Danlei
The Weary Blues
TPCASTT: Poem Analysis Method: title, paraphrase, connotation, diction, attitude, tone, shift(s), title revisited
and theme
T
P
I think the Title of poem means:
Langston Hughes might be relating the oppression of blacks to the distressed tone of the
blues.
Paraphrase parts of the Poem
A Negro is singing in a droning voice and rocking back and forth. Hughes recalls this
happening at Lenox Avenue at night under a pale light. The man was playing the blues on
his piano, rocking back and forth and pouring his soul into it. The old man bellows that
he “doesn’t have anybody in the world [sic]” and that he’s “going to put my troubles on
the shelf [sic].” The man sings some more, claiming that he wish he were dead, and goes
to bed at night, sleeping very soundly.
Connotation of some of the words—changing literal meaning to implied or associated values
C
Hughes uses color subtly in the poem, hiding the meaning of colors in his poem. He
implies that the “pale dull pallor” is lifeless without color-a hint that color or colored
people may provide life. Another part to note is the sweet melody produced when the
musician’s “ebony hands” hit the “ivory keys.” This also implies that harmony between
black and whites will be melodious.
Attitude—What is the attitude of the author, characters, or yourself?
A
Although the speaker himself does not seem depressed, the musician he describes is very
much so-the direct description of the lyrics show the reader that he has many troubles and
“isn’t happy [sic].” Hughes says the man that night slept like a dead man, which can be
interpreted to say that the man feels that he would rather not be alive. This contributes to
the depressing tone of the poem, which is structured like a blues song.
Shift—At first we think or feel one way—then there is a shift: identify the shifts and explain them
S
There is not so much a shift as there is a contrast: one between the syncopated tunes and
the slow drone of the song. The slow tempo of the song is found in the diction, where
elongated enunciation of vowels in “droning”, “drowsy”, and “croon.” This contrasts with
the sharpness in the enunciation of “syncopation.”
Title revisited—any new insights on meaning or significance of title.
T
The title itself describes the poem: a weary blues song. Hughes is telling the reader in the
title what the poem is, and characterizes the blues song in general as “weary”, using the
rest of the poem to illustrate this.
Theme or Author’s Purpose
T
The poem itself is almost like a blues song because its diction (“droning”, “drowsy”, “lazy
sway”) are indicative of the slow nature of blues songs. The poet then further describes
the settings of the musician, depicting the musician as a Negro under pale dull lights at
night. The reader then hears what some of the lyrics to the song, and the musician’s
accented drawl is revealed, as well as the misery and sadness of the song itself. All of
these elements contribute to the theme, which is to show the reader the poet’s culture.
The blues was developed as a musical form in the 1920s as a part of the Harlem
Renaissance by African Americans to express their sentiment about their conditions.