An Analysis of Countee Cullen's “Any Human to Another”
Countee Cullen was man who struggled to be called a “poet” instead of a “Negro poet.” His life during the Harlem Renaissance was filled with inequality and prejudice. These facts have lead many analysts to perceive his poem “Any Human to Another” as a cry for racial equality. However, Cullen’s manipulation of structure, imagery, and symbols in the poem reveals that his true theme is that all humans are individually unique but must live together in harmony and equality, caring for and helping each other.
The first technique Cullen uses to show his theme is the structure of the poem. “Any Human to Another” is made up of five stanzas: the first and second are six lines long, the third and fifth contain seven lines, and the fourth stanza is made up of only five lines. The author uses these varying lengths for a purpose; he wants the readers to see the way in which a variety of different types join together to form one poem. This is analogous to the way in which many unique people make up our society. The diversity of stanza length in the poem shows that the diversity of society in the world is a main contributing factor to our culturally enriched lives. Another example of how the structure of this poem relates to the theme is in the rhyme schemes of the five stanzas. Each part has several lines that rhyme with other lines in that stanza; however, the rhyme scheme of one stanza does not match with that of any other. This again shows the unique parts of each stanza that all go together to make one beautiful poem. Similar to the way this poem would lack excitement if it followed one rhyme pattern the whole way through, life would be not b...
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... means to express his opinion is the “little tent” in the second stanza. Cullen writes that no man is allowed his own “meadow of sun and shadow,” the sun being joyous feelings while the shadow is angst. No man deserves the privilege of indulging himself in “sun” while others in the world have troubles; on the other hand, no man should deal with the “shadow” of inequality without a friend or companion. As a member of the human race, each individual has their own duty to care for and help others.
Countee Cullen clearly has a message to spread through this poem. His structure of individual stanzas coming together, imagery of diversity and grief, and symbols of emotional bonds say one thing: society must be made of individual people who coexist in peace, aiding and respecting one another. This message is clearly a valuable truth we must all learn.
Countee Cullen used quite an amount of poetic styles and words such as: “What is Africa to me: Copper sun or scarlet sea, Jungle star or jungle track, Strong bronzed men, or regal black. Women from whose loins I sprang When the birds of Eden sang?” (Doc.A). In these lines, the poet characterized the geographical features of Africa and the mood as well as the people there. Countee used the language of a white man but used it to show African-American
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Cullen was simply an amazing young man who won many poetry contests throughout New York, published two notable volumes of poetry (Color and Copper Sun), received a master’s degree from Harvard University and married the daughter of W.E.B Du Bois, a founder of the NAACP. Cullen grew up in the “heart” of New York since he was an adopted son of Reverend Frederick A. Cullen, minister of the Salem African Methodist Episcopal Church.
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...ites a short 33-line poem that simply shows the barriers between races in the time period when racism was still openly practiced through segregation and discrimination. The poem captures the African American tenant’s frustrations towards the landlord as well as the racism shown by the landlord. The poem is a great illustration of the time period, and it shows how relevant discrimination was in everyday life in the nineteen-forties. It is important for the author to use the selected literary devices to help better illustrate his point. Each literary device in the poem helps exemplify the author’s intent: to increase awareness of the racism in the society in the time period.
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As a follow up on my poetry project, I chose to select Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and Countee Cullen. When I initially wrote on the poets, I was shocked how unaware of them I was. I discovered interesting facts about each poet. Langston Hughes Claude McKay and Countee Cullen were very inspiring during the Harlem Renaissance. I did not know who Countee Cullen was until I did my project and decided to explore his work during the 1920s. It seemed Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes were popular during this time. Langston Hughes was a leader during the Harlem Renaissance. By using poetic examples of Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, and Langston Hughes work, I will describe the feelings and representations of African American during the early 1920s.
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