The 1920’s were a great time in history. It was a time when people listened to the best music, went to the greatest parties, and wore the best fashions. Unfortunately in the late 20's there was a drastic change in the way things were; there was a depression. I feel like Langston Hughes's poem "The Weary Blues" was written during this time.
When the depression hit, people wrote poetry and sang to blues music to express the way they felt. People are enjoying the music, but they may not be listening to what he is saying. The man in the poem is singing about how he is actually depressed and how he is "Happy no more," and how he "Wishes he was dead." The man singing is probably upset with his life because of his race. He mentions that he is a black man, and blacks during this time had few rights.
This poem is kind of similar to Hughes's "Ballad Of The Landlord." The African American in this poem is clearly treated unfair and when he tries to get his way, he is sentenced to 90 days in jail. Meanwhile, the landlord who is probably white is refusing to fix any of the broken things in his house.
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The connection between poems is right on as is the description of 1920s America!
ReplyDeleteIn being politically correct, you've become factually incorrect since the term "African-American" did not exist during The Harlem Renaissance, and writers of that movement separated themselves from each other based on their roots, some of which were Caribbean.