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A Poem by Langston Hughes (1902-1967) A Study Guide |
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Study Guide Prepared by Michael J. Cummings..© 2008 Type of Work and Date of Publication "Cross" is a lyric poem expressing
in first-person point of view the feelings of a person with a white father
and a black mother. (Although Langston Hughes's parents were both black,
he well understood the confusion and conflict that a person of mixed heritage
experienced). Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., published the poem in January 1926
in a collection entitled The Weary Blues.
The title of the poem contains several meanings, all of which underscore the main theme: the inner turmoil the speaker feels because of his (or her) mixed racial heritage. These meanings include the following: Anger: The speaker
has been angry, or "cross," with his father and mother for passing on to
him an amalgam of genes. After his anger The poem contains three four-line
stanzas (quatrains). The first stanza has 28 syllables; the second, 30;
and the third, 30. The first ten lines present declarative sentences establishing
the situation; the last two sum up the conflict and theme in the form of
a question. Lines 2 and 4 of each stanza contain masculine end rhyme (black,
back; hell, well; shack, black). (Masculine rhyme occurs when
the final syllable of one line rhymes with the final syllable of another
line. Feminine rhyme, on the other hand, occurs when two final syllables
of one line rhyme with two final syllables of another line. Examples of
feminine rhyme are repeat, deplete; farrow, narrow; scarlet;
varlet.)
The poem moves along rhythmically, like a song. Stress, rhyme, and alliteration all contribute to this musical effect. Note, for example, the use of the alliterating m and w sounds in the poem: My
old man's a white
old man
If ever I cursed my
black old mother
My
old man died in a fine big house.
Repetition of key words and phrases also promote musicality in the poem, like the refrain of a song. For example, the word old occurs six times and the phrase if ever I cursed occurs twice. The appeal of Hughes's poetry lies in large part in his ability to express profound ideas in simple language. Most of the words in the poem contain a single syllable. No word contains more than two syllables. In a novel, short story,
or poem, any writer can become part of the work by assuming a persona that
may or may not resemble his or her own in real life. The writer may even
take the part of an animal or thing. In "Cross," Langston Hughes, the son
of two black parents, assumes the persona of a person with a white father
and a black mother. Doing so enables him to present with the force of first-person
point of view what he believes are the thoughts and conflicts of another
person. In the poem "My Last Duchess,"
Robert Browning assumes the persona of a proud Italian duke who may have
murdered his wife. In the poem "Grass,"
Carl Sandburg assumes the persona of grass that grows over a battlefield.
In the short story "The Black Cat,"
Edgar Allan Poe assumes the persona of a madman. In the novel Moby
Dick, Herman Melville assumes the persona of a young seaman on
a whaling ship.
 Study Questions and Essay Topics 1...Marriages
between whites and blacks are more commonplace in America today than in
the past. What is the prevailing attitude of the .....general
population, including whites and blacks, toward children of mixed racial
heritage?
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