What is an example of assonance in Dream Boogie and another in The Weary Blues?

Answer 1

"Dream Boogie

At first glance it is very plain this is a jazz poem. The lines are irregular, and there are italicized lines that are audience responses. Common urban language is used, and the boogie-woogie is referenced in the first stanza. The rhythm of the lines moves quickly, giving this poem a song-like feel to it. It is easy to see how this poem could be set to music. The words "listen closely" are repeated in a chorus-like refrain, and a scat solo ends the poem. Suppressed beneath a seemingly happy rhythm, however, is an unhappy message. An entire race of people is being denied the dream that was promised to them. They continue to dance through life and spectators think they are happy, but this poem makes it clear that under the surface is bitter disappointment and unhappiness. People of that time believed the stereotype of the happy ***** who remains joyful despite the situation. After reading this poem, however, they could no longer believe that. The jazz form of this poem makes the issue very powerful. Instead of saying "You think we're happy but we're really sad," Hughes uses a song-like form to illustrate his point. The fact that the narrator is singing about it makes it all the more heartbreaking.

The Weary Blues"

Oh" and "ooo" sounds in "droning" and "tune" immediately give the poem a slow rhythm typical of a blues song. The reader can almost hear a singer crooning the words while playing the piano. Audience participation might also be included in the repeated phrases "O Blues!" "Sweet Blues!" We can hear the ***** stomping his feet on the floor through the onomatopoeia in "thump." An old blues song is also quoted twice. This song is not easily recognizable to modern audiences, but the readers during the Harlem Renaissance might have known the song. This poem is more overtly sad than the other two, but again it is a blues poem more than it is a jazz poem. The point of a blues song is to express heartache, and that feeling is adequately expressed in this poem. At the same time, Hughes never actually says the ***** is sad. Instead he has the ***** sing a well-known blues song to express that sadness. I can't imagine feeling such despair that I would sing "I ain't happy no mo'/ And I wish that I had died." This feeling expressed well in song-like form because blues drags out the words, forcing the reader to stop and listen to them.

Answer 2

An example of assonance in "Dream Boogie" is "woop it up for the doop-de-doop!" where the repeated "oo" sound creates a musical quality. In "The Weary Blues," an example of assonance is "thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor," where the repeated "uh" sound emphasizes the rhythmic beat of the music.

Answer 3

Rumble.