Poetry · Chapter
Suicide explained
A speaker mourns the departure of her beloved and contemplates suicide, oscillating between violent self-harm and a quiet death by drowning in the river.
What happens
A speaker mourns the departure of her beloved and contemplates suicide, oscillating between violent self-harm and a quiet death by drowning in the river.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional peak occurs in the final line, "Tell them to leave you alone!..."—a raw, defiant outburst that s…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Love and Loss
The poem centers on the speaker's profound grief after her 'sweet good man' leaves, driving her to suicidal thoughts.
- Death and Mortality
The speaker explicitly contemplates death by knife or drowning, seeking peace in the river's quiet.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Ma sweet good man has Packed his trunk and left.”
My kind, beloved man has left me.
The speaker announces the departure of her lover, the catalyst for her despair.
“’Lieve I’ll jump in de river Eighty-nine feet deep. Cause de river’s quiet An’ a po’, po’ gal can sleep.”
I think I'll jump into the river, which is eighty-nine feet deep, because it's quiet and a poor girl can find rest there.
The speaker chooses drowning as a peaceful escape from her pain.
