Blackface/whiteface: Langston Hughes's Pierrot and minstrel poems

This thesis analyzes seven of Hughess poems that utilize the Pierrot character from the commedia dellarte tradition as a way of combating the damage caused by American blackface minstrelsy. Hughes uses the white mask of Pierrot to reverse the color binary of a white minstrel wearing blackface. Over the course of the seven poems, the Black Pierrot deviates from the conventional Pierrots passive depictions and creates a new identity for himself. This progression provides a metaphor for African Americans as they, too, strive to distance themselves from the stereotypes of minstrelsy. It also solidifies Hughess identity as a writer across genres.