Minstrel Man by Langston Hughes

Because my mouth

Is wide with laughter

And my throat

Is deep with song,

You do not think

I suffer after

I have held my pain

So long?

Because my mouth

Is wide with laughter,

You do not hear

My inner cry?

Because my feet

Are gay with dancing,

You do not know

I die? 

           The poem is discussing the racism that is felt by blacks every day. It is talking about how white people view blacks and how they expect them to behave. It is addressing how the act of the minstrel man is grotesque and filled with suppressed emotion. It is even saying that the black man has internalized racism and so exudes a facade of joy of happiness and stupidity to please white people, whom they may truly consider as better than themselves through years of derogatory offenses and conditioned self-hatred. The poem is also acknowledging how for blacks to get anywhere in this world, this is especially true for Langston Hughes, they had to bend to the ways of white people. So they acted happy and as whites wanted them to, but in actuality, they were dying from rage and sorrow on the inside.
         Identification with race is a present theme because Hughes uses the possessive, "my" throughout. Because the title is "Minstrel Man", a character usually played by a black person, and Hughes uses, "my" he is demonstrating that he identifies with the struggles of the black minstrel man. Exploration of Negro heritage and history is also a theme "explored" in the poem. In the lines: "Is deep with song" and "Are gay with dancing" Hughes is commenting on the musical nature of black culture. Also Hughes is maybe commenting on how, in black culture, these celebratory actions can help to alleviate the pains and struggles of the black people. 
    In the poem Hughes employs the use of numerous types of poetic devices such symbolism and imagery.  Hughes describes his mouth as, "wide with laughter", his throat as, "deep with song"  and his feet as, "gay with dancing". Hughes describes the actions depicted in the poem, such as laughing, dancing, singing, in a vivid manner that allows the reader to conjure up a striking image of these actions. In the last line of the poem Hughes combines the use of symbolism and punctuation to puzzle the reader and cause them to really consider the meaning of this line, (as I just did). Hughes poses his death as a question, which conveys to the reader that not only is the minstrel character driven to the point of sorrow and rage where they encounter death but also they are so crazed with grief and confusion that they can't discern reality from illusion and are asking others or themselves: "I die?"
            I enjoy this poem because of the masterful and delightful way that it contrasts two extreme emotions, happiness from dancing and singing and the desolation of death. The poem is incredible also in that it seems to sum up a huge amount of feeling and emotion in so few words.