Essay on Analysis of Countee Cullens Yet Do I Marvel

Poems and songs may have strength in literary terms, but have you ever wondered what makes them powerful? In this essay, there will be analyzed two poems “The Boy Died in my Alley” and “Daddy”, as well as the song “Firework” in which theme, metaphor, and repetition are the literary devices that make them powerful.

A distinguished sense of hollowness, and darkness is discernable in George Elliot Clarke’s poem “Blank Sonnet”. This poem expresses, the author’s difficult and awkward communication with a lover through a broken relationship. word choice and imagery is imperative to the overall effect and tone of the poem. The usage of an atypical sonnet stylization, broken sentences, forms of metaphors, symbolism, sensory language, and alliteration form strong imagery, and a sense of disconnect. The overall effect leaves the reader with a resonating feeling of emptiness.

“The Roman Baths at Nimes,” a sonnet, has a unique modified structure which resembeles the main purpose of the poem. Originally, a sonnet was structured as “one strong opening statement of eight lines, followed by a resolution to the emotional or intellectual question of the first part of the poem” (Strand 56). The contemporary sonnet comes in two forms, the

In the poem “Unholy sonnet 5,” Mark Jarman shows us a philosophical reflection about what is worth to do in this life based on a repetition of some patters during the poem. The structure of this poem make it a Petrarchan sonnet. This kind of sonnet is composed by two arguments, the first consist on two octaves with a rhyme ABBA and ABBA. Denoting repetition of the words have, hive, mean and men; highlighting these as significant to found sense to the first argument of the sonnet. In a deeper reading of the poem, this first argument is centered in questioning que purpose and meaning of life for human beings, coinciding with the pattern of rhymes and sounds. Following this structure of a Petrarchan sonnet, the second argument is composed by a sestet. This means that the sonnet has a rhyme CDECDE, denoting repetition of the words joy, death and forget; highlighting these as significant to found sense to the second argument of the sonnet. Also, the second argument of the poem centered on a practical analysis of what is worth to do in life (enjoying) before the death, coinciding with the pattern of rhymes and sounds.

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 main word that pops out at me is the word doubt. The poet could have said “I absolutely know God is good” yet he added the word doubt as if he is unsure of what he is saying. The tone pattern of uncertainty continues to be expressed throughout the sonnet. For example, line 2 “And he did stoop to quibble could tell why” and line 4 “Why flesh that reflects him must some day die”. The ending word of line 2 and beginning word of line 4 is the word “why”, which shows again the author questioning God and His ways. That one word ends up rhyming with the word “die” and if you combine those two words in a sentence you get “why die” as if it was another form of a question in disguise. Cullen wraps up what he is saying by repeating the title of the sonnet “Yet Do I Marvel” as if he is still searching for an answer from God which he will never receive, exemplifying of the entire poem which in a whole is about

“Sonnet 43” also grabs the reader’s attention with a question that is later answered. The use of the

In Sonnet XX, the author reveals to the readers that he has a new found love but he finds difficulty in pursuing it. The reader sees the battle the speaker takes on as he contemplates what he should do. The author’s use of personification, conflict, and various poetic devices all come together to show how society can trigger the struggle one faces trying to accept the fact that they cannot be with the person they love. Within the Sonnet, personification is used to bring nature to life and show how she created this human the speaker desires but he cannot have because of societal standards.

The sonnet opens with a statement of uncertainty as the speaker admits, “I’m not sure how to hold my face when I dance” (1). Immediately thereafter, the speaker poses three questions, all of which allude to the contemplative tone of the poem. While these inquiries regard the subject of dance, the speaker also intends for them to be metaphors for the uncertainty he, as a black man, has for his place in society. His questions are rapid-fire, almost probing the audience for answers that may not truly exist. An obvious lack of breaks for these questions to be answered shows that the speaker must believe that they, in fact, have no answers. These first four sentences are crucial in the sonnet’s development, as they provoke thought and contemplation so that the reader’s mind can be in the same place as the speaker.

This sonnet manifest the characterization of a song, written in iambic pentameter that gives a slow rhythm, depicts the dancer’s slow and calm movement that reflects her, anguish and sorrow that is as described in the

During my analysis of the poem “Yet Do I Marvel,” it became evident that the author, Countee Cullen, focuses his discussion on his effort to understand the acts of God. Cullen uses a variety of tones—confusion, anger, and sarcasm—to portray his message. This sonnet from the Harlem Renaissance contains an array of lines of paradoxical nature, as well as several allusions. Through Cullen’s poetry, the reader is presented with both his struggle and his passionate underlying message—the harshness and cruelty towards the African Americans—the reality of racism.

Throughout John Donne’s “Holy Sonnet XIV” and William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 29”, the reader can notice shifts which also contribute to both of the poem’s pleading and wishful tone. While the two structures are indeed different, with Donne having an Italian sonnet and Shakespeare having a Shakespearean sonnet, there are also evident similarities, such as both containing a single word that signifies a major shift. Both poems are also spoken in first person narrative, which engages the reader and makes one feel as though they are also travelling down the same emotional road as the speaker. In Donne’s “Holy Sonnet XIV”, he starts very early on with “Batter my heart”, (1), to set a commanding tone to the poem.

Love becomes something that can be written on the night sky. In the line 11, love is stated as “faery power”. A hyperbole is reflected by a help of metaphor. Not as much as metaphors, but similes are also used in the sonnet. The line 4 “Hold like rich garners the full ripened grain”, compares language to wheat in a grain bin.

In William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” the speaker explores the perfection and immortality of art. In the sonnet the speaker begins by using a metaphor to comparing his love to a summer’s day. He then goes on to discuss why his love is better than a summers day .These comparisons demonstrate the problems the speaker sees in reality. The speaker is able to solve these problems by creating art about his love that is able to immortalize his love.

Call to mind any of the great and famous poets of history and names like Shakespeare, Poe, and Homer might be some of the first to flood our memory. Call to remembrance any of the great and famous poems known to man and titles such as The Iliad, “The Raven”, and “Carpe Diem” might be recalled and admired. Very seldom in our personal lists of famed or admired poets does the name William Cullen Bryant make an appearance, and works of his such as “Thanatopsis” are all but familiar to the average American citizen. Despite this rather unfortunate modern reality, a very longstanding truth remains firm about the late William Cullen Bryant; He was at some point in his time one of the most, if not the most, famous and renowned poets in all of