Suicide's Note
by: Langston Hughes
Poem Explication
The poet names this poem Suicide's note. Normally, an individual commits suicide because they are either depressed or lonely. They believe the have no way to turn or no one to have comfort in. They believe as if their life is problematic and often are in some type of trouble. The sound devices used in this poem is the "K" sound. Therefore, alliteration is used. The speaker describes the river as being calm, cool, and kissable. The speaker could've have taken their life with no panic at all. Kiss is known to show a display of affection. Kiss have a "hiss" sound. A hiss sound is related to a snake. The river could be taunting the speaker. The cool face of the river displays an idiom of figurative language. Rivers do not have a face. The speaker also states that the river "asked me for a kiss". That is known to have shown personification because of a human's interaction is kissing. The structure of suicide's note is considered to have 3 lines. It is free from. The imagery is how the river has all the emotions and can appeal to a human being. The speaker conveys committing suicide in a romantic and an affectionate way. The speaker's tone was relaxed. The speaker portrayed being comfortable. The mood of the poem is being worried and unsure. The speaker used to river as symbolism to convey that life keeps flowing. Even though, you might commit suicide, life will keep going. The speaker made an analogy as rivers continue to flow ; the life cycle also continues to flow. for example, the speaker couldn't relate the poem to a pond because its small and doesn't have a long body of water that continuously flows. Rivers is used throughout this poem because water is a pure essence of life. The speaker tried to convey that the purest thing is trying to come in contact with the individual. Being asked to kiss the river had an emotional outreach to the individual. Committing suicide takes a lot of emotional outbreak to take one's life.