# Pierrot explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Langston Hughes.

## What happens

The poem contrasts the conventional, hardworking Simple John with the free-spirited, romantic Pierrot, who prioritizes beauty, love, and adventure over domestic stability and moral rectitude.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Loss

Pierrot's abandonment of Pierrette and his pursuit of many loves highlight the tension between romantic idealism and the loss of committed love.

### Urban Life and Alienation

Simple John's domestic life and work contrast with Pierrot's wandering, suggesting alienation from conventional society.

## Character check-ins

### Pierrot

A romantic figure who loves the moon, star-filled skies, and the long white road, and who abandons his wife Pierrette for a world of maidens.

### John

Simple John, a hardworking man who buys a house, loves his one wife, and believes his goodness will earn him salvation.

## Key lines

> I work all day, Said Simple John, Myself a house to buy.

Simple John works tirelessly to purchase a home.

_Highlights John's industrious, materialistic values._

> For Pierrot loved the long white road, And Pierrot loved the moon, And Pierrot loved a star-filled sky, And the breath of a rose in June.

Pierrot is enamored with nature, travel, and beauty.

_Establishes Pierrot's romantic and free-spirited nature._

> I have one wife, Said Simple John, And, faith, I love her yet. I have one wife, Said Simple John, But Pierrot left Pierrette.

John is faithful to his wife, while Pierrot abandoned his.

_Contrasts John's fidelity with Pierrot's infidelity._

> For Pierrot saw a world of girls, And Pierrot loved each one, And Pierrot thought all maidens fair As flowers in the sun.

Pierrot finds all women beautiful and loves them all.

_Emphasizes Pierrot's indiscriminate romanticism._

> Oh, I am good, Said Simple John, The Lord will take me in. Yes, I am good, Said Simple John, But Pierrot’s steeped in sin.

John believes his virtue will earn him heaven, while Pierrot is sinful.

_Moral contrast between John's piety and Pierrot's transgression._

> For Pierrot played on a slim guitar, And Pierrot loved the moon, And Pierrot ran down the long white road With the burgher’s wife one June.

Pierrot plays music, loves the moon, and elopes with a married woman.

_Culminates Pierrot's rebellious, passionate character._

## Links

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