1、西安翻译学院本科论文- 1 -1. IntroductionThe black music is an important part of American culture, which has contributed to the cultural development of the USA, even of the world. With the time passing by, the black American music can be divided into three different Styles: soul music, the blues and Jazz. The
2、first one was established in the period of slavery, and it belongs to the religious music. The slave who lived with hardship dont have enough time for fun, so they have to use their limit time to pray for a better life, staying in church, wishing God can bring bright future for them. Therefore, it b
3、rings the Soul to the black religion music of America. The blues starts after the civil war, when the slavery abolished, a lot of black slaves were set free, they poured in cities from their home and countryside. Unexpectedly, they were treated with hard work and low Salary, so they sang some songs
4、improvisational to show their bad situation. This is the original Blues music. The last one-Jazz, is the only one began from the USA. Within the last decade of the nineteenth century, jazz evolved, but it was not called Jazz, originally known as Jass, appeared in the southern U.S. city of black work
5、ers living area. The earliest of early New Orleans jazz is synonymous with the city, this argument is truthful, but a bit exaggerated.Blues gives a big impact on later American and Western popular music, ragtime, jazz, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, rock, country music and ordinary pop songs, and even
6、 modern classical music contains the blues style or develops from the blues. In the poem, the word is often used to describe depression. Blues is the term of “Blue Devil“ (Blue devils), which means low-key mood, sadness, depression. George Coleman back in 1798 wrote a comic opera named Blue Devil, a
7、ct farce. In 19th century the word was used to indicate the delirium tremens and the police. The application of the term in the black American music can be traced long time ago. The earliest written record of this word in music is William Kristol Fu Handis Memphis Blues in 1912.Music is the key form
8、 as folk art. Black Music is the essential way as releasing the pain of the misery. To be a main form of black music, Blues created under the oppression，becomes popular among crowd of the black, even all over of the world. Its the effective method that can turn sorrow into Happiness and the strong s
9、hout that the black American people try to survive from it. 西安翻译学院本科论文- 2 -Not only the Blues contains plenty of cultural information of African Americans, also African Americans played an crucial role in its emergence, development and maturity. Besides, the Blues Crazy, during and after the Harlem
10、Renaissance influenced the whole generation of black Americans, so many writers tried to use folk materials in their literary writing, such as Du. Bois, Ralph. Ellison, Langston. Hughes, Toni. Morrison, Alice. Walker all melts their works into black music. The black living situation becomes blues mu
11、sic theme, reflecting the blacks poverty, suffering, loneliness, despair, and the weakness of human nature under the racial oppression of black, So Blues, which is actually a sad expression of the bitter experience of black music, expresses the psychological state of the individual minimum extravaga
12、nt, as a spiritual therapy, blues brings transcendental mind to black and makes the most painful life experience fade away.Their poems or articles are influenced by this general atmosphere. They turn the Blues of their heart into the Blues on the paper.西安翻译学院本科论文- 3 -2. The view of bluesWhen and whe
13、re did the Blues start? While So far, we can get the certain answer from the musicians. Most experts refer there is some relationship between Blues and black African music, they believe that Blues comes from the influence of black southern Africa slaves music. 19 century ago, when these slaves arriv
14、ed in south of America, they created a unique music style full of blue and sad feelings. For southern Africans, they can express their full emotion by songs. While there are also some people hold the different opinion, for example, Josph Machlis (1906- ) has written that “Blues music belongs to one
15、of the American music with the prosody form. As we known, there is no directed connection to the early period of European and African music.”(Han, 2002: 70)2. 1The ClassificationThe earliest record of Blues begins 1920s. Blues can be classified three forms from the black slaves music to one of the m
16、ost diverse and complex music. It derives different types in the world, such as European Blues, African Blues. The Blues music develops until today that is already integrated to the mainstream music ranks, his many elements have been utilized into the rock and roll and the pop music. But traditional
17、 Blues music still has the formidable strength, this domain musicians are John Lee Hooker, Etta Baker, Junior Wells and Buddy Guy. Blues fans and critics identify three major types of blues: rural or country blues, city or classic blues, urban blues.2.1.1 Country BluesThe earliest period of Blues is
18、 called Country Blues or delta Blues. This is generally sung by a man, occasionally blind, who performs on street corners and travels between black community events playing an acoustic guitar. Sometimes the singer is accompanied by a band consist in crockery jugs, fiddles, banjos and harmonicas. Thi
19、s folk music probably develops from the field 西安翻译学院本科论文- 4 -hollers and spirituals of slaves and from the work songs of black cotton pickers, railroad laborers, ship cargo loaders, road-builders, lumberjacks and chain gang convicts in the Deep South. It emerges in 19 century in the southern plantat
20、ion，develops in the urban area of black district. Particular after the civil War, tours the singer, the guitar player, and the harmonica performer, start consciously development of this kind of music, integrate the love, the freedom, the nature and the life sorrowfully in the Blues music. The early
21、important musicians are Charlie Patton, Son House (has invented greasy pole) and Robert Johnson.2.1.2 Classical BluesThe second type is city or classical blues. Generally sung by a woman to piano or orchestral accompaniment, When USs blacks move to the metropolis such like Memphis and New Orlean to
