Question

Read the excerpt from "The Weary Blues." He made that poor piano moan with melody. O Blues! Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool. Sweet Blues! Coming from a black man's soul. O Blues! In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan— "Ain't got nobody in all this world, Ain't got nobody but ma self. I’s gwine to quit ma frownin' And put ma troubles on the shelf." What is the effect of repeating the phrase “piano moan” in the poem?

Answer 1

It sets a sad, mournful tone to the whole poem.

Step-by-step explanation:

By repeating the phrase "piano moan" in the poem, the author is able to set a sad, mournful tone to the whole poem. In this poem, the author talks about the experience of black people. He conveys this through the language and imagery of blues, a music genre associated with African Americans.

Answer 2

It sets a sad, mournful tone to the whole poem.

Explanation:

"The Weary Blues" by Langston Hughes is a perfect depiction of the common man's worries, especially for the blacks. "The Blues" style of music was invented and propagated by African Americans to show express their conditions through the arts. And it is this style that Hughes had written his poem. The poem is a song sung by a "Negro" who laments that he has nobody but himself, and that he must quit frowning and leave his troubles behind. The repetition f the phrase "piano moan" suggests the sad and mournful, melancholic feel of the whole poem.