# Ma Lord — Poetry character guide

> Ma Lord in Poetry by Langston Hughes.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Ma Lord ai n't no stuck up man

**First appearance:** 0182-ma-lord

## Snapshot

A reverent, colloquial address to a higher power — the 'Ma Lord' who ain't no stuck-up man — spoken in the voice of the weary and the poor.

## Who they are

Ma Lord is less a character than a confidant, invoked in the blues and spiritual registers where the speaker pours out his exhaustion and hope. The phrase 'ain't no stuck up man' insists on a God who walks among elevator boys and wash-women rather than above them. That intimacy — divine and down-home at once — anchors the collection's spiritual undertow and gives the weary speaker somewhere to put his weariness.

## Relationships

### [Misery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_15_se/characters/misery)

_psychological_

Ma Lord and Misery share a tense, possibly spiritual or oppressive relationship, with Misery as a suffering subject.

## In the story

### [Midwinter Blues](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_15_se/chapters/midwinter-blues)

The 'good man' who turned her down and left when coal was low.

### [Ma Lord](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_15_se/chapters/ma-lord)

Portrayed as a humble, hardworking friend who promises the speaker eternal companionship.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_15_se/characters/ma_lord
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_15_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_15_se/characters