Poetic devices

Allusion

The poem “Merry-Go-Round” by Langston Hughes includes allusions to the Jim Crow laws enforced in the Southern US. The speaker talks about a “Jim Crow section” (l. 1) and a “Jim Crow Car” (l. 8) and explains that black people and white people are not supposed to mix. The speaker then explains that “on the bus we're put in the back” (l. 9) and that “white and colored can’t sit side by side” (ll. 5-6). Therefore, the allusions to the Jim Crow laws explain the speaker’s confusion regarding the new situation in the North. 

Repetition

The repetition of the expression “Jim Crow” (l. 1, l. 8) and the expression “down South” (l. 4, l. 7) helps readers understand the speaker’s background and the racial segregation occurring in the Southern US. At the same ...