# Gypsy Man explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Langston Hughes.

## What happens

A woman laments her gypsy-like lover who never comes home, deciding she too must become a wanderer. She recalls her time in Memphis where she was mistreated and had her last dime taken by a man she loved, concluding that love is a painful, incurable disease.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Loss

The speaker's love for the gypsy man leads to her financial and emotional ruin, illustrating love as a painful, inescapable affliction.

### Poverty and Class Struggle

The speaker's loss of her last dime to a 'yellow papa' highlights the economic vulnerability and exploitation faced by poor women.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker, a woman abandoned by her gypsy man, who resolves to become a gypsy herself.

### Gypsy Man

The unreliable lover who never comes home, prompting the speaker's decision to wander.

## Key lines

> Ma man’s a gypsy Cause he never does come home.

My man is a wanderer because he never returns home.

_Establishes the central conflict of the speaker's abandonment._

> I give it to him cause I loved him But I’ll have mo’ sense next time.

I gave him my last dime because I loved him, but I'll be wiser in the future.

_Shows the speaker's regret and resolve after being exploited._

> Love, Oh, love is Such a strange disease. When it hurts yo’ heart you Sho can’t find no ease.

Love is a peculiar illness; when it pains your heart, you can find no relief.

_Summarizes the poem's theme of love as a painful, incurable condition._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_15_se/chapters/gypsy-man
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_15_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_15_se/chapters