22、work, to a greater degree, Blues gradually transfers to the urbanized and more commercial and formal musical composition. It was first popularized in the black community in 1920. With the recording of black composer Perry Brad fords Crazy Blues by Mamie Smith, a black singer of popular songs of the
23、time. The extraordinary sales of this record in black communities led to the introduction of segregated race records by white record companies and the fame of black vaudeville, minstrel and blues entertainer Gertrude Ma Rainey (1886-1939) as the Mother of the Blues, Bessie Smith (1894-1937), as the
24、Empress of the Blues. Other celebrated black blues singers of the 1920s and 1930s included these women as Ida Cox, Sara Martin, Clara Smith, Trixie Smith, Victoria Spivey.2.1.3 Electronic BluesThe third and most popular type is urban blues or electronic Blues. After the Second World War, the Blues c
25、enter has already transferred to the cities like Chicago, where converged many renowned musicians Usually sung by a man accompanied by electric guitars and bass, drums and brass instruments, this music became popular in the 1940s and 1950sascountry blues singers 西安翻译学院本科论文- 5 -migrated to Chicago an
26、d other cities.At that time, B.B King and Buddy Guy attempted to add the intensifier electric guitar as well as the magnetic drum to strengthen the sound effect, in the 50s, this kind of style is approved by many Caucasian musicians. After several years, Eric Clapton continues to make the Blues musi
27、c carries forward. Simultaneously R known as the “Blues Queen“ create impressive sales performance for the Columbia Records, Bessie Smith (1894-1937), Downhearted Blues. They worked together and laid a solid foundation for the further development of blues. The representatives of the modern blues are
28、 Eric Clapton Crossroads, From the Cradle; Jimmy Rushing, (1918 -), Listen to the Blues; Joe Williams (1918 -)Everyday I Have the Blues, Bluesmen team is very large and very bright, there are many pioneers such as Buddy Guy, B B King.西安翻译学院本科论文- 9 -3 The association with Black literatureOriginating
29、from the center of southern America, Blues gives people a feeling of sadness and freshness, it has reposed the black Americans complete hope to the life and the future and represented the courage and the optimistic upward state of mind. Blues not only has become a symbol of the black American cultur
30、e, representing one kind of social being, also has manifested the cultural existence of black nationality. Acting as black Americans typical culture, Blues seeps the creation of blacks literature, enables the literary works to have the sincere historical feeling and intense shocks.James Baldwin beli
31、eved that, the blacks life was trapped in the inescapable difficulty, it was impossible not to hum Blues simply, regardless of being heard or not. The black American writer, relying on Blues music, this localized language, comes to discuss black Americans survival difficulty and cultural pursuit tho
32、roughly. This enables their works not only have profound thought, also have one kind of sad Blues style and rhythm.3.1 The similarity between Blues music and literatureThe Famous black American literature critic Houston A. Baker Jr, in 1984, has published Blues, the ideology and the Africa American
33、black literature: One kind of native words theory! .In this book, young Baker believed that, the Blues music is the typical one of the black native words, is the primitive basis and the cultural fountainhead of the black literature text research. Baker thought the literature and Blues music, all are
34、 rich for metaphorical, the mystique, hypothesized and so on. The literature is also same with the Blues music. Only discover the complex consistent technique of the lives of the black, then may catch the blacks lives attentively. The black writer, all can obtain the spirit feeling from the Blues mu
35、sic.（Baker，1984）Hughes is a reformer in US poetry history, he has found his own sound from the Blues music, it has helped him to form a new poem style. With the most approached music form Blues, has he expressed the blacks misery, loneliness and disappointment, so the readers can understand easily.
36、His representative work is The Weary Blues. He is the first poet to imitate the forms of the blues in 西安翻译学院本科论文- 10 -African American Literature.The similarity show in three aspects, take Hughes works for example.The three common blues lyric forms, namely the AAB form, the ABB form and the AAA form
37、. Hughes blues poems are deeply influenced by blues lyric forms and blues themes. Many of his blues poems are written in them, the AAB form is his favorite and most frequently used by him. An essential element in all music is repetitionIn fact ，we might say that all art consists of giving structure
38、to two elements: repetition and variation. In Hughess PoBoy Blues, he writes When I was home De sunshine seemed like goldWhen I was home De sunshine seemed like goldI was a good boy n Never done no wrongYes，I was a good boyNever done no wrongSome of the common themes of the blues are: love, death, N
39、orth and South, economic predicament. The Blues music completely takes blacks life as theme, manifests the blacks poor, pain, loneliness, despairs as well as humans weakness under the race oppression. Hughes“ blues poems also deal with these themes most frequently. The blues has always been a persis
40、ting characteristic in African American Literature. Hughes puts the understanding and annotation of the blues in his works named Blues, When the shoe strings breakOn both your shoesAnd youre in a hurryThats the blues. When you go to buy a candy barAnd youve lost the dime you hadSlipped through a hol
41、e in your pocket somewhereThats the blues，too，and bad!”The blues spirit is always there. Hughes picked up this blues tradition and enlarged it. He is the first poet to imitate the forms of the blues in African American Literature. Hughes is the keeper as well as the innovator of the blues tradition. By using the blues in his blues poems, Hughes turns
