Seven Guitars

The title of the play refers to the seven characters. The supporting characters, three men and three women, are each unique and complex. They harmonize like chords and play counterpoint while Floyd drives the melody line. The image of the guitar, intertwined with the repeated motif of music, is one of the most significant symbols in the play. Music and singing are embedded in the history of Black culture from slavery forward and interwoven into the fabric of not only Seven Guitars, but the other plays in the Century Cycle. The play begins and ends with singing, and most of the characters express themselves through song at some point. In the 1940s, Black people had few avenues to rise above poverty and obscurity or to obtain social power, and these routes were primarily through sports and entertainment. Jazz developed as a Black art form, derived from African rhythms and musical structures and influenced by European harmony. White audiences began to consume jazz, simultaneously continuing to discriminate against the Black musicians who wrote and performed it.

Due to racial oppression, Floyd can only achieve fame and fortune by submitting to the exploitation of appropriative White power structures that control the recording and distribution of his music.