Your Name here ENGL 2328 Rachel Hebert 2 December 2017 Irony, Writing Style and Structure of Cullen’s “Incident” Presumably the most underrated African American poet of his chance, Countee Cullen is an extremely insubordinate nonconformist themed writer who is tied in with securing the rights and dignity of black individuals and utilizations that very energy to fuel his poetry. In the poem "Incident", Cullen utilizes a blend of rhetorical gadgets which he consolidates into his ironic rhythmic syntax to help underscore to readers the impact of racism had on youngsters living in the early - mid 1900's, a big deal of racism. Written in 1925; Cullen utilized this poem as a route for him to vent his emotions and frustration and educate the uninformed all in the meantime. The poem discusses a youthful African American boy who is energized that he is going to Baltimore and keeping in mind that there he runs over another young man that is his same age and size yet he is white and after that the young man is amazed by an intense and unrefined racial slur. The poem isn't as head as Cullen makes it appears; it is really an ironic poem. The main trace …show more content…
of irony is discovered right on time in the poem ""Now I eight and very small/and he was no whit bigger" (5-6).
A reader would feel that the supremacist harassing would originate from somebody greater than the child in the poem when truth be told it was from somebody his own size; and that is precisely what Cullen is endeavoring to appear, that racism originated
from all ages and occurred between all ranges of ages; a teenager and an adult; an adult and a youngster; anybody. The irony does not stop there; we see another look of it in the last stanza. "And he was no whit bigger"; in the poem mind is spelled WHIT be that as it may, the right spelling of mind is W.I.T and this is no spelling mistake this is really a little pun Cullen uses to help stress his racial theme. Cullen takes the "E" off of white and if it's returned it's "No white-greater". Cullen utilized this figure of speech to demonstrate the mental trickiness that was utilized by white individuals used to influence them to appear to be mentally unrivaled. Not exclusively is the substance of this poem exceptional, yet so is the structure. In the principal stanza the syllables of each line interchange 8 and 6, at that point for whatever is left of the poem exchanges 8 and 7. This one of a kind syllable structure gives the poem a rhythmic under tone of satisfaction, which thusly when it blended with the substance and theme of racism brings out a greater amount of the poem's irony which is one of the primary style centers of this poem. Cullen's motivations of his life and passions are certainly obvious in this poem. Leading the area of the poem was set in Baltimore, MD and albeit a lot of Cullen's initial anecdotal data is shady and vague; Baltimore has said to be one of Cullen's conceivable origination which is implied in the poem; "Once riding in old Baltimore” (1). Another key association is that Cullen lived in a day and age where racism and isolation was an exceptionally well known thought so an incident, for example, the one in the poem jumping out at Cullen is an extremely solid probability. Cullen's interesting writing style and complex syntax that is appeared in his poem Incident is the thing that made him outstanding amongst other writers of his opportunity; and despite the fact that the theme of the poem is as yet a tricky subject for most "Incident" is a poem that has been and will be a poem worth reading for a considerable length of time.
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
The use and repetition of the word “nigger” suggest both physical and psychological boundaries for Griffin, which, of course, also extend to the black population of the mid-twentieth century. In identifying himself with the term, Griffin becomes overwhelmed by its dehumanizing and de-individualizing effect: “I knew I was in hell. Hell could be no more lonely or hopeless, no more agonizingly estranged from the world of order and harmony” (66). Griffin’s internalization of discrimination and his repression as “Other” allows Griffin to convey the “wrong-doing” by the white middle class, forcing a truthful realization of the detrimental effect of racism on the
In Tim Seibles' poem, The Case, he reviews the problematic situations of how white people are naturally born with an unfair privilege. Throughout the poem, he goes into detail about how colored people become uncomfortable when they realize that their skin color is different. Not only does it affect them in an everyday aspect, but also in emotional ways as well. He starts off with stating how white people are beautiful and continues on with how people enjoy their presence. Then he transitions into how people of color actually feel when they encounter a white person. After, he ends with the accusation of the white people in today's world that are still racist and hateful towards people of color.
Countee LeRoy Cullen was one of the leading poets of the Harlem Renaissance. Although there is no real account of his early life, his accomplishments throughout his time was magnificent. During the Harlem Renaissance, he and other writers and poets used their work to empower blacks and talk about the ongoing struggle of blacks. His poem, “Incident”, depicts how overt racism was and how it attacked anyone regardless age or gender.
During his speech he was ignored and laughed at after working so hard and battling to be heard, but once he spoke of equality someone from the crowd became upset. “You sure that about ‘equality’ was a mistake?” (1220). Some are born with access and advantages, but some have to go through hurdles to get what they want. “I spoke automatically and with such fervor that did not realize that the men were still talking and laughing until my dry mouth, filling up with blood from the cut, almost strangled me.” (1219). This places a challenge on the white men in the area that an intelligent black boy who they thought nothing of yet still considered him voiceless and moronic. This chapter alone worked off of a single scene of how the narrator was indeed an invisible man in his youth, not knowing which way to turn, but remembering the words his grandfather said from his deathbed carrying on throughout his years. “Son, after I’m gone I want you to keep up the good fight. I never told you, but our life is a war and I have been a traitor all my born days…” (1211). Neither the culture nor the crowd wanted to accept what was given, doing anything to repress someone from attempting to reach a goal. It is a way to discourage one due to others feeling you aren’t good enough or have the will and drive. The theory applied may help readers see something that we would not see unless we
Countee Cullen was possibly born on May 30, although because of different accounts of the actual date in his early life, a general application of the year of his birth as 1903 is reasonable. He was either born in New York, Baltimore, or Lexington, Kentucky. Although his late wife was convinced that he was born in Lexington. Cullen was possibly abandoned by his mother, and raised by a woman named Mrs. Porter. Mrs. Porter was thought to be his paternal grandmother.
Countee Cullen's poetry illustrates a man who is torn between being born in the African American world, his career as a raceless poetic and dealing with his sexuality during the Harlem Renaissance period. Five of the seven volumes of poetry that bears Cullen's name have, in their titles, a basis for racial themes that comes out in the poetry itself.
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.
In fact, it is clear to the reader that Huggins makes a concerted effort to bring light to both ethnicities’ perspectives. Huggins even argues that their culture is one and the same, “such a seamless web that it is impossible to calibrate the Negro within it or to ravel him from it” (Huggins, 309). Huggins argument is really brought to life through his use of historical evidence found in influential poetry from the time period. When analyzing why African Americans were having an identity crisis he looked to a common place that African American looked to. Africa was a common identifier among the black community for obvious reasons and was where Authors and Artists looked for inspiration. African American artists adopted the simple black silhouette and angular art found in original African pieces. Authors looked to Africa in their poetry. In The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes, the names of rivers in Africa such as the Euphrates, the Congo and the Nile were all used and then the scene switches to the Mississippi river found in America showing that blacks have “seen”, or experienced both. Huggins looks deeply into Countee Cullen’s Heritage discussing “what is Africa to me?” a common identifier that united black artistry in the Harlem Renaissance, “Africa? A book one thumbs listlessly, till slumber comes” (Countee). The black community craved to be a separate society from white Americans so they were forced to go back to the past to find their heritage, before America and white oppression. Huggins finds an amazing variety of evidence within literature of this time period, exposing the raw feelings and emotion behind this intellectual movement. The connections he makes within these pieces of poetry are accurate and strong, supporting his initial thesis
In the poem “White Lies” by Natasha Tretheway the narrator opens the poem with vivid imagery about a bi-racial little girl who is trying to find her true identity between herself and others around her. She tells little lies about being fully white because she feels ashamed and embarrassed of her race and class and is a having a hard time accepting reality. The poem dramatizes the conflict between fitting in and reality. The narrator illustrates this by using a lot imagery, correlations and connotation to display a picture of lies. The narrator’s syntax, tone, irony and figurative language help to organize her conflict and address her mother’s disapproval.
Countee Cullen was deemed one of the most dominate and influential writers of the Harlem Renaissance (Reimherr 22). Cullen was born in 1903, and was raised by Reverend Frederick Cullen and his wife after Countee’s mother died when he was five. Although Cullen grew up in Harlem, he is believed to have actually been born in either Kentucky or Maryland (Haskins 99). With the historical setting the way it was during Cullen’s life, he let the actions of others influence his writing. Due to his personal beliefs, the pressures from his culture, and the racial violence and prejudice that he encountered on a regular basis, Countee Cullen’s writing tended to be about the racial struggles he faced.
The author was born in Washington D.C. on May 1, 1901. Later, he received a bachelor’s degree from Williams College where he studied traditional literature and explored music like Jazz and the Blues; then had gotten his masters at Harvard. The author is a professor of African American English at Harvard University. The author’s writing
An opening remark from Dr. Fonge and Ms. Fonge appreciating the parents and the staff members of the Fonge Academy for working together to achieve a better learning environment. Dr. Fonge giving thanks to his dad for believing, supporting him throughout his journey and for being a great dad. The activities begin with memory verse, in which each student say a couple lines of their chosen verse. Follow along the dance performance of different grade levels, on which one of the group caught my attention because I saw people going near the performance and dropping money off a bucket. The students also showed how good they could broadcast news and debate on weather should parents buy their kids Christmas dresses every Christmas. It was a tough decision
It is relatively easy to see the repression of blacks by whites in the way in which the little black boy speaks and conveys his thoughts. These racial thoughts almost immediately begin the poem, with the little black boy expressing that he is black as if bereaved of light, and the little English child is as white as an angel. The wonderful part of these verses is the fact that the little black boy knows that his soul is white, illustrating that he knows about God and His love.
ten by Himself (1845) Sherman JR: The Black Bard of North Carolina: George Moses Horton and His Poetry Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press (1997) Rice, A: Radical Narratives of the Black Atlantic, Continuum: New York (2003) Sapphire: Black Wings and Blind Angels, Payback Press: Edinburgh (2001) McCarthy K: bittersweet, The Women's Press Ltd (1998) Secondary Sources: www.poets.org.uk (03/05/2004) http://docsouth.unc.edu/hortonlife/horton.htm (04/05/2004) http://www.christian-bookshop.co.uk/free/biogs/cwesley.htm (07/05/2004) http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/audiointerviews/profilepages/angeloum2.shtml (07/05/2004) --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Sherman JR The Black Bard of North Carolina: George Moses Horton and His Poetry Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press (1997)