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“Me and the Mule” is separated into two stanzas of four lines each. The poem has a rhyme scheme of abcb aded. Although the poem does not use a formal meter, there are key differences between the rhythm of the first and second stanzas.
The first stanza’s metrical units are longer, with between six and eight beats per line. Only the first line of the first stanza contains a shorter syllabic count (of three beats.) The second stanza has a faster rhythm, with shorter beats and fewer syllables per line. Two of the lines come in at five beats, and another finishes with six beats. The final line of the poem metrically echoes the first, with only three words containing one syllable each.
The form and meter of “Me and the Mule” underscore the poem’s two themes. The first stanza introduces the poem’s central metaphor and providing description of the racial inequality, stereotyping, and loss of identity suffered by the speaker. Its lines are longer and its rhythm is slower, with an array of downbeats providing a sense of downward, falling momentum.
By Langston Hughes
Children’s Rhymes
Children’s Rhymes
Langston Hughes
Cora Unashamed
Cora Unashamed
Langston Hughes
Dreams
Dreams
Langston Hughes
Harlem
Harlem
Langston Hughes
I look at the world
I look at the world
Langston Hughes
I, Too
I, Too
Langston Hughes
Let America Be America Again
Let America Be America Again
Langston Hughes
Mother to Son
Mother to Son
Langston Hughes
Mulatto
Mulatto
Langston Hughes
Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life
Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life
Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston
Not Without Laughter
Not Without Laughter
Langston Hughes
Slave on the Block
Slave on the Block
Langston Hughes
Thank You, M'am
Thank You, M'am
Langston Hughes
The Big Sea
The Big Sea
Langston Hughes
Theme for English B
Theme for English B
Langston Hughes
The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain
The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain
Langston Hughes
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Langston Hughes
The Ways of White Folks
The Ways of White Folks
Langston Hughes
The Weary Blues
The Weary Blues
Langston Hughes
Tired
Tired
Langston Hughes
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