Life Is Fine, By Langston Hughes
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, or the ADAA, around 6.7% of Americans have diagnosed depression. Which means it is not too hard to believe that some of the most prolific poets of the modern era, have suffered from this terrible illness. Langston Hughes was a popular poet who had a great effect on the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. In the poem, “Life is Fine” the narrators struggles with the decision of either staying alive or commiting suicide. Langston Hughes use of uplifting colloquialism and tragic-sounding imagery in the poem, “Life is Fine” demonstrates how with careful wording an incredibly serious topic of depression, can be changed into something that sounds positive and happy, which is
…show more content…
a parallel to the mask people with depression put on to attempt to sell the idea that life is fine. To first grasp the issue of how Langston Hughes got to this point we have to go back to his past and learn about how he became who he was.
Starting with Hughes life during The Great Depression. He worked several jobs, and during that period in his life was when he discovered his love for jazz music. He began writing songs and slowly started getting into the field of poetry. Which he did not gain the support from his family. His father believed that he could not write poems mainly due to the fact that black poets were not nearly as common as they are now. Which Hughes later proved completely wrong as the poetry he beautifully and meticulously wrote still finds itself being read and loved all over, from people of all backgrounds and lifes. Langston Hughes had a great deal of influence during the American Civil Rights Movement. He is accredited to have done a great deal for the movement, and he even was vocal about his beliefs. According to an article published by the Oxford University Press, “As a radical democrat, he believed that art should be accessible to as many people as possible.” He was a communist, and during the Red Scare at that, which put a lot of stress and focus onto his life, as he was declared unAmerican by Joe McCartney. Arnold Rampersad said, “Nevertheless, political protest was a key aspect of his writing.” Which with all the added stress to his life it is suddenly less surprising that he would be a victim of mental illness and all the struggles that come with
that. Imagery and colloquialism are very important parts in the poem. To start with, while first looking at the colloquialism, you gain a little more background with who and where Langston Hughes is from. When read aloud you can hear the southern type of talking, and it almost gives off a calming vibe also. The words create a smooth rhythmic pattern to them, "I could've died for love-
But for livin' I was born.” The imagery also plays a huge role in the poem, it adds the to the reality of what the words are actually meaning. However, taking away the word style really peels back the curtain and exposes the piece for what it really is. You find the true meaning of suicide and depression. The reader most definitely would feel downcast and the calming effect that was set up before would be completely and utterly destroyed. Together the poetry creates a completely tragic, but beautiful painting on how Hughes portrays how the speaker feels, while still maintaining a feeling of calm.
However, the poem, “Life is Fine” may deal with his struggles with suicide and his desire to live, the word style he uses and the imagery completely clash against each other. The theme of the poem does not match with how the poem is written. The colloquialisms make the poetry sound much less sad, when compared to what the poem actually holds. “If it hadn't a-been so high
I might've jumped and died.” The added “a’s” really make the poem sound much more comical than the imagery actually is. The poem is literally talking about a man’s desire to jump off of the top of a building, but the colloquialism makes the reader feel as if the trivial things are holding him back, not the situation that is going on in his life. The imagery vs the colloquialism adds an extra layer of effect to the poem, almost making the actual theme much sadder when you examine it thoughtfully and carefully. For example, “If that water hadn’t a-been so cold/ I might’ve sunk and died,” Hughes uses bright and traditionally happier sounding words to sell the incredibly sad imagery used in the poem, which enhances the overall feeling that the poem attempts, and successfully achieves. As Suzanne Churchill explains, “This makes the excuses he makes in the third stanza even more personal.” The colloquialism most likely stands for the mask put on by those suffering from this terrible illness, the imagery stands for what the narrator really feels, but the upbeat happy feeling projected throughout the piece represents the facade those suffering portray. Langston Hughes not so traditional word choice for such a sad and depressing poem makes the theme of the poem shine through even more than it would have if he had followed after other prolific authors of his time. From the word choice to the imagery, everything about the poem exalts and mystifies the reader with how delicately Hughes used his words. If just one sentence was off or one stylistic choice did not quite fit we would not have the literary masterpiece that is “Life is Fine”. This poem has helped bring awareness to the dark and gloomy subject that is mental illness, and perhaps it has help numerous amounts of people find that what they are feeling is not abnormal, and that they are not alone. Throughout the poem Hughes craftily uses colloquialisms and imagery to allow the debate and theme of suicide and life to shine through brightly.
a parallel to the mask people with depression put on to attempt to sell the idea that life is fine. To first grasp the issue of how Langston Hughes got to this point we have to go back to his past and learn about how he became who he was.
