Question

Read the excerpt from "Madam and the Rent Man" by Langston Hughes. I said, Listen, Before I'd pay I'd go to Hades And rot away! What word best describes the poet's attitude in this stanza?

Answer 1

Answer:

Anger.

Explanation:

Langston Hughes's poem "Madam and the Rent Man" is an exchange between the rent collector and the tenant, Madam who refuses to pay for the services she hadn't received. This is a representation of how things remain unsolved, for the parties involved weren't able to see eye to eye.

With the use of the word "listen", the speaker is trying to get the attention of the other people. Then, she also mentions she'd rather "go to Hades and rot away", than pay, ending with an exclamation mark, obviously signifying the emphasis on the emotional stance of the speaker. This is also a representation of the normal situation of the blacks and the whites in their inability to solve their problems, especially with the whites refusing to listen to the blacks. Hughes uses this poem to show the real life situation, where the person complaining is talking sense, but it doesn't reach the right person for the problems to be solved.