Minstrel Man
Minstrel Man - meaning Summary
Hidden Pain Behind Performance
The poem confronts the gap between outward performance and inner suffering. A speaker asks why laughter, song, and dancing lead others to assume absence of pain. It emphasizes endurance and concealed grief behind a public persona, suggesting performance as both survival and concealment. The lines point to the emotional labor required to mask sorrow and the misunderstanding that cheer equals well-being.
Read Complete AnalysesBecause my mouth Is wide with laughter And my throat Is deep with song, You do not think I suffer after I have held my pain So long? Because my mouth Is wide with laughter, You do not hear My inner cry? Because my feet Are gay with dancing, You do not know I die?
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