Blues Elements in “the Weary Blues” and “po’ Boy Blues” by Langston Hughes

Poetry and blues are forms of art that have similar properties, such as rhythm, form and lyricism. Naturally, these two art forms can be combined, as Langston Hughes did in most of his works. What attracted Hughes to the blues was the fact that it represented “an expression of the resilience and tragedy of the African-American lower class” (Chinitz 178). “The Weary Blues” and “Po’ Boy Blues” exemplify the features of both blues and poetry, and by using blues elements he intensifies the feeling of sadness in the poems related to African-American history.

“The Weary Blues” is the first example of a poem in which blues is recreated through words in a direct manner, evoking a feeling of melancholy. Within the poem, Hughes uses imagery and certain elements of blues to thoroughly describe how a man performs a blues song behind a piano until he stops playing. Thus, not only does the reader read about the blues of the singer, but a view of the creation of the music is presented as well (Waldron 148). Examples of this can be found in the first two lines: “Droning a drowsy syncopated tune / Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon” (Hughes 1-2). This imagery appeals to the auditory senses, as the speaker mentions the syncopation and the rocking back and forth of the singer. At the same time, a certain steady rhythm with some unexpected varieties is created in the poem itself, similar to a rhythm in blues. The movement of the poem, as well as the music that is played, is described further with lines such as “He did a lazy sway” (6) and “Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor / He played a few chords and then he sang some more” (24-25). Furthermore, the man is said to be a “Negro” (3), and what stands out in the poem is the contrast in colour made between his “ebony hands” and the “ivory keys” (9), relating to the segregation of African-Americans and Caucasians. However, in this case, the colours are intertwined and music that “moans with melody” (10) is created. The passion with which the man is performing becomes clear from the imagery used. The man uses the music to express his feelings, or the pain and frustration that represents African-American history at the same time. Afterwards, he is left with “the Weary Blues [that] echoed through his head” (Hughes 34), which suggests that the feeling of sadness remains even after he is done playing.

In “Po’ Boy Blues” blues features come forward in a less explicit way, but the weariness is also prominent. The persona of the poem mentions that the whole world has turned cold since he moved north and left home where the sunshine seemed like gold (Hughes 2; 6). This refers to The Great Migration, an important element of African American history, when many African Americans tried escape the nightmares of the South, find their identity and claim a place in America (Trudeau 35). Thus, his experience gives an explanation as to why he feels that the world is a weary place. The poem is not written in a descriptive style and does not contain imagery as in “The Weary Blues,” although it does contain certain structural blues features. An important element in the poem is repetition, as the first four sentences of the first three stanzas contain two repeated sentences. Repetition is a characteristic of blues lyrics, and it can be used to create an emphasis. In this case, an emphasis is put on these first four sentences, which contain the past and happy part of the persona’s story, whereas the last two sentences end with his present weariness. Within this repetition, the reader is reminded of the blues again with the characteristic call and response technique. Each following sentence serves as a response or continuation of the sentence before it. The use of repetition and the call and response technique gives the poem a musical feel with a clear rhythm when read aloud.