Exploring Langston Hughes

Exploring Langston Hughes

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Pay close attention to Langston Hughes's use of language and recurring themes.

"The Weary Blues"

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 was playing on a human grand piano With his ebony hands on ivory keys He made that poor piano moan with melody. O Blues! Sweeter than any other song. O Blues! And the piano moaned with melody. To the tune of the weary blues. With his ebony hands on ivory keys, He played a melancholy tune. He did a lazy sway. He made that poor piano moan with melody. Singing that old familiar tune. In a deep, sad voice with a melancholy drone, He played a melancholy tune.

1. What is the primary setting of the poem "The Weary Blues"?

2. Identify and explain one example of personification used in "The Weary Blues."

3. Langston Hughes was a prominent figure during the    , an artistic and cultural movement in the 1920s.

4. Hughes's poetry often incorporated rhythms and themes from   music, such as jazz and blues.

5. Langston Hughes primarily wrote about the experiences of white Americans during the Roaring Twenties.

6. Discuss how Langston Hughes's poetry reflects the cultural and social landscape of the Harlem Renaissance. Refer to specific themes or literary devices he commonly employed.