Poetry Map by Douglas Newcomb

The Weary Blues

DouglasNewcomb — 2018-11-12 02:09:40 UTC

Droning a drowsy syncopated tune,
Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,
     I heard a Negro play.
Down on Lenox Avenue the other night
By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light
     He did a lazy sway . . .
     He did a lazy sway . . .
To the tune o’ those Weary Blues.
With his ebony hands on each ivory key
He made that poor piano moan with melody.
     O Blues!
Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool
He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.
     Sweet Blues!
Coming from a black man’s soul.
     O Blues!
In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone
I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan—
     “Ain’t got nobody in all this world,
       Ain’t got nobody but ma self.
       I’s gwine to quit ma frownin’
       And put ma troubles on the shelf.”

Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.
He played a few chords then he sang some more—
     “I got the Weary Blues
       And I can’t be satisfied.
       Got the Weary Blues
       And can’t be satisfied—
       I ain’t happy no mo’
       And I wish that I had died.”
And far into the night he crooned that tune.
The stars went out and so did the moon.
The singer stopped playing and went to bed
While the Weary Blues echoed through his head.
He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead.

Vocabulary

DouglasNewcomb — 2018-11-12 02:11:03 UTC

Pallor- deficiency of color especially of the face
Ivory-a creamy-white color
Weary- feeling or showing tiredness, especially as a result of excessive exertion or lack of sleep

Repitition

DouglasNewcomb — 2018-11-12 02:16:31 UTC

He did a lazy sway
O Blues! (echo)
Weary Blues (echo)
Aint got nobody (echo)
I got the Weary Blues and I can't be satisfied (Echo)

Stanza

DouglasNewcomb — 2018-11-12 02:29:07 UTC

D
R
D
B
T
W
H
S
H
C
I
I
T
H
A
T
T
W
H

Tensions

DouglasNewcomb — 2018-11-12 02:34:09 UTC

Ain't got nofy in all this world
Ain't got notbody but ma self
Contrast: World and Self
He Slept like a rock or a man that's dead.
Contrast: sleep and death
Ebony hands oneach ivory keys
Contrast: Black and White

Images

DouglasNewcomb — 2018-11-12 02:42:18 UTC

Memories

DouglasNewcomb — 2018-11-12 02:46:01 UTC

1. 8th grade field trip to American Jazz museum
2. Performing at Baker Jazz Festival in 8th grade
3. Performing at Pitt State Jazz Festival in 8th grade

The Speaker

DouglasNewcomb — 2018-11-12 02:49:03 UTC

Langston Hughes
He is high school educated, his history would suggest that he regulars jazz clubs due to his assocation with the music to a energetic evening. He is able to connect the weary blues to the man that sleeps like a rock. The music itself is sad and gloomy and the author recognizes this observes the band and the singer.

Value

DouglasNewcomb — 2018-11-12 02:59:17 UTC

This poem's vlaue to me is that Hughes is able to use his evening's setting to convey an image of happiness and sorrow. The author's charisma shows that the music is a way to express the emotions within the band and it's singer. To the world it shows how life was like during the Harlem Renaissance. This poem is able to show the world that the African American race often felt like there was nobody standing up for them. This proven by my favorite line of the poem: Ain't got nobody in all this world, ain't got nobody but ma self.

Draw something

DouglasNewcomb — 2018-11-12 03:09:16 UTC