Aunt Sue's Stories by 

Langston Hughes

Aunt Sue has a head full of stories.

Black slaves
Working in the hot sun,
And black slaves
Walking in the dewy night,
And black slaves
Singing sorrow songs on the banks of a mighty river
Mingle themselves softly
In the flow of old Aunt Sue's voice,
Mingle themselves softly
In the dark shadows that cross and recross
Aunt Sue's stories.

And the dark-faced child, listening,

The dark-faced child is quiet

Aunt Sue’s Stories

James Mercer Langston Hughes started writing very early. The works that came from his pen from 1920 till his death
in 1967 is prolific. He has written two autobiographies. He published three collections of short stories, sixteen
volumes of poetry. Apart from this he wrote almost twenty plays and wrote many scripts for television, radio and
films. Hughes also translated works of Jacques Roumain, Federico Garcia Lorca and Nicolas Guillen. Along with this
he had regular correspondence with fans, friends and publishers.  He wrote a lot for the Harlem Renaissance and for
jazz music. All this was done even as he was travelling and had a short stay in Paris. He died on May 22nd, 1967.
The poem ‘Aunt Sue’s Stories’ is believed to be about his grandmother Mary Langston who was a powerful influence
in his life. He had heard a lot of stories from his grandmother and he brings some of them into this poem. Aunt Sue’s
head and heart were full of stories. She would sit on the porch and cuddle the ‘brown-child’ and tell him all the
stories. The stories were about black people working day and night. They would sing sad songs on the banks of a
river and their songs mingle with the sound of the river. Aunt Sue’s voice also mingled with the sounds around and
as she said the stories the shadows kept crossing.
The dark faced child was an attentive listener and knew that his aunt’s stories were real; she never imagined any of
them or got them from any book. They were her own experiences, stories from her life. Knowing that all her sad
stories are true the child who was cuddling in her bosom lay quiet listening to it on that summer night.
‘Aunt Sue’s Stories’ is poem with twenty-five lines in four stanzas with varying number of lines in each stanza. All
of Hughes poems are written to be tuned to music, so there are repetitions of lines. In this poem there are minor
changes in the repetitive lines, like this
Aunt Sue has a head full of stories.
Aunt Sue has a whole heart full of stories.
The imagery of ‘black slaves’ is created very strongly with these words. The lines are odes to the African Americans
who had suffered a lot for generations. The imagery of ‘brown-faced’ child is an allusion to the mixing of African and
American people. The blacks had now become browns.  Then he refers to the child as dark, not mentioning if it was
black or brown. It did not matter anymore; the suffering continued, colour notwithstanding.  The images of ‘hot sun’,
‘dewy night’ and ‘mighty river’ are also beautifully put by Hughes. The slaves sing sorrowful songs and that mingles
with the sounds of the river. This can mean that their voices were drowned by more powerful voices.  The stories
were the pain of the soul. He knew from the aunt’s (grandmother) story telling that the fact was they were not a
fiction of imagination which is what the story tellers do, imagine. Her stories were from her experiences and they
were hard facts. It is Langston Hughes’ style to pack a lot in few words and that is true for this poem, ‘Aunt Sue’s
Stories’ as well.’
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Langston Hughes poem, “Aunt Sue’s Stories” would fall into the category of didactic poetry. Where this poem is
concerned, there is an ethical and moral lesson being taught. This poem illustrates the African culture of telling
stories to pass on traditions, keeping the African heritage alive and ensuring history does not repeat itself by gapping
the generational bridge. Thus the oral documentation weaves a tapestry of the historical legacy of the African people
in America always transcending generations.

There is that sense of pride evidential in the elder in the family or community who makes it their moral and ethical
duty to pass on these stories.

To the younger generation, the firsthand account of historical and family events is greatly appreciated. The poem’s
central idea is to portray the maternal bond between an elder and a child as she passes on not just a story but
confidence and self-acceptance of being a descendant of slaves. The poem characters are a woman and a child
where the setting is on a front porch during a summer evening.

Aunt Sue’s Stories begins as the narrator describes Aunt Sue, not physically, but exactly what she is best known for.
Aunt Sue’s personality, character and motherly instincts are depicted through her stories. The reader learns that
Aunt Sue is emotionally connected to her stories because lines 21 and 22 suggest she may have been a slave. The
poem develops into one of her stories about the conditions of slaves, working hard in the hot sun and walking home
when the dew begins to fall. “Singing sorrow songs” symbolizes Hughes unconditional love for the blues.

The blues represents the psychological condition and the genre of the music which the people have long used to
comfort their soul and as suggesting humor to continue with the battle. The poem ends with the narrator assuring us
that the brown/dark faced child understands the importance of Aunt Sue’s stories because she is relating her own
personal experiences and not what someone told her or read from a book. Aunt Sue’s Stories is written using free
verse. The repetition of the words “stories” gives the poem arhythmic quality. However, it is the alliteration of the
consonant “s” that adds a definite beauty to the rhythm.

For example, “Black slaves singing sorrow songs…” The language used in this poem is unique, thoughtful and
intriguing. Aunt sue memory is intact because “her head is full of stories. ” The stories assists her with balancing her
emotions, there is pain, joy and sorrow when remembering her life; thus “her heart full of stories. ” Aunt Sue’s
stories intertwine always coming back to her; hence they “mingle themselves softly. ” No matter which story she
tells the African people always cross path because “in the dark shadows that cross and recross. Even in this poem,
the narrator silently speaks of respect between the child and the woman as “the dark-faced child is quiet and the
dark-faced child, listening. ” This poem is distinctive in the way it paints a vivid picture of a woman embracing a child.
The picture lingers in the readers’ minds as they progress with the narrator’s perception of Aunt Sue. The descriptive
words to paint this picture are not readily available to the reader, however, the senses of sight, touch and smell.
There is that imaginable sight of a summer evening, the sparsely lit skies, people sitting on their porch to indulge in
neighbors and conversations.

This poem reflects that childhood memory of the narrator who is reflecting on his very own summer night. The
narrator touches the reader with the bonding between the woman and child. The touch re-affirms what has been
missing from the Black community. Just imagine the smell as the wind slightly moves the perfume of cooking from
everyone’s house to the smell of a just showered child embraced in the incense of an elder. Langston Hughes used a
lyrical approach to create tensions throughout this poem. There is a heightened sense of emotion as the reader
reads, “Aunt Sue cuddles a brown-faced child to her bosom, and tells him stories. “Cuddles” best shows the affection
for the child. The reader can envision the bond between woman and child, the sincerity of the embrace and the
unprofessed love for the child by sharing personal experiences. These personal experiences will enable the child to
have a better understanding of where he/she came from and what needs to be done to continue excelling beyond
anyone’s expectations. It was very important of the author to bring forth his tone in this poem because he is one of
many authorative figures ensuring the light is keep lit where Black empowerment is concerned.

The mere reference to slaves in this poem pushes it on the brink of an allusion. This is an event in history that most
people chose to ignore while others embrace so dearly. Aunt Sue is one of those people who hold dear to the past
and sees nothing wrong with passing on this legacy. A tree with no roots is like a person with no idea of his/her past.
In order for one to move forward, one must know where they are coming from. In this poem Aunt Sue is creating
and promoting a strong sense of cultural and racial identity.