Question

read the excerpt from \harlem.\

does it stink like rotten meat?
or crust and sugar over-
like a syrupy sweet?

read the excerpt from \the weary blues.\

droning a drowsy syncopated tune
rocking back and forth to a mellow croon

in both poems, hughes uses the imagery to

establish tone.
offer background information.
convey a criticism.
conjure pleasant memories.

Explanation:

Analyze the imagery in "Harlem"

Using the Poetry Analysis and Harlem Renaissance Literature knowledge points

• The excerpt from "Harlem" asks: "Does it stink like rotten meat? / Or crust and sugar over— / like a syrupy sweet?"
• This uses olfactory (smell) and gustatory (taste) imagery ("rotten meat", "syrupy sweet") to evoke strong sensory reactions.
• These images create a tense, decaying, and unpleasant mood, which directly helps establish the poem's frustrated and warning tone regarding a deferred dream.

Analyze the imagery in "The Weary Blues"

Using the Poetry Analysis and Harlem Renaissance Literature knowledge points

• The excerpt from "The Weary Blues" describes: "Droning a drowsy syncopated tune / Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon"
• This uses auditory (sound) and kinesthetic (movement) imagery ("droning", "syncopated tune", "rocking back and forth", "mellow croon").
• These sensory details mimic the rhythm and feel of blues music, establishing a melancholic, rhythmic, and soulful tone.

Synthesize the common purpose of imagery

Using the Poetry Analysis knowledge point

• In both excerpts, Langston Hughes relies on vivid sensory details (imagery) to make the reader feel a specific mood.
• This sensory engagement is primarily used to establish tone (the attitude or mood of the poem) rather than to provide background facts, criticize directly, or bring up pleasant memories.

Evaluate the given options

• establish tone: Correct. The sensory details directly build the emotional atmosphere of each poem.
• offer background information: Incorrect. Imagery appeals to the senses rather than delivering factual context.
• convey a criticism: Incorrect. While "Harlem" contains social critique, the musical imagery in "The Weary Blues" does not serve to criticize.
• conjure pleasant memories: Incorrect. "Rotten meat" is unpleasant, so this does not apply to both.

Answer:

• establish tone. (Correct answer)
• offer background information.
• convey a criticism.
• conjure pleasant memories.