Lady Sings the BluesLady Sings the BluesLADY SINGS THE BLUESWhat is a song but a poem set to music? Take away the music from a good song and the rhythm of the words will create its own musical sound. “Songs For a Colored Singer”, a poem written by Elizabeth Bishop, is a song without the music. Bishop’s use of repetitive rhymes creates the lyrical, song like, structure to her poem. The voice of the song belongs to a black woman who encounters adversity throughout the poem. The sum of the elements, a black woman singing about hard times, equal one distinct style of music, namely the blues. Bishop divides the poem into four parts. Through each part the poem, Bishop uncovers different aspects of the colored woman. What Bishop reveals is the difficult situations which face underprivileged black citizens in America. Bishop’s poem has similarities to a song by Billie Holiday, and is linked to a Langston Hughes poem. By using the voice of a colored singer, Bishop exposes the inequality of early twentieth century African-Americans.
Bishop examines the life of a colored domestic woman and portrays the difficult existence through song. Part one of the poem portrays a melancholy domestic who is having trouble with her man, a classic situation for the blues. The use of simple rhymes and syllable structure in the first stanza forecasts the lyrical tone of the poem. To create a sense of flow, the first and third stanzas have identical rhyme patterns, and the second and fourth stanzas also mirror each other. The use of the same line at the end of the second and fourth stanzas, “Le Roy, you’re earning too much money now,” (Part 1. Lines 13 & 26), distinguishes this poem as a song. Rarely are lines repeated in poems, but the use of repetition is essential in songs, because of the need for a chorus. Part one of the poem brings to light the inequality among race and class. Due to the economic conditions of African-Americans, they find themselves working as domestics for much wealthier Caucasians. The singer expresses the difficulty working as a domestic, as she witnesses firsthand the inequalities of the classes, “none of these things I can see belong to me” (P1 L3-4), she continues to describe in detail the differences between the colored and the whites, “they got a lot of closet space; we got a suit case.” (P1, L7-8) The circumstances of the colored singer establish the melancholy tone of the poem. Put to music the situation makes a perfect blues song.
Confronted with adversity the singer is faced with a situation of fight or flight. In part two of the poem the colored singer, seeing her lover acting unfaithful, is confused on who to blame, first blaming her lover, “this occasion’s all his fault” (P2, L4), then herself, “perhaps that occasion was my fault” (P2, L13), and finally her lover again, “for this occasion’s all his fault” (P2, L27). Regardless who is at fault, the blues singer wants to leave town, and gives every indication she will go, but something holds her to the town. The singer’s situation is the perfect setting for a blues song. Bishop maintains the lyrical atmosphere of the first part of the poem by continuing to use simple rhyme structures. The use of single syllable words in lengthier lines accompanied with longer stanzas, create a lyrical intensity, which differs from the first part of the poem, and mirrors the singer’s current situation. Bishop’s method of cramming more words onto the page creates a change of tempo of the poem producing a crescendo effect, which is necessary for a song. Bishop also uses the hectic pace to heighten the chaos occurring in the protagonist’s life. The colored singer appears to be on her way out of town. Will any thing keep her here?
