"Aunt Sue's Stories" by Langston Hughes

This poem, though simple in structure, struck me through its strong use of repetition, which serves to emphasize the key elements of the narrative. First is Aunt Sue, most likely the aunt of the child to whom she tells stories. She tells stories of black slaves, in different scenarios and conditions, stories that come not from "out of any book at all," but instead from her own life experiences, presumably as a slave herself, stories of the life she was forced but a fate from which the child has been saved. The simple but effective descriptions allow the reader to experience the summer night but within their own context, bringing to mind their own experiences of similar hot nights spent outside, listening to anecdotes presented as anonymous stories.

 

This poem is made powerful through its specifically chosen yet general descriptions, giving away nothing but evoking everything. Each read leads to the creation of another internal detail and a greater desire to understand and hear Aunt Sue's stories for one's self.