Thursday, March 25, 2010
Trumpet Player
The "trumpet player" by Langston Hughes was an inspiring poem to me. I feel like the speaker in the poem uses his life, his talent which is playing the trumpet to create art and beauty. It seems like music is his life, it is his outlet of stress and relief to his soul. For example, he mentions how "the music from the trumpet at his lips is honey mixed with liquid fire." Here he expresses how music to him is sweet and it stirs fire within him. The speaker also seems like he is weary and tired. In the beginning he seems to be reminiscing on the past memories which seems to include his ancestors. He is sad yet the music delivers him from that state of weariness. Despite his troubles and worries he is feeling within his music picks him up.
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I definitely agree with all that Leslie has said about this poem. It was very creative of Langston Hughes to use someones talent to express their feelings and their life. It is also kind of like he knows he has had a hard life but he is not bitter about it and plays music because he loves music and he knows that he still has something to hold onto no matter what all gets taken away from him. The last stanza says "trouble mellows to a golden note" which I feel is him explaining his troubles but the music is so beautiful all you listen to is the sound.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Leslie. The "Trumpet Player" is a very inspiring poem. The person is always playing his trumpet no matter what he is thinking about. The poem consists of 6 stanzas. In stanzas one, two, and five the first two sentences are repeated: " The Negro/ With the trumpet at his lips..." (Hughes 1661). I think it is very inspiring because even though he faced so many horrible things for example "....the smoldering memory/ Of slave ships..." (Hughes 1661). The poem also contains information about what the player thinks about using the trumpet. It gives us a good example like in stanza three: "...From the trumpet at his lips/ Is honey/ Mixed with liquid fire." (Hughes 1661). I think Leslie did an excellent job on describing and explaining this poem.
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ReplyDeletei also agree with Miss Encarnacion about the poem by langston hughes. Many writers of the Harlem Renaissance were great at portraying a image and turn them into them into poems. The trumpet player uses his music to escape from whatever problems he might be having in real world and when he playing no can tell if he has any problems because all they hear is sweet sound coming from his trumpet
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with Ms. Encarnacion says about this poem. The poem "Trumpet Player" was a very inspiring poem to me as well. This was a time during the Harlem Renaiassance and many new forms of the arts came from this period. Like all have said, the form of music through his trumpet is a way of relaxation and also just a way for Hughes to get away from it all. We all have different ways of coping with stress and I do believe that this is his way to relieve himself of the stressful times in his life.
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