Nature not only provides man with a means to express the freedom of his soul, but it also gives man relief. In contrast, a different side of nature is depicted in Hughes poem, Song for a Dark Girl . The language in this poem paints a macabre picture of a racist south. In this poem, nature is harsh, unfair, and cruel. Instead of providing man with a means to express the freedom of his soul, nature confines the soul.
Nature serves as a symbol for the captivity and death of the soul.
The black man that is lynched in the poem could not be free in this society, and the girl he leaves behind mourns at the sight of the tree. They hung my black young lover To a cross roads tree. The tree is the object on which this girl s lover was hung. Nature becomes a symbol for the burden of the anguish of the soul. Nature s role in this poem not only kills the young lover, but also suffocates the soul of the young girl.