(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Literary Analysis of Incident - Countee Cullen

            The poem that I chose to analyze is titled Incident written by Countee Cullen. I chose this poem because in so little words it says so much. It conveys so much feeling and emotion. Incident was written in the 1920's at a time when people of color were greatly discriminated against. Many public places like schools and restaurants were segregated. Through the experience of an eight-year-old boy Cullen illustrates some of the things black people encountered during that time period.
             The character in this poem begins his trip to Baltimore full of joy and excitement. He sees a boy from Baltimore about his age staring at him. