Little Old Letter By Langston Hughes
It was yesterday morning
I looked in my box for mail.
The letter that I found there
Made me turn right pale.
Just a little old letter,
Wasn't even one page long—
But it made me wish
I was in my grave and gone.
I turned it over,
Not a word writ on the back.
I never felt so lonesome
Since I was born black.
Just a pencil and paper,
You don't need no gun or knife—
A little old letter
Can take a person's life.
WHAT IS IN THE LETTER?
Analysis of Langston Hughes’ “Little Old Letter”
The letter at the heart of Langston Hughes’ “Little Old Letter” has a racist message of hate.
The poem's speaker is powerfully affected by what the letter expresses: it "[m]ade me turn right pale." This is no ordinary letter.
Readers who look at the poem too quickly may conclude that the letter announces the death of a loved one or is a draft notice, arguing that such letters could profoundly affect those who receive them, leaving them "right pale."
However, the speaker raises the issue of race with the 12th line: "Since I was born black." If the letter were a draft notice or a letter announcing a death, race would not be introduced.
The poem’s use of “pencil” should likewise convince readers that this is not a draft notice. Governments don’t use pencils when recruiting for the military.
The letter's recipient is the target of hate mail. Perhaps the "n" word is found. Perhaps the gist is that people "born black" are not welcome in that neighborhood. The speaker feels that the letter makes a threat the same way a "gun" or "knife" can threaten a person with violence.
Two stanzas refer to the letter as "old," which is reinforced by the title. If the letter was received "yesterday," in what sense is it "old"? Racism is an old story.
Why a letter instead of a phone call? People who want to express mean sentiments prefer to do it anonymously, and an unsigned letter can hide a bully’s identity better than a phone call.
The letter is not long. The writing does not spill over to the paper's reverse side. But a message of hate need not be lengthy to be intimidating. Words, even the briefest message conveying intolerance, can hurt and can make one's life feel endangered.
Words can leave an emotional wound as devastating as a physical wound made by a gun or knife.
Can mere words "take a person's life"? The last stanza insists that words can hurt that much. It is as if the poet knows that most kids are trained to ignore hurtful words, perhaps growing up with this: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."
The poem counters that. Words can hurt: the letter "made me wish I was in my grave and gone." He prefers death to the letter's contents.
When one receives and opens mail, "lonely" is not a typical experience, yet this recipient feels lonely: "I never felt so lonesome / Since I was born black." Possibly the poem's speaker was the first to move into a neighborhood without others of the same race.
When there was a movement in America towards integration, courage was needed by anyone who was the first in the neighborhood. Pioneers of the movement must have been very lonely at times when they met with rejection.
The word "lonesome" is reinforced by the letter arriving without other letters. Nothing is in the mailbox from friends or family, and that compounds the problem. If friendly letters had been in the mailbox that day in addition to the one hate-filled letter, the speaker might have suffered less, feeling not so lonesome.
The poem has four stanzas. That format might tempt us to look for four moods or four distinct emotions. Otherwise the poem might as well be one continuous block of verse. What are those four moods or emotions? The first is fright as established by the phrase "turn right pale."
Second is a feeling of dread, which is related to fright but is a little different since dread is about fear of the future. The speaker has had a full day to digest the news that someone sent hate mail--the speaker received it "yesterday morning." It is fresh enough to make the recipient dread what may be coming. Maybe the person who sent the letter will soon physically attack the recipient.
The third mood or emotion is curiosity. The speaker turns to the back of the paper to see if there is more, hungry for additional information so precautionary measures may be taken. The poet calls special attention to this stanza by using the archaic word “writ” (that means the diction is suddenly from old times) instead of the standard “was written.”
Fourth and last, the speaker feels lonely--"I never felt so lonesome."
The poem has alliteration: “word writ,” “born black,” “little...letter,” “grave and gone,” and “pencil and paper.”
"Little Old Letter" Langston Hughes poem on racism "A little old letter can take a person's life"
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