The Blues
The Blues is a uniquely poetic form that originated from America, and roots from oral performance and musical improvisation. According to An Exaltation of Forms, “this poetic form evolved from late nineteenth century Southern rural field hollers and work songs structured on African musical, verbal, and communal patterns that were later influenced by European and Hawaiian instrumental techniques” (Patterson, 191). It was very popular in southern states such as Memphis, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Texas, as they had their own type of blues. Like a song, this poetic form would typically have an ABA, AAA, AAB, or ABB rhyme scheme, and each stanza would consist of 3 to 4 lines. Interestingly enough, blues poets would write about something they related to, something they held dear to their heart, or something that they believed in.
One blues poem that I found represents these themes well is a stanza from Elvie Thomas’s Motherless Child Blues. The AAAB stanza goes as follows:
Oh daughter daughter please don’t be like me
Oh daughter daughter please don’t be like me
Oh daughter daughter please don’t be like me
To fall in love with every man you see
(Thomas, 191)
This stanza tells the reader how Thomas believes her daughter should act. She is essentially telling her daughter to not be so quick to love. That she shouldn’t fall in love with someone just because they’re in love with her, and that she should wait for the right guy. She wants to protect her from the harsh reality of heartbreak that comes with love. It can be assumed that Thomas herself has been hurt by heartbreak and falling in love too fast. Therefore, she is writing this poem so her daughter may not feel the pain and heartbreak she once experienced.
Thomas, Elvie. “Motherless Child Blues.” An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art. Edited by Annie Finch and Kathrine Varnes. U of Michigan P, 2002, pp.191.
Patterson. “The Blues.” An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art. Edited by Annie Finch and Kathrine Varnes. U of Michigan P, 2002, pp. 191.
