The following version of this poem was used to create this guide: Hughes, Langston. “The Weary Blues.” Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47347/the-weary-blues.

Note that all parenthetical citations refer to the line number from which the quotation is taken.

“The Weary Blues” is an early poem by Black American poet Langston Hughes, who was famous for writing about the struggles of African Americans during his segregated time. The poem takes place in Harlem, a predominantly Black area of New York which experienced poverty and hardship in the early 20th century. Although the poem uses an outdated term to describe a Black man, there is no prejudice or malice behind it, Hughes being a Black man himself.