Life is Fine is a narrative poem by Langston Hughes. It discusses the author’s reasons to live despite his struggles in life. In the time the poem was written, many people, especially black people, wanted to commit suicide. This poem was written during the Harlem Renaissance, a time where African American writing flourished in the United States starting in the 1920’s. In the poem, he notably uses poetic devices such as refrain and repetition. Refrain is found in the poem after every 2 stanzas. The format for each refrain is the same: “But it was Cold in that water! It was cold”, “But it was High up there! It was high”, and “Life is fine! Fine as wine! Life is fine!”, the last stanza giving the poem its title. Other forms of repetition are
