Poetry Journal #1

Minstrel Man by Langston Hughes: Personal Response

The speaker of the poem can be any individual who goes through life without expressing their inner thoughts. There is no specific age limit, because any individual has times where they feel hurt inside. The occasion can be at any time of the day because people have ups and downs at any moment. In this case, the audience is people who can relate to the poem. It most likely represents individuals who holds feeling inside and act as if nothing is bothering them. The purpose of the poem is so that others can see how people may act a certain way to hide the fact that they are hurting inside. The subject is any individual who knows what it feels like to try and hide something that is upsetting them. In addition, the tone of the poem is not only sad, but also secretive. So many people go through life holding all of their feelings inside, which only ends up ruining them in return. The poem is short in length, but their so much meaning within the words expressed. The diction provides an image that makes it easier for the reader to experience what is going on in the poem.

This poem connects to my life because I live life like this everyday. It is hard for me to express how I feel, therefore I hold everything inside. I am the type of person that will act like nothing is wrong, even though I am hurting inside. I feel like many individuals through out the world, are similar to me. Nobody wants to be seen weak or vulnerable if they express their emotions out loud. I do not express my emotions and hold everything inside because I am used to it. I have been keeping everything to myself all my life, which is hard to change it all of a sudden. I feel like everyone at some point in their life can relate to this poem. Nobody is able to express how they feel every single day, so they may act otherwise to hold back problems that are occurring in their lives.