Starting with Hughes life during The Great Depression. He worked several jobs, and during that period in his life was when he discovered his love for jazz music. He began writing songs and slowly started getting into the field of poetry. Which he did not gain the support from his family. His father believed that he could not write poems mainly due to the fact that black poets were not nearly as common as they are now. Which Hughes later proved completely wrong as the poetry he beautifully and meticulously wrote still finds itself being read and loved all over, from people of all backgrounds and lifes. Langston Hughes had a great deal of influence during the American Civil Rights Movement. He is accredited to have done a great deal for the movement, and he even was vocal about his beliefs. According to an article published by the Oxford University Press, “As a radical democrat, he believed that art should be accessible to as many people as possible.” He was a communist, and during the Red Scare at that, which put a lot of stress and focus onto his life, as he was declared unAmerican by Joe McCartney. Arnold Rampersad said, “Nevertheless, political protest was a key aspect of his writing.” Which with all the added stress to his life it is suddenly less surprising that he would be a victim of mental illness and all the struggles that come with
that. Imagery and colloquialism are very important parts in the poem. To start with, while first looking at the colloquialism, you gain a little more background with who and where Langston Hughes is from. When read aloud you can hear the southern type of talking, and it almost gives off a calming vibe also. The words create a smooth rhythmic pattern to them, "I could've died for love-
But for livin' I was born.” The imagery also plays a huge role in the poem, it adds the to the reality of what the words are actually meaning. However, taking away the word style really peels back the curtain and exposes the piece for what it really is. You find the true meaning of suicide and depression. The reader most definitely would feel downcast and the calming effect that was set up before would be completely and utterly destroyed. Together the poetry creates a completely tragic, but beautiful painting on how Hughes portrays how the speaker feels, while still maintaining a feeling of calm.
However, the poem, “Life is Fine” may deal with his struggles with suicide and his desire to live, the word style he uses and the imagery completely clash against each other. The theme of the poem does not match with how the poem is written. The colloquialisms make the poetry sound much less sad, when compared to what the poem actually holds. “If it hadn't a-been so high
I might've jumped and died.” The added “a’s” really make the poem sound much more comical than the imagery actually is. The poem is literally talking about a man’s desire to jump off of the top of a building, but the colloquialism makes the reader feel as if the trivial things are holding him back, not the situation that is going on in his life. The imagery vs the colloquialism adds an extra layer of effect to the poem, almost making the actual theme much sadder when you examine it thoughtfully and carefully. For example, “If that water hadn’t a-been so cold/ I might’ve sunk and died,” Hughes uses bright and traditionally happier sounding words to sell the incredibly sad imagery used in the poem, which enhances the overall feeling that the poem attempts, and successfully achieves. As Suzanne Churchill explains, “This makes the excuses he makes in the third stanza even more personal.” The colloquialism most likely stands for the mask put on by those suffering from this terrible illness, the imagery stands for what the narrator really feels, but the upbeat happy feeling projected throughout the piece represents the facade those suffering portray. Langston Hughes not so traditional word choice for such a sad and depressing poem makes the theme of the poem shine through even more than it would have if he had followed after other prolific authors of his time. From the word choice to the imagery, everything about the poem exalts and mystifies the reader with how delicately Hughes used his words. If just one sentence was off or one stylistic choice did not quite fit we would not have the literary masterpiece that is “Life is Fine”. This poem has helped bring awareness to the dark and gloomy subject that is mental illness, and perhaps it has help numerous amounts of people find that what they are feeling is not abnormal, and that they are not alone. Throughout the poem Hughes craftily uses colloquialisms and imagery to allow the debate and theme of suicide and life to shine through brightly.