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Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained | |||
In "Sliver of Sermon," Langston Hughes distills a profound expression of despair, desperation, and spiritual yearning into a brief but powerful poem. The work explores the cries of those who live on the margins of society—pimps and whores—highlighting their moments of profound weariness and loneliness, and their desperate appeals to a higher power. Hughes uses the repetition of the exclamation "Great God!" to emphasize the intensity of their pleas and the depth of their suffering. The poem begins with the line "When pimps out of loneliness cry: / Great God!" Here, Hughes evokes a sense of profound isolation. The figure of the pimp, often seen as hardened or disconnected, is rendered vulnerable through the mention of "loneliness." This loneliness is so intense that it drives the pimp to cry out to God, seeking some form of comfort or relief from their existential pain. The exclamation "Great God!" reflects both a plea for help and a recognition of the vastness and power of the divine—something that stands in stark contrast to the pimp's own sense of insignificance and abandonment. The next line, "Whores in final weariness say: / Great God!" continues this exploration of despair, this time focusing on the experience of prostitutes. The term "final weariness" suggests a level of exhaustion that goes beyond the physical, touching on a deep, soul-crushing fatigue. This weariness might come from a life of exploitation, degradation, or the relentless demands of survival in a harsh world. Like the pimps, the whores turn to God in their moment of greatest need, expressing their fatigue and perhaps their hope for redemption or escape from their suffering. The repetition of "Great God!" here reinforces the universality of their plea, indicating that even those who are often judged or marginalized by society seek solace in the divine. The poem then intensifies with the repeated invocation: "Oh, God! / My God!" The shift from "Great God" to "My God" personalizes the plea, making it more intimate and immediate. This change in language suggests that in their most desperate moments, these individuals seek not just a distant, omnipotent deity, but a personal connection with God—something or someone who can hear their specific cries and respond to their individual suffering. The repetition of "My God!" is a powerful expression of ownership and personal need, as if the speaker is asserting a direct relationship with the divine in the midst of their despair. The poem concludes with the stark, final exclamation: "Great / God!" This ending returns to the initial invocation, but the separation of "Great" and "God" across two lines gives the words even more weight and emphasis. It leaves the reader with a lingering sense of the profound desperation and the intense yearning for divine intervention that permeates the poem. "Sliver of Sermon" is a brief but deeply impactful poem that captures the cries of the downtrodden and marginalized. Hughes uses the structure and repetition of the poem to convey the raw emotion and spiritual longing of those who live on the edges of society. The use of religious language and the invocation of God reflect the enduring human need for hope, redemption, and understanding, even in the darkest of circumstances. Through this "sliver" of a sermon, Hughes offers a powerful commentary on the universal nature of suffering and the commonality of the human experience in seeking solace from the divine, regardless of one's place in society.
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