Langston Hughes 'The Weary Blues'

763 Words2 Pages

Jazz, which was originated in the streets of New Orleans, made its way upward the Mississippi River to places like Kanas City and St. Louis. It finally reaches New York City during the same time as the literary explosion that was later known as the Harlem Renaissance. This assembly forever crafted a personal voice and artistic style of African Americans of this era. Even though jazz had an influence in all categories of art during the Harlem Reissuance, most mainstreamist of the time did not approve of this style of music, viewing it as “morally disfiguring to the black community” (Early). One writer, however, was totally inspired by jazz’s themes of rhythm, improvisation and gritty humor, and used it to create his own voice. This writer was Langston Hughes, who is considered the first real “jazz poet”. This essay is an attempt describe the role of Langston Hughes and to give a brief background and an analysis of the “marriage” between literature and jazz that gave birth to a new genre called jazz poetry.

Two popular ways of expression for artists have always been music and poetry. Wallerstein explains that “Tone, rhythm and cadence and lyricism are the …show more content…

An excellent example of musical imagery that Hughes is famous for can be found in the author’s poem, “The Weary Blues”. In the first line the poet sets the tune, which is syncopate, then proceeds to give the beat of “rocking back and forth”. Hughes goes on to point toward the feeling of oppression by repeating synonyms of sad such as, “poor”, “moan”, “frowning” and “weary”, throughout the poem. Within the first three lines the author has implied a movement and a beat which suggests music and emotions. By doing this the reader is not only able to “hear” but also to “feel” the sadness of African Americans. Using only the art of language, Hughes merged the genres of art, poetry, and music

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