Suicide's Note Analysis

Thesis: The poet Langston Hughes relates one’s desire of committing suicide in the briefness and structure of the poem and portrays diction, imagery, and personification all within the entirety of the poem.

A.    Personification

1.      “The calm, / Cool face of the river”. Hughes introduces the poem with two short phrases and personifies the river by illustrating a damp, smooth surface of a river. Since the poem is titled “Suicide’s Note,” it is assumable that one will commit suicide by drowning.

2.      “Asked me for a kiss.” The author relates the river of asking the individual who is committing suicide to “kiss.” This personification exemplifies the meaning of suicide in a disturbingly romantic way.

B.     Imagery

1.      “Cool face of the river / Asked me for a kiss.” The poem’s briefness completely contradicts its overall message. Even though the poem is a mere three lines, the meaning behind the author’s carefully chosen words create a maelstrom of emotions and images in the reader’s mind.

C.     Diction

1.      “Asked me for a kiss.” This last powerful line in the poem suggests a complete end to the poem, and also the complete end of the individual who is committing suicide. The river “asking” for a kiss provokes the individual in committing suicide by