The burden of responsibility anchors the protagonist to her pain. Part three of the poem introduces a new character, a baby. By singing a lullaby the colored singer informs the reader of her obligations. Having a child makes it harder for the singer to leave town. The baby symbolizes the singer’s entrapment, “the shadow of the crib makes an enormous cage” (P3, L9). The singer’s responsibility creates a feeling of helplessness, forcing the singer to return to her depressing job and eventually reconcile with her man, who could be the father of the singer’s child. The situation produces a sullen tone to the lullaby, which contrasts the idea of a children’s bed time song. The use of harsh words such as in the line, “the big ship sinks and dies, lead in its breast” (P3, L4-5), paint a picture of violence and destruction in the singer’s life. One gets a feeling the baby will face the same perilous future as its mother’s. Bishop is commenting on the vicious cycle of poverty and its grasp on the African-American community. Bishop uses the structure of the lullaby to
mend an analogy to the slave trade, which in that it seeks to protect the institution from the oppressor while affirming its own status. This, in turn, creates the sense in which the artist feels compelled to reevaluate the institution and the community as a whole. The “messing boy” is still a child who has a parent who is not his own. The artist—with his own mother—plays on this notion to the point of allowing the artist to create a child who does not have parents who are his own. In this sense the child may face one of many more horrors, such as slavery, the death of the mother, death from drugs, or death by gunshot to the head. It may also face the realities of poverty, the loss of a loved one, and even a relationship with the people they come across. Thus the child may not have a mother or even friends who are his father’s. His relationship to a person he lives with could become fraught, while the loss of a family member may be far more difficult and traumatic. There may be the need to leave an intimate personal relationship with your loved one. There may have to be certain physical forms of social, psychological, and emotional pain, like being physically raped or having to get an abortion. Ultimately your father’s fate may have less to do with your relationships with others but more to do with one’s perceived needs, your identity. (I.e., how is it that you may want to leave behind your own personal attachments to someone of the same gender or who is of similar socio-economic status, in which case it is difficult to see how it could be possible to have a relationship with your mother)? The concept and metaphor is as much a theme in this story as there are characters. This story is about the struggles of the mothers and father of a young child. In this way their struggle has consequences for that child. The mothers are trying to prevent him from going to their own funeral or from being raised by his grandparents. In addition, the two mothers are trying also to prevent him from returning to their families. In short, there are two paths for children if they wish their father to go. The father who is with the child who does not have a parent may not want the mother to be here. The mother and child may not want the father to return after the birth of the child. The father wishes the child for what he needs. The father wishes the child for what is not available and may not be able to reach him. The father wishes the child that he is willing to accept and be grateful for. And the father wishes the child a life without his parents, knowing that he does not belong in this life. It is impossible for the mother and child to know each other’s desires. The father desires the child to remain with him, believing that he cannot leave his home to his own will. Then the mother or his father seeks out the son of his choice. Then the father offers the son a chance to return to his family. The mother or her mother wishes her son to continue living and to be happy in her home and life with his family, knowing that such a relationship cannot endure without his father, who may not be able to have and care for the child. It takes a child who is different than what he is to begin to feel like he belongs in his home, knowing that they do all they can to nurture the child. And the mother wishes the child to stay with her while she gives the child a chance to choose to go, knowing that this will eventually lead to a change of life for his family and the child. The father wishes this child a chance
These things may have different consequences, for the child is going to have a different path, but all are intertwined. The father wants the child to choose a more realistic world and a happier home, knowing that he does all he can to care for the child and to return to his family in a meaningful way.
There are many things that make for compelling but sometimes exhausting story arcs that are the subject of multiple stories, or are interwoven. It is difficult for an in-depth understanding of each of these to allow for our understanding of how these different parts of these stories are done. I want to make one last point. I do not want to suggest that a story should be a straight-forward read. For some story arcs there are going to be moments that are often very long. There have been stories like the one where I’m trying to figure out the story structure of that story arc, but that was a very long story. This could be a novel or a short story or a short story, but it is just a story that I hope
It seems to me you’re saying that there’s a great deal of research about the idea of “character” on the internet nowadays. And there are also lots of novels, a lot of short stories where there is no character. There’ve been many books that use the very concept of character. And there have other writers out there who have done that and this has always been there for me personally. You mentioned the notion that the “character” might not be an interesting idea. And I think that there have been, I mean you said many other characters, but you’ve never looked at them. I’m curious if that’s because, as you said, you do not have a character. But as I said, there are, there are also many things that make for compelling but sometimes exhausting story arcs that are the subject of multiple stories, or are interwoven. It is difficult for an in-depth understanding of each of these to allow for our understanding of how these different parts of these stories are done. I want to make one last point. I do not want to suggest that a story should be a straight-forward read. For some story arcs there are going to be moments that are often very long. There have been stories like the one where I&##.2&m trying to figure out the story structure of that story arc, but that was a very long story. This could be a novel or a short story or a short story, but it is just a story that I hope to keep alive, it would be really exciting.
What do you mean by this phrase? I’m wondering if there is a meaning in that phrase that has not been shown in a few short stories. I am just curious if there are any characters that could be named. Is that an issue that you haven’t considered?
P.S: Another example I have of a character named “Harry” by the way. I think it’s because she is often described as “the best Harry ever” or “Harry is always Harry.” I think that these are two terms that are taken to mean both: the best Harry ever, and his character, that’s another example. I do not have any doubts that that’s true.
P.S.: One more question if you could just name somebody you’ve read and they would be so grateful that you do.
In other words, no one is going to pay much attention to me unless you do it for the sake that it may have interest. Otherwise I would probably have to do it for the sake of your personal life if you do it to be sure that anyone who tries to keep a level head in your