# Montmartre Beggar Woman explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Langston Hughes.

## What happens

A poignant reflection on the passage of time and the loss of beauty, depicting an elderly beggar woman in Montmartre who was once lovely but is now forgotten and alone, with only death as her final companion.

## Themes in this chapter

### Death and Mortality

The poem concludes with death as the sole remaining intimate, underscoring the inevitability of mortality and the erasure of past beauty.

### Poverty and Class Struggle

The beggar woman's destitution and societal neglect highlight the harsh realities of poverty and the invisibility of the aged poor.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker observes and addresses the beggar woman, lamenting her lost beauty and current isolation.

### Death

Personified as the only one who will kiss the old woman again, emphasizing her utter loneliness.

## Key lines

> Once you were beautiful⁠— Now, Hunched in the cold, Nobody cares That you are old.

You were once beautiful, but now you are old and cold, and no one pays attention to you.

_The speaker contrasts the woman's past beauty with her present neglected state._

> Nobody but death Will kiss you again.

Only death will show you affection again.

_The final line emphasizes the woman's complete isolation and the only comfort left to her._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_15_se/chapters/montmartre-beggar-woman
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_15_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_15_se/chapters