For over forty years Hughes was the poetic voice of African Americans. His father had abandoned the United States and gone to live in Mexico. After finishing school, Langston Hughes spent a year living with his father, but then returned to the States. He spent a year studying at Columbia University, then joined the merchant navy, and spent some time in Paris. He became one of the leaders of the ‘Black Renaissance’ in Harlem, New York. The first of many collections of poems The Weary Blues was published in 1926.

I went down to the river

I sat down on the bank

I tried to think but I couldn’t

So I jumped in and sank

I came up once and hollered

I came up twice and cried!

If that water hadn’t a-been so cold

I might have sunk and died

I took the elevator

Sixteen floors above the ground

I thought about my baby

And thought I would jump down

I stood there and I hollered!

I stood there and I cried!

If it had not been so high

I might’ve jumped and died

But it was high up there

It was high

Since I am still here livin’,

I guess I will live on

I could have died for love

Though you may hear me holler

And you may see me cry -

I’ll be dogged, sweet baby

If you gonna see me die

In this poem the poet wants to commit suicide. He has a broken heart. He thinks of the woman (baby) who left him.

He first tries the river. As he sits on the bank of the river he is unable to think

Someone who wants to commit suicide sees no way out of the position they are in. They can not think. The poet reflects this state of mind.

Impulsively he jumps in. He can not swim and sinks immediately.

Hollered: a word used in the American South. It means to scream loudly.

The poet does not want to die. He screams desperately for help. Not once, but twice.

Jokingly the poet says if the water had not been so cold he would have died. The fact is the poet does not want to die. He reminds us he is not a coward, the water was very cold.

He decides to try again. This time he will jump from a building. He plans it. He goes up with the elevator.

He thinks about his girlfriend. He decides to jump.

Before he even jumps he begins to scream and shout

Again he has an excuse. If it weren’t so high he would have jumped. He emphasises how high it was.

He comes to the conclusion that since he is still alive after his two suicide attempts, he is made for living. This is sarcasm. His suicide attempts were disasters, his life was never in danger.

He states he could have died for love but realizes he was made to live. This is also sarcasm: we are all made to live. Your life is to live.

Although you may hear him scream during his life, he will live. Although his life may be difficult, he will keep on living. You may see him being unhappy, but he will be living.

He now realizes he will only spite himself if he dies. Maybe the girl he lost won’t even care if he dies therefore he won’t let her see him die. He is now determined (dogged) to live.

He now becomes lighthearted. He realizes life should not be so depressing and serious. It is as fine as a glass of wine. The alcohol in wine will make you relax. In life, you must relax a little.

Repetition is used to make the poem humorous.

Progress is used. He hollers once and cries twice. He tries to commit suicide twice.