'CROSS' by Langston HughesMy old man's a white old man |
What Is 'Cross' About?
This poem talks about slavery, and a time period that African Americans didn't have a say in any aspect of life at all. The narrator of the poem is a young mulatto, expressing his frustration at being both black and white but never fully belonging to either of the two races. The speakers' 'old man' is referring to his father and his father is black. The speakers' 'old mother' is referring to his mother and his mother is black. Being of a cross between two races, he is neither white nor black. He is not accepted by blacks because he is white, and he is denied by whites because he is black. The speaker is confused about his identity because of racial pride and is undergoing identity crisis, whether is he a black or white or neither and he will know what his identity is when he dies.
I chose this poem because racism and slavery is one of the subjects I wished never existed and this poem portrayed it well.
I chose this poem because racism and slavery is one of the subjects I wished never existed and this poem portrayed it well.
What Are The Poetic Techniques?
There are not many poetic techniques but one of them is alliteration. The poem has a rhythm and the use of alliterating the sound 'M' and 'W' gives it a musical feel :
My old man's a white old man
And my old mother's black.
If ever I cursed my white old man
I take my curses back.If ever I cursed my black old mother
And wished she were in hell,
I'm sorry for that evil wish
And now I wish her well.
My old man died in a fine big house.
My ma died in a shack.
I wonder where I'm gonna die,
Being neither white nor black?
Repetition is found in this poem. The word 'old', 'cursed', 'mother', 'wish', 'black' and 'white' is repeated throughly.
The poem is free verse but has a rhyming scheme ABAB in line 5 & 7.
My old man's a white old man
And my old mother's black.
If ever I cursed my white old man
I take my curses back.If ever I cursed my black old mother
And wished she were in hell,
I'm sorry for that evil wish
And now I wish her well.
My old man died in a fine big house.
My ma died in a shack.
I wonder where I'm gonna die,
Being neither white nor black?
Repetition is found in this poem. The word 'old', 'cursed', 'mother', 'wish', 'black' and 'white' is repeated throughly.
The poem is free verse but has a rhyming scheme ABAB in line 5 & 7.
What Themes Are They?
The main theme the poem is racism. The speaker is confused of his identity because he is black and white but the white community cannot identify the speaker to be a white because of racism and prejudice nor can the black community identify him to be a black because his lighter skin makes the speaker an enemy back in the days. His parents separate death makes the speaker question too. His father died in a big house while her mother died in a shack. He finds himself in the cross of both black and whites and his identify is unknown due to racism back then.
My Opinions
This is considered one of my favorite poems. The poet portrayed the difference in the black and whites through the way they died. Dad, in a fine big house and mom, in a shack. You can tell that the mom was a slave. Often the slave owner would rape its slave, that could be why the mother died in a shack.
Even if the poem is free verse, the poet explained the struggles of the speakers' identity brilliantly.
Even if the poem is free verse, the poet explained the struggles of the speakers' identity brilliantly.