature 929).

Steven C. Tracy says the poem in the third-person description has interpolated the first-person, eight- and twelve-bar blues lyrics. Therefore, it reflects by itself the vaudeville blues songs. The swinging of the musician may signify the powerful rhythm of this music. It is representative of the Harlem Renaissance, the rich culture of the African Americans brought to the limelight that also enthralled the whites with its singularity. The piano reflects this culture of America with its big white keys and the black little ones-each set of keys is incomplete without the other. The ebony fingers that rested on the piano emblematized the nightlife of the blacks, where the colour black stands for both the Night and the Harlem Renaissance. Steven C. Tracy asserts that the moaning of the piano is the revelation of a black man’s soul. It unfolds like a flower lazily but steadily. The rhythm denoted the spiritual pulse of their culture that is the very identity of the speaker. This blue music is representative of the black agony that we also find in works like James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues. The stool is ‘rickety’, the base is insecure. Yet he dares to ‘sway’ on it. To the onlooker, he seemed like an musical fool. The word ‘fool’ in Shakespeare’s works had the meaning ‘entertainer.’ The tune comes across as ‘ragged’; it had been played over numerous times and had worn out. The word “ragtime” also points to a mode of jazz music distinguished by a highly syncopated rhythm in the melody and a steadily accented accompaniment. The rhythm is visually portrayed in the poem as the “Thump, thump, thump” of his feet.

Steven C. Tracy says the poem in the third-person description has interpolated the first-person, eight- and twelve-bar blues lyrics. Therefore, it reflects by itself the vaudeville blues songs. The swinging of the musician may signify the powerful rhythm of this music. It is representative of the Harlem Renaissance, the rich culture of the African Americans brought to the limelight that also enthralled the whites with its singularity. The piano reflects this culture of America with its big white keys and the black little ones-each set of keys is incomplete without the other. The ebony fingers that rested on the piano emblematized this nightlife of the blacks. Where the colour black stands for both the Night and the Harlem Renaissance. Steven C. Tracy asserts that the moaning of the piano is the revelation of a black man’s soul. It unfolds like a flower lazily but steadily. The rhythm denoted the spiritual pulse of their culture that is the very identity of the speaker. This blue music is representative of the black agony that we also find in works like James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues. The stool is ‘rickety’, the base is insecure. Yet he dares to ‘sway’ on it. To the onlooker, he seemed like an musical fool. The word ‘fool’ in Shakespeare’s works had the meaning ‘entertainer’. The tune comes across as ‘ragged’; it had been played over numerous times and had worn out. The word “ragtime” also points to a mode of jazz music distinguished by a highly syncopated rhythm in the melody and a steadily accented accompaniment. The rhythm is visually portrayed in the poem as the “Thump, thump, thump” of his feet.

Herman Beavers states “Hughes’s aesthetic works out a trope that brings internality and externality into a state of opposition.” He lives in a community and yet feels lonely. Therefore, he longs for something more; not only communion, but a kind of acceptance and appreciation from the society as a whole. This individual aspiration, is an expression of the community as a whole. Here his identity is in conflict with the racist environment that prevails. He feels dissatisfied as he feels incomplete. He comprehends that the reason he is disregarded is because he lacks something. The stars and the moon go out. And so does the singer, but the song prevails as it reverberates through his head. The poet says that “He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead.” The phrase ’sleep like a rock’ is utilized usually when a person sleeps soundly. Here the person sleeps as if he is dead(like a rock), as he has no sound tomorrow to look forward to.
Langston Hughes’ ”The Weary Blues” focuses on a musician in upper Manhattan. The musical instrument of the whites is taken over by a black, for, music is universal. His rendering of the music is termed as ’droning’. The term ’droning’ may refer to the fact how he labouredly delivered music for a living. Since drones thrive in communities, the music may signify the collective consciousness of the blacks. This is why probably the music is ‘syncopated’.’ Syncopated’ means stressing a normally weak beat. The aspect of the blacks-the Harlem Renaissance is foregrounded with the stressing of this weak beat .The musician oscillated to the music that mellowed to a sentimental humming(croon).

Steven C. Tracy says the poem in the third-person description has interpolated the first-person, eight- and twelve-bar blues lyrics. Therefore, it reflects by itself the vaudeville blues songs. The swinging of the musician may signify the powerful rhythm of this music. It is representative of the Harlem Renaissance, the rich culture of the African Americans brought to the limelight that also enthralled the whites with its singularity. The piano reflects this culture of America with its big white keys and the black little ones-each set of keys is incomplete without the other. The ebony fingers that rested on the piano emblematized this nightlife of the blacks. Where the colour black stands for both the Night and the Harlem Renaissance. Steven C. Tracy asserts that the moaning of the piano is the revelation of a black man’s soul. It unfolds like a flower lazily but steadily. The rhythm denoted the spiritual pulse of their culture that is the very identity of the speaker. This blue music is representative of the black agony that we also find in works like James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues. The stool is ‘rickety’, the base is insecure. Yet he dares to ‘sway’ on it. To the onlooker, he seemed like an musical fool. The word ‘fool’ in Shakespeare’s works had the meaning ‘entertainer’. The tune comes across as ‘ragged’; it had been played over numerous times and had worn out. The word “ragtime” also points to a mode of jazz music distinguished by a highly syncopated rhythm in the melody and a steadily accented accompaniment. The rhythm is visually portrayed in the poem as the “Thump, thump, thump” of his feet.

Rukhaya M.K

A Literary Companion