The Weary Blues Essay

Cullen's poems seem to focus a lot more on the African heritage than on being an African American. His use of rhyme instead of just rhythm makes his poems flow well with his images and views. "Heritage" is clearly a poem about how African Americans should embrace their African heritage, and to remember all that African Americans had to go through to be what they are today, and to always fight to preserve their culture. Not only do African Americans need to understand their heritage but they must also show all of America that they are there and that they are Americans too. There are also African Americans who will not accept the simple fact that all are Americans, and they will still separate white from black, as is seen from the poem "Uncle Jim". " "White folks is white," says uncle Jim", show to me that not all African Americans were ready for this new awakening and new point in history, that they were so set in their ways that there was no changing them.

Bentonia - a very small town in Mississippi with a population of 500 as of 2000

Blues is one of the most captivating genres of music. The genre was originated in the late 1800’s as a method used by African American slaves to express the circumstances as well as to put emphasis on their feelings and emotions. In order to create these feelings in this music, blues artists incorporate many of the same techniques used to write poetry. One of the most easily identifiable songs in which it is easy to see the relation between poetic elements and blues music is the song “Empty Bed Blues” by Bessie Smith.

My background as a tenacious student and a minority has allowed me to connect to the poem in ways that I could very much relate to. I have personally lived through the motions of life that he refers to in “Theme for English b”.Langston Hughes’s poem is more about the differences he knows other people see in him or rather on him, and what they are missing. By doing this, Hughes make it clear that the color of his skin plays a crucial role in the way that people think he is like. He finishes by boldly stating what he had been

Brooks’ poem “The Sonnet-Ballad” follows Stephen Henderson’s idea on what makes a poem “black” in some areas, and not so much in others. Starting with the first component, theme. One of the themes this poem has is helpless. Meaning being targeted and not being able to help yourself. She could not do anything about them taking her lover, and her lover has not choice but to follow death. At the time this poem was written America was still going through civil right movement, so this something at black people could relate to. Black were being targeted and oppressed, and there was not much they could do about it. The next component is structure. This poem that Brooks created is a combination of a sonnet and a ballad. This is what Henderson feels a black poem needs to have, a mode. On thing that Brooks fail on in Henderson’s eye is her form. Brooks does not create this poem to mirror the African American language, or dialect. Brooks also did not do well on the third component either. Brooks does not have much saturation in this poem she created. Even though it does have some themes that African American people can relate to it does not hold up to saturation. It lacks African American refers. In some area Brooks was able follow Henderson’s ideas and in other ways she was not. Henderson may not consider “The Sonnet-Ballad” a “black” poem.

The poem “The Weary Blues,” by Langston Hughes, focuses on all but the following elements of modernism:

The two poems entitled “Harlem” and “The Weary Blues” where both written in the time if the Harlem renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was time when the people expressed their selves and the hardships and the reality of their times. The two poems are similar in a way. They both take place in Harlem and are both written by Langston Hughes. They both describe some type of sad but energetic tone, also known as blues.

In today’s society we face a lot of issues, but there is one issue that stands out to me most. Which these two poems address, that is injustice towards other race in America. In Langston Hughes “I Too” and “The Weary Blues” the trouble of unjust towards African Americans, weigh on the speaker’s mind. Each poem reflecting on the same issue just a little bit differently.

Race plays a big part in this poem. He speaks on Harlem and its culture and this environment but also about mutual interest with people

Although, “St. Louis Blues” by W.C. Handy was only created a year before “The Black Snake Moan” by Blind Lemon Jefferson, there were many significant differences and similarities which vary in: tone, lyrics, quality, and style. The most prominent for me would be the difference in style. In the first song there is an overwhelmingness of the sound of a trumpet that was perfectly molded to the song and the sweetness of Bessie Smith’s voice. This song can then be easily be identified as classic blues. Whereas in the second song, Jefferson’s voice sounds more high-pitched country blues with the guitar being the second most pronounced piece.

     Jazz music is often associated with long, lazy melodies and ornate rhythmical patterns. The Blues, a type of jazz, also follows this similar style. Langston Hughes' poem, "The Weary Blues," is no exception. The sound qualities that make up Hughes' work are intricate, yet quite apparent. Hughes' use of consonance, assonance, onomatopoeia, and rhyme in "The Weary Blues" gives the poem a deep feeling of sorrow while, at the same time, allows the reader to feel as if he or she is actually listening to the blues sung by the poem's character.

“The Weary Blues,” by Langston Hughes, tells a story of an unnamed narrator recalling an evening of listening to a man sing the blues one night in Harlem. Hughes uses a somber tone, depressed voice, syntax and imagery as language styles to convey a great deal of suffering that was occurring in Harlem during the mid-1900’s.

Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue is the single biggest selling jazz album ever made, selling over 5 million copies, and was my favorite to learn about. It is known to be one of albums that convert people to liking jazz styled music, even though it was created over fifty years ago. The most significant part of the album to me was that it made such an impact on the jazz community and it was only made in seven hours and all but only one of the tracks were first takes. What has stuck with me in the documentary was the saying, “The first thought is the best thought.” I really appreciated this because the artist stuck with their initial first gut feeling. The music was really innovative and most specifically, the opening of “So What”, was completely improvised and then the riff takes off, allowing to be one of the most iconic songs in jazz (in my opinion). The magic of music was truly created in this album creation and led a different direction of jazz creation.

Robert Creeley’s Broken Back Blues explores the genre of Blues as the piece carries a melancholy, pensive tone throughout the entirety of the poem which invokes a Jazz influence of rhythmic pattern and sounds. Creeley also reflects this through the format of the poem which is disjoined and untraditional, the rhythm and the repetition of words and sounds all aid in the experience and understanding of the poems meaning. The format of the poem is untraditional as it dose not maintain a constant flow due to its broken style and structure which affect the way the poem is read and interpreted. This is also reflected through the last line of the poem which depicts an ironic significance “It’s a hopeless world,” this quote is ironic as both the structure

First of all, everyone more than likely interpreted these poems in their own way and there are reasons for that whether they know it or it being unconsciously decided. I think my main point and factor has to be following in the footsteps of parents/family. From the moment you can remember, your parents were “teaching” you things like how to think and how to treat people. The way I was raised we were taught to see everybody, of every color, the same way. So with that being said, I could not really resonate with this book. This was because I did not grow up going through the same things the author