# Suicide explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Langston Hughes.

## What happens

A speaker mourns the departure of her beloved and contemplates suicide, oscillating between violent self-harm and a quiet death by drowning in the river.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Loss

The poem centers on the speaker's profound grief after her 'sweet good man' leaves, driving her to suicidal thoughts.

### Death and Mortality

The speaker explicitly contemplates death by knife or drowning, seeking peace in the river's quiet.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker who laments her lover's departure and contemplates suicide.

### Death

Implied presence as the speaker considers ending her own life.

## Key lines

> Ma sweet good man has Packed his trunk and left.

My kind, beloved man has left me.

_The speaker announces the departure of her lover, the catalyst for her despair._

> ’Lieve I’ll jump in de river Eighty-nine feet deep. Cause de river’s quiet An’ a po’, po’ gal can sleep.

I think I'll jump into the river, which is eighty-nine feet deep, because it's quiet and a poor girl can find rest there.

_The speaker chooses drowning as a peaceful escape from her pain._

## Links

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