Pierrot is a short poem written by the African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 author Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes

James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...

. It was first published in the anthology The Weary Blues

The Weary Blues

"The Weary Blues" is a poem written by American poet Langston Hughes.Written in 1925, "The Weary Blues" was first published in the Urban League magazine, Opportunity. It was awarded best poem of the year by the magazine...

in 1926. In 30 lines, it describes contrasts the characters of Simple John, who adheres to an ethic of hard work and traditional virtues, and Pierrot

Pierrot

Pierrot is a stock character of pantomime and Commedia dell'Arte whose origins are in the late 17th-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne; the name is a hypocorism of Pierre , via the suffix -ot. His character in postmodern popular culture—in...

, who leads a Dionysian

Apollonian and Dionysian

The Apollonian and Dionysian is a philosophical and literary concept, or dichotomy, based on certain features of ancient Greek mythology. Several Western philosophical and literary figures have invoked this dichotomy in critical and creative works....

and carefree life. In the end, Pierrot runs away with John's wife.