“The Weary Blues”
Introduction
Many poems speak about the power and pain behind black art but nothing like “The Weary Blues” does. During the Harlem Renaissance, which takes place from the 1920s to the mid 1930’s, many African Americans thrived. One of the Renaissance leading people was author and poet Langston Hughes. “The Weary Blues” describes a black blues singer at a bar in Harlem at night, his music channels the pain of living in a racist society. Hughes channels the pain of living in a black society in this poem and his poems paved related to many living in the same situations. He took a stand for the possibilities of black art and influenced how the Harlem Renaissance would be remembered.
About the author
James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. Hughes was poor, black, and full of ideas that were unlikely to occur (Dyson, par 1). Langston attended Columbia University and left one year later to travel. Hughes lived during the Harlem Renaissance and published his first book in 1926.
Since Hughes mother moved around so much, he was mainly raised by his maternal grandmother, Mary. Hughes parents divorced when he was young, and his father moved to Mexico. Hughes father left the family for Mexico hoping that he could escape the racism and segregation that troubled the United States (Dyson, par 4). After Mary died in his teens, to started living with his mother again, and moved around several cities before settling down in Cleveland, Ohio.
Hughes started to write poetry during this time when one of his teachers introduced him to the poetry of Walt Whitman and Carl Sandburg, he later cited these two as primary influences. They Hughes took inspiration from them followed their lead into free verse and poems for ordinary people. Hughes was also a contributor to his schools’ literary magazine and constantly posted to other poetry magazines, although they ended up rejecting his work. Hughes attended Columbia University in New York City in 1921–1922, forming an everlasting attachment to what he called the “great dark city,” and had a job as a steward on a freighter bound for Africa. At 19, Hughes published “The Negro Speaks in Rivers” to The Crisis. A month later a nationally recognized and influential journal Literary Digest reprinted the poem. Du Bois and Fauset were excited about the new talent they discovered and that summer they devoted an entire page to Hughes poetry (Dyson, par 12).
About the poem
The poem is about a about a man who is involved with the jazz scene on Lenox Avenue. The poem mixes poetry, jazz, and blues into a powerful lyric poetry. The poem begins with the speaker talking to somebody about a piano player he recently heard. The man was using his body and soul to play a blues song that the speaker enjoyed. The musician sings about how although he’s sad, he learns to put his worries aside. The musician later expresses that nothing can cure his blues and that he wishes he was dead. Hughes echoes blues throughout the poem, not only in the musician’s voice, but in the speakers (Cone, par 3). The musician plays late into the night and sleeps like a dead person or something without thought when he finally goes to sleep.
The central theme of “The Weary Blues” central theme shows how a common person can experience times of sadness and misery. Music can be used in a way to relieve anxiety and depression. The poem surpasses the limitations of race because people of all races have used poetry and music to get through bad times. The poem highlights the racial views felt during the Harlem Renaissance in the context of the Jazz Age.
The legacy
“The Weary Blues” shows Hughes first use of American blues in a poem, which set the example for the incorporation of black musical by some artists like Sterling Brown, Robert Hayden, Yusef Komunyakaa, and Michael S. Harper, among many others (Cone, par 1). “The Weary Blues” won first in a contest held by Opportunity magazine. Hughes book laid the foundation for his literary career, and many of his poems remain popular with his supporters.
Hughes is one of the most prolific writers that was part of the Harlem Renaissance. “The Wear Blues” is so influential because it expressed feelings of living in a racist society and that topic was very prevalent during the time. People could either read it and relate or read it and feel remorse or sympathy for African Americans. Racism is still a huge topic today and Hughes was a main a writer that wrote about the pain and power of black art.
Works Cited
Cone, Temple. “‘The Weary Blues.’” LINCCWeb Catalog Search, online-infobase-com.db07.linccweb.org/HRC/Search/Details/12?articleId=26356&q=the%2Bweary%2Bblues.
Dyson, Cindy. “Hughes, Langston.” LINCCWeb Catalog Search, online-infobase-com.db07.linccweb.org/HRC/Search/Details/12?articleId=1574&q=langston%2Bhughes.