Visitors to the Black Belt
You can talk about
Across the railroad tracks—
To me it’s here
On this side of the tracks.You can talk about
Up in Harlem—
To me it’s here
In Harlem.You can say
Jazz on the South Side—
To me it’s hell
On the South Side:
Kitchenettes
With no heat
And garbage
In the halls.Who’re you, outsider?
ask me who am I.
Summary of Visitors to the Black Belt
- Popularity of “Visitors to the Black Belt”: ‘Visitors to the Black Belt’ was written by Langston Hughes, a celebrated African American author, poet, and social activist. This is a beautiful short poem that appeared in 1994 in his book, Collected Poems of Langston Hughes. The poem features the speaker’s discontentment with the representation of the African American community in stereotypes back in the era of the 30s. He explains how outsiders comment on the life of the people living in Harlem, having a brief or no understanding of the ground reality. The depiction of the contrastive ideas, representation of the pitiable life of the African Americans, and the speaker’s sadness over the objective approach of the outsiders add depth to the verses.
- “Visitors to the Black Belt” As a Representative of Sorrow: The poem captures the speaker’s cruel note regarding the unreal, self-made, and objective approach of the outsiders about the people living in Harlem. The poet talks about the railroad tracks that separate the lower class from the upper class and states that people living across share false assumptions about the life people enjoy on the other side. Since Jazz originated from the south side, the upper class believes that people living in Harlem must be fun-loving, developed, and organized.
Ironically, there is no such thing happening on the other side of the railroad track; people over there are living in hell. They lack even the basic necessities of life like kitchenettes with no heat and hallways filled with trash. Unfortunately, these realities are facts on the ground the outsiders ignore, believing in their part of the story and paying less attention to the miserable plight of his community. - Major Themes in “Visitors to the Black Belt”: Sorrow, ignorance, and unjust division are the major themes of the poem. The poet tries to draw our attention to the life and miseries of the African American people in contrast with the fictitious approach of the white people. They were always seen as less important, inferior, and lower by the white community that counts itself as superior and only takes care of itself. The pathetic situation of the African American community never bothers them; instead, they believe in the fabricated stories related to the black belt. Throughout the text, the speaker reveals and references the continued lows of African American life just to highlight the objective approach adopted by the white community.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “Visitors to the Black Belt”
literary devices are tools that allow the writers to bring depth, richness, and clarity to their otherwise simple texts, and also express their opinions, views, and emotions to the readers more effectively. Langston Hughes has also used some literary devices in the text to talk about the life of African Americans. The analysis of the literary devices used in the text is given below.
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession. For example, the sound of /s/ in “Jazz on the South Side.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /r/ in “Across the railroad tracks.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; instead, it rolls over to the next line. For example,
“On the South Side:
Kitchenettes
With no heat
And garbage
In the halls.”
- Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The poet has used this device in the ending lines of the poem where he questions the misconception of the outsiders regarding the black people’s life. For example,
“Who’re you, outsider?
Ask me who am I.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “Across the railroad tracks”, and “Kitchenettes/ with no heat/and garbage/In the halls.”
- Rhetorical Question: Rhetorical question is a question that is not asked in order to receive an answer; it is just posed to make the point clear. Langston Hughes has posed rhetorical questions at the end of the poem to put emphasis on his point. For example,
“Who’re you, outsider?
Ask me who am I.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. “Hell” symbolizes the acute misery of the African Americans.
Analysis of the Poetic Devices Used in “Visitors to the Black Belt”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free-verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
- Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here first two stanzas are quatrains.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are three stanzas in this poem. First and second stanzas are quatrains. The third stanza is an octet, followed by two single verses.
Quotes to be Used
The lines stated below are useful to highlight the plight of the downtrodden, oppressed, or poor communities.
“To me it’s hell
On the South Side:
Kitchenettes
With no heat
And garbage
In the halls.”
