Figures of speech in simple english
Ruby Brown
by Langston Hughes
She was young and beautiful
And golden like the sunshine
That warmed her body.
And because she was colored
Mayville had no place to offer her,
Nor fuel for the clean flame of joy
That tried to burn within her soul.
One day,
Sitting on old Mrs. Latham's back porch
Polishing the silver,
She asked herself two questions
And they ran something like this:
What can a colored girl do
On the money from a white woman's kitchen?
And ain't there any joy in this town?
Now the streets down by the river
Know more about this pretty Ruby Brown,
And the sinister shuttered houses of the bottoms
Hold a yellow girl
Seeking an answer to her questions.
The good church folk do not mention
Her name any more.
But the white men,
Habitués of the high shuttered houses,
Pay more money to her now
Than they ever did before,
When she worked in their kitchens.
- "golden like the sunshine" - a simile comparing Ruby's beauty to the brightness of the sun
- "clean flame of joy" - a metaphor representing Ruby's inner happiness and contentment
- "sitting on old Mrs. Latham's back porch" - personification of the porch, giving it human-like qualities
- "sinister shuttered houses" - alliteration and personification, creating a sense of mystery and danger
- "yellow girl seeking an answer to her questions" - metaphor comparing Ruby to the color yellow, symbolizing her search for identity and purpose
- "the good church folk do not mention her name anymore" - euphemism for the community distancing themselves from Ruby
- "habitués of the high shuttered houses" - alliteration and personification, highlighting the wealthy men who frequent the houses in the town.