Countee Cullen's Poems 'Tableau And' Incident

The poems “Tableau” and “Incident” by Countee Cullen are about racism, but both have a different take on it. The African American author wrote in 1900’s , when racism was common and more acceptable. Cullen’s work became more popular during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920’s. Both poems are developed with different writing mechanics to convey a clear message to the reader or audience. Cullen uses figurative language and tone to develop the theme in each text.

Countee Cullen’s most notable poem is “Heritage”. This poem was written at the high-point of Cullen’s career and smack in the middle of the Harlem Renaissance in 1925, while Cullen attended Harvard. “Heritage” focuses on the “loss of identity” Cullen faced because he had no understanding or experience of African Culture, since he was raised in a primarily white, Christian environment. Throughout the poem, he asks the question, “What is Africa to me?”, especially in the first stanza, “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?/ One three centuries removed/ From the scenes his fathers loved, /Spicy grove,

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.

Countee Cullen uses alliteration, rhyming, irony, and connotation to expand on the seriousness of how African Americans were being preserved and how important parenting is. In the poem the Incident written in the 1925. The in the poem Incident is clearly is about a young boy who learns that word and how to use it from the adults in his life. In the end, the poem makes the reader feel upset about the discrimination. The poem Incident starts with eight year old Cullen's viewpoint.

The two poems have a similar structure, however, their rhyme schemes have suggestive tones towards their people and their structure reflects

In the “Introduction” to the book, My soul’s High Song: The Collected Writings of Countee Cullen, Voice of the Harlem Renaissance, there is a sense that the Black community is at odds with the role of the Black literary(artist). On one hand , Countee Cullen the Black artist should not limit their works to racial matters. They should expand their works. Cullen wanted blacks to create a colorless works using white traditions. In the eyes of Cullen Blacks did not have good foundation in literature or in their history to redefine themselves. By embracing with tradition in their art forms Blacks will gain access to white America. Still, Cullen was fully aware of the racial prejudices in the United States. He does not however portray the all aspects of black live in his works. It tends to pick and chose the moments at will make the talented ten and whites happy. At least this is the way Wallace Thurman and Langston Hughes sees him.

To begin with both poets illustrate their strong and seemingly passionate ideas about apartheid and bigotry towards their particular culture. Despite being conveyed differently as regards of techniques and tones it is clear that the themes are very similar as they both poem represent their feelings towards their culture.

While reading Tableau by Countee Cullen, the first thing that got my attention about this poem’s language is you can interpret it in two ways. It can be seen as races uniting but also as homosexuals coming forward in the 1920’s. For this paper the focus will be two very distinctive races coming together, even if the community does not approve it. The overall theme of this poem would be comparing races when bonds are formed in a segregated community. Back then everything was divided for whites and blacks, for instances schools, jobs, even water fountains. There were streets where blacks lived and then the street where whites lived on and no one dared to break the rules. Although they were not set law saying they must have differences, it had become the norm for them. The society itself know there would be consequences for breaking such norms.

The main similarity between the two poems is their style. Both pieces are written as villanelles: nineteen line poems which alternate repeating the first and third line of the poem

The first part of the story being the spider and the second being the speaker’s soul, which is compared back to the spider at the end. Although there are major differences in how the two poems reveal symbolism there are some similarities. They both use an object, or objects, to indicate meaning of the poems. They also both use a speaker that is a bystander. While they take place in divergent settings, they both have a dark and ironic feeling.

Considering that these two poems are written by the same author, there are both similarities and differences within the two poems. There aren’t very many similarities within the two poems but there also aren’t very many differences either. Some similarities in these poems are the theme of death and hurt ego. While the difference with the poems is who the speaker is talking to.

As a result, both poems depict metaphors of differing potencies to illustrate the common theme of racism, with Angelou’s examples being of more clarity and

Ultimately, these poems are very similar in their messages and views on

The poems by both Hughes and Cullen use the first person in speaking. In Hughes’ poem in particular, the use of first person serves to connote individualism and strength. Through the use of words such as “I,” “you,” and “them,” the speaker is able to highlight the differences between himself and his instructor. Similarly, he is also able to identify the way in which Harlem has become apart of his first person narrative. Conversely, “I” is used within Cullen’s poem so that the audience can feel a more personal connection with the speaker, which, subsequently, allows them to empathize with the speaker. The author does this intentionally in order to underscore that the audience should be feeling compassionate, despite any preconceived racial prejudice. As the word “nigger” is left to conclude the second stanza, the audience is left with an uneasy feeling. At this point, there is a shift in tone and the speaker’s use of first person becomes more specific in

The name Countee Cullen is one I am vaguely familiar with. I wasn’t sure why until I read the poem “Incident”. I can remember reading this poem long ago. I think so far it is one of the only poems we have been assigned to read, that I had some previous knowledge of. The poem is short and sweet at only three stanzas long; but what it lacks in length it makes up for in its striking impact. Just one word and that is all it takes to influence a child forever. What I really like about this poem is its utter proof that words matter. Once they are put out into the open, they cannot be taken back.