The Harlem Renaissance gave artists a venue like none that had ever been seen before. African Americans now had an opportunity to explore topics such as feminism, homosexuality, and poverty from their perspectives; perspectives that had often been silenced. Bruce Nugent was one of these writers. Famous for both his art and writings, Nugent had an ability to emphasize what he felt using many techniques throughout his works. In his poem “Pattern for Future Dirges” Nugent uses both vocabulary and rhyme to illustrate his past failed relationships and consequent desires to end that ongoing, unsuccessful cycle.
Throughout Nugent’s sonnet the vocabulary he uses symbolizes not only physical settings, but emotional ones as well. Nugent begins with, “That evening when I met you in the rain” (1). This rainy evening could be looked upon in two ways, the night could actually have been rainy, but furthermore the rain could signify his sentiment at that time. Rain is associated with dreary days, so even if there was literally rain it would have depressed the scene more than if he had emphasized a sunny day. He goes into further detail about this rainy night and how it reminded him of so many other nights before; it was “another of those episodes to [him]” (3). His use of the word episodes in this sentence shows a recurrence of these rainy nights, almost like a pattern. This leads the reader to assume that he has been stuck in these dark, cloudy nights for some time. The word episodes has a minimizing effect on these relationships, or what could even be called late night trysts, which he had participated in. The word makes it seem like he has experienced many one night stands, which he has finally grown weary of. From these he has gotten nothing but sexual satisfaction, and is beginning to yearn for more of a connection. These episodes have little emotion, and are something he does out of frustration or as a momentary release from the darkness of which he is being consumed. But for some reason that night he realized that his, “choreography was uncouth” (10). The basic meaning of this sentence would be that his dance or steps were strange, but in relation to the rest of the poem it shows how on this night, with this particular guy, he realizes how this rain and these nightly encounters have been negatively affecting him. The choreography is his walk or dance through life, which he describes as strange or ill mannered. He shows here that he desires something more, something different, a new way to stomp through life.
Nugent also uses rhyme to explore his ideas. By rhyming particular lines he associates these former lines with others that do not always directly follow, yet both lines are in tune with the same idea or clarify the previous one. The first instance this can be seen is with his first and fourth lines in the poem. The opening first line, “That evening when I met you in the rain” (1), is later completed by, “which seem to happen, happening again” (4). The rhyming of rain and again shows that these two sentences are connected. This rainy meeting on this rainy night is not his first; it has become a frequent occurrence in his life. It also shows his fear that what happened with all those other guys will once again happen on this night. This rhyming sequence is once again shown using uncouth and youth. On the ninth line Nugent, “finds his choreography uncouth” (9), and on the eleventh “So – in the rain I saw your graceful youth” (11). While youth and uncouth rhyme, there is even more evidence to show these sentences are paired by graceful and choreography. Since graceful can be an adjective to describe choreography or dance, it can be assumed that Nugent is saying that he admires this new acquaintances steps. The way he carries himself and moves along with life strikes Nugent as different from the other men, and forces him to think about changing his ways and possibly having a meaningful experience. The eleventh line ending in youth can be linked with the final line of the sonnet, “The future lie I paint with the present truth” (14). While a complex line to understand, rhyming youth and truth allows for an interpretation which would make it possible for this guy to finally be what he was searching for. This youth could be his truth; the one he needed to stop his rain and finally put an end to his life of darkness.
Keeping in mind that authors place every word in a poem for a reason, added formal elements can enhance the readers understanding of the authors message. Nugent’s ability to do this dramatically increases the clarity of the poem, bridging all thoughts at all times. Nugents hope for change on that rainy night was conveyed more powerfully by his rhyming and vocabulary. His choice to place certain words and emphasize others allowed the reader to grasp the loneliness rain can bring.
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