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The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes is a poem in which the speaker encounters an African American blues singer in a bar type setting in 1920’s Harlem, New York. It is not a sonnet, because it exceeds the 14 line limit of a sonnet. It seems to be more of a free form rhyme scheme, with rhyming couplets thrown in in certain places. The overall tone of the poem could be interpreted as sad. The reader could draw this conclusion based on certain diction Hughes uses such as “poor piano moan”, “melancholy tone”, and “crooned.” All of those words create that general feeling of gloom and sadness. There’s also a constant repetition of “the Blues” which is a constant reminder to the reader of sadness, much like the singer in the poem may be constantly reminded of sadness due to him singing the blues all the time. The inclusion of song lyrics give the poem an almost sing song-y feel, but not in a lighthearted way. At the end of the poem, when Hughes depicts the singer coming home and going to bed, he writes that “He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead.” demonstrating that the singer has essentially “burned himself out” on singing the blues.
The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes is a poem in which the speaker encounters an African American blues singer in a bar type setting in 1920’s Harlem, New York. It is not a sonnet, because it exceeds the 14 line limit of a sonnet. It seems to be more of a free form rhyme scheme, with rhyming couplets thrown in in certain places. The overall tone of the poem could be interpreted as sad. The reader could draw this conclusion based on certain diction Hughes uses such as “poor piano moan”, “melancholy tone”, and “crooned.” All of those words create that general feeling of gloom and sadness. There’s also a constant repetition of “the Blues” which is a constant reminder to the reader of sadness, much like the singer in the poem may be constantly reminded of sadness due to him singing the blues all the time. The inclusion of song lyrics give the poem an almost sing song-y feel, but not in a lighthearted way. At the end of the poem, when Hughes depicts the singer coming home and going to bed, he writes that “He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead.” demonstrating that the singer has essentially “burned himself out” on singing the blues.