Onomatopoeia in Langston Hughes “The Weary Blues”

    ‘In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone
    I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan—

    “Ain’t got nobody in all this world,

    Ain’t got nobody but ma self.

    I’s gwine to quit ma frownin’

    And put ma troubles on the shelf.”

    Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.’

    — “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes

    Technique

    In “The Weary Blues,” Langston Hughes uses the onomatopoeia technique to show the singer taps his foot to the rhythm of the blues.

    In the above stanza, specifically the “Thump, thump, thump, … ” line, the blues singer taps his foot on the ground as he sings, and Hughes repeats the word to capture the rhythm and performance. By repeating the word, Hughes shows the singer’s thumping, so the reader can see (and hear) the performance.

    Use

    • Use onomatopoeia when you’re trying to bring attention to a specific action, like Hughes does with the singer’s thumping to the song’s rhythm. Onomatopoeia can create a rhythm, pace, and liveliness to a scene, but it should be used sparingly.