Testo Argomentativo “A love Song for Lucinda”

The object of the present work is to discuss and analyze the poem A Love Song for Lucinda by Langston Hughes.

The poem focuses the reader’s attention thanks to its regular pattern that creates an effect of balance and elegance. Indeed, there is a symmetrical layout which results from an anaphoric structure due to the initial line of every stanza that opens with the word love. The intelligent reader therefore understands that “Love” is really the keyword and the theme of the whole text. In addition, it recalls the title.

The text is a song addressed to Lucinda and once more, it underscores a reflection on love. The poem has a lyrical nature and invites reflection. To tell the truth the intelligent reader may be curious to find out the identity of the addressee and the reason why the speaking voice is writing to Lucinda, whose name suggests the idea of light and therefore something that may provide a sense of direction or a guide. It follows that the analysis of the poem is meant to find out/discover the message the speaking voice wants to send Lucinda and what relationships he might have with her.

In order to reach the goal, the present work will develop a structure analysis first and on a second moment will consider how connotative choices add to meaning.

Just considering the layout the reader realizes the text is arranged/organized into sestets, that exhibit the same structure as well as the same anaphora meant to make the reader aware that what is being discussed here is the nature of love.

From a structural point of view, punctuation reveals as essential to understand the reason why the poet has arranged/organized the sestets into two tercets. To tell the truth in each stanza the tercets play the same role: the first one relies on a metaphor hinting at some qualities of love, while the second tercet conveys the possible or probable consequences of that particular feature of love anticipated by the previous metaphor.

Before tackling with the different metaphors for love and its effects it is worth considering also line length in the song. Immediately makes clear that every stanza starts the second tercets with a very short line or at least one shorter than the other one or than any other. What’s more, the fourth line of the last stanza consists of two words, among which the personal subject pronoun “you” comes to the forefront. Thus, giving Lucinda a central end therefore core position to lady. In so doing the speaker not only focuses the reader’s attention on “you”, but it also gives Lucinda a privileged position and no in intelligent reader can escaping noticing this. 

What’s more, the intelligent reader should speculate on the nature of that subject pronoun, because it may refer to Lucinda as well as to the reader or, last but not least, acquire an impersonal meaning and therefore being meaningful to everybody. This will result from the next steps of analysis.

Now moving forward with the analysis of the metaphoric structure of the text the reader realizes that all metaphorical choices that cover the second line of each sestet provide a highly positive connotation of love as well as being expressed with an assertive tone that admits no replica “love is”, “love is” and “love is”. The speaker sounds totally sure of his statements that are made up according to the structure adjective + noun: “ripe plum”, “bright star” and “high mountain”. In addition, the expressions are the result of love long open vowel sounds that widen both the prospective of love and the phonological/sound effect on the reader who might understand something more than the simple metaphorical meaning that relies on the language of sense impression (taste, sight and so on). Indeed, love is an experience that requires a dynamic opening and welcome to someone different from the subject who experiences it. It follows that all the stylistic choices illustrated so far contribute to make meaning livelier. Also, they add a sense of fullness to the message send. You certainly feel satisfied once you live a love experience.

Syntax coma to contributes together with the semantic choices to add to the idea of love as a dynamic process. You can see it if you compare the structure of line three in the first two sextet. They both rely on a progressive aspect of the verb. Indeed “growing on a purple tree” and “glowing in far southern skies” convey the idea of the pleasure one can fell when he or she is in love. The use of the progressive aspect hints at love as it transforming experiences. In the third sextet, on the contrary, the speaker does not use the progressive aspect but adds qualities to the metaphor of love. In particular, the adjective “stark in a windy sky” underlines a fixture of love as an experience that asks for a commitment. Therefore, the last sextet seems to play a warning function which comes to the forefront in the end of the text.

 If you carry on with the analysis of the second tercet in the different stanzas you will soon realize that each one shows the consequences or the effect of the specific idea of love expressed in the previous metaphor. In the first sextet the effect underlined by the speaker is a form of “enchantment”, a feeling that records the word song to the title .But the speaking voice also warns also Lucinda and the reader that ones you experience love you will no longer be as you were before the experience because you are under a “spell” and the speaking voice’s Is aware that in a way or another you became addicted . The use of the verb taste in the imperative not only underlines the bodily-aspect of love, it also let the reader understand the feeling of loss you experience when you love is gone. It follows that the key idea develop in the first sextet is one of love being a magic formula able to turn one’s life upside-down.