“The Ballad of the Landlord” by Langston Hughes

On the surface “The Ballad of the Landlord” by Langston Hughes is a poem about a tenants struggle with his landlord, ultimately landing him in jail for starting an altercation. Upon deeper analysis of the poem, it’s evident to me that this poem is really about social justice issues and the plight of an African American citizen to be treated equally.  The poem’s first two stanzas represent the tenant’s plea to the landlord about fixing the dangerous conditions of his home and being ignored. This is evident in the lines “Don't you 'member I told you about it / Way last week?” and even the sense of rationalization that the speaker uses to try to get through in the lines “When you come up yourself / It's a wonder you don't fall down.” Hughes then reveals the rage the tenant is feeling as the landlord claims that he is owed ten dollars and the tenant refuses to pay until the issues within the home are fixed. The poem goes through an escalation at this point, with the lines “What? You gonna get eviction orders? / You gonna cut off my heat? / You gonna take my furniture and / Throw it in the street?” that portrays the landlord threatening the tenant. The poem is flipped at this point, as the tenant threatens the landlord “You ain't gonna be able to say a word / If I land my fist on you.” At this point in the poem, we have gone through a wide range of emotions, pleading, confusion, anger, and retaliation. Hughes captures this back and forth very well, playing on the emotions of the reader with one final blow. “Police! Police! / Come and get this man! / He's trying to ruin the government / And overturn the land!” It's not made clear if it's the landlord or the tenant speaking but closer analysis reveals it is the tenant who calls out for the police because he feels like he’s been wronged, the irony being that the tenant is the one who is arrested and put in jail. “MAN THREATENS LANDLORD / TENANT HELD NO BAIL / JUDGE GIVES NEGRO 90 DAYS IN COUNTY JAIL!”. This poem is especially surreal for me because, in my opinion, it captures the very essence of the injustice as the poem progresses through each stanza. I also  think the irony of the title The Ballad of the Landlord is interesting because it’s a foreshadow of who comes out on top in this poem. In my opinion Hughes has effectively used poetry as a means of telling just one story of the struggle African American people endured and to this day, still endure. This is why Langston Hughes' "The Ballad of the Landlord” is a poem I will always love.