"The Morning After" by Langston Hughes

Whenever I read this poem I am struck by the language, the powerful control of dramatic diction that Hughes employs. The opening lines, “I was so sick last night didn’t hardly know my mind” gives me very strong, negative image. Automatically I sympathize with the speaker, even when it becomes apparent that this “sickness” was due to his own “licker” drinking. If I had any doubts about the speaker I find myself further forced to empathize when in the second stanza he says “Had a dream last night I thought I was in hell”. Words like “sick” and “licker” and “hell” have undeniably negative or unpleasant connotations. Inspiring equally upsetting images, they give an overwhelming feeling of negativity. To enhance this lingering distaste, the general syntax of the poem is littered with hard consonants, mostly d’s and k’s that give a rough, harsh, even sharp texture to the ambiance of the poem.

All of this technical structure leads me to the last stanza where the speaker awakens to his lover’s face. Does this sight fill him with joy, erasing all doubts and fears? No. Though at the sight of his lovers face the tone of poem does indeed lighten, it becomes wearisomely playful rather than simply worn out. All of this culminates in this singular image of two people, lovers yes, but partners. They are partners in life, the dreary, burdensome hardship that is life. Life is not always sweet and pleasant; sometimes it is angry and violent. We find solace in the strangest things, the obnoxious snores of a loved one torments a literal or metaphorical hangover yet at the same time its comforting sound sooths and appeases. Life is not a fairytale where every ending is happy, where the villains are always villains and the heroes are unfailingly courageous. We all have faults and flaws that characterize who were are and that distinguish our experiences in the world. To see only the worst of the world sends us plummeting into a downward spiral, a dangerously suicidal path that Hughes knew quite well. When faced with hardship we cannot simply pretend it is otherwise, to do so would be our demise. At the same time, to acknowledge only fear and chaos destroys us as well. We must be aware of the world, of the unrighteous, unjust nature of the world; but we must persevere with, and we will persevere with the love and support of those around us.