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Langston HughesA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
"The Weary Blues” is a lyric poem with a jarring but infectious beat. It’s a lyric because it’s short and personal, and its hypnotic, topsy-turvy beat manifests through the intentionally uneven lines. Some lines have as many as 14 syllables, while others contain only a two-word, two-syllable exclamation like, “O Blues!” (Line 11 and 16) or “Sweet Blues!” (Line 14).
The speaker prepares the reader for the striking tone in the first line when the speaker announces that they were listening to a “drowsy syncopated tune” (Line 1). In case the poem's title didn’t make it clear, the diction reinforces the theme of blues music. The poem is about a blues song and has the tone and beat of a blues tune. Since the song is “syncopated”, the beats are off—where the beats are supposed to be strong, they’re weak, and where they’re supposed to be weak, they’re strong. In other words, the poem and the song will have a unique melody.
In Line 2, the musical diction continues. The speaker is “rocking back and forth to a mellow croon” (Line 2) or a soft song. The picture of the rocking speaker is an image since the speaker vividly describes how the song moved them.
By Langston Hughes
Children’s Rhymes
Children’s Rhymes
Langston Hughes
Cora Unashamed
Cora Unashamed
Langston Hughes
Dreams
Dreams
Langston Hughes
Harlem
Harlem
Langston Hughes
I look at the world
I look at the world
Langston Hughes
I, Too
I, Too
Langston Hughes
Let America Be America Again
Let America Be America Again
Langston Hughes
Me and the Mule
Me and the Mule
Langston Hughes
Mother to Son
Mother to Son
Langston Hughes
Mulatto
Mulatto
Langston Hughes
Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life
Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life
Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston
Not Without Laughter
Not Without Laughter
Langston Hughes
Slave on the Block
Slave on the Block
Langston Hughes
Thank You, M'am
Thank You, M'am
Langston Hughes
The Big Sea
The Big Sea
Langston Hughes
Theme for English B
Theme for English B
Langston Hughes
The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain
The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain
Langston Hughes
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Langston Hughes
The Ways of White Folks
The Ways of White Folks
Langston Hughes
Tired
Tired
Langston Hughes