Question

Read the excerpt from "Harlem."

Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-
like a syrupy sweet?

Read the excerpt from "The Weary Blues."

Droning a drowsy syncopated tune
Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon

In both poems, Hughes uses the imagery to
establish tone.
offer background information.
convey a criticism.
conjure pleasant memories.

Answer 1

establish tone.

Both excerpts use sensory details (the rotten meat/syrupy sweet in "Harlem"; the droning, drowsy, mellow music in "The Weary Blues") to create a mood or emotional atmosphere rather than to give background, criticize directly, or evoke pleasant memories.