Elliptical

“I, Too” by Langston Hughes (1926)

In his first collection of poetry The Weary Blues, Hughes speaks about race more overtly than does Mullen in “Elliptical.” At the same time, he speaks of an “I” as well as a “they,” a similar use of first and third person found in Mullen’s poem. In “I, Too,” Hughes shows contrast between the speaker sitting away from company at dinner today but being allowed to remain with company tomorrow, suggesting the patience for social change in society. “Elliptical” also shows contrast throughout the poem, yet Mullen’s ending seems less optimistic than that of “I, Too.”

“Resume” by Dorothy Parker (1926)

In this poem, the focus is on the tension between wanting to live and wanting to die, desires that are thwarted because the means do not guarantee success. While the specific content differs from that of “Elliptical,” the form uses consistent punctuation at the end of every line except the final line. In this poem, the punctuation mark is the semi-colon, which suggests a pause longer than that of a comma but not as long as a period. There is time during this pause for both the speaker of the poem to determine their next course of action as well as for the reader to digest the content.