Sound and Sense Chapter 16: The Weary Blues

             In the poem, The Weary Blues, Langston Hughes uses a distinct colloquial and vague description in order to express that the music reflects the performer’s and speaker’s tone. The Blues is more subdued than other types of music, and has a worn down tone. The speaker’s tone remains monotone and does not express any excitement about seeing the performer; he maintains a calm tone throughout the poem, just like Blues music usually does. The performer also seems tired of his life: “Ain’t got nobody in all this world, Ain’t got nobody but ma self” (19-20). His use of slang allows any reader to hear the music and imagine the scene as the speaker of the poem would. Even though his poem is mostly made up of description, Hughes leaves enough questions answered, which allows the reader to create their own scene. The poem ends with the lines “While the Weary Blues echoed through his head. He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead”(35). These lines express that the performer is drained from his life, yet he still has a sense of peace with his life, because he is able to get into a heavy sleep. Even though, the performer is not completely fulfilled by his life he is still content, like a dead man who can be okay with the way that he lived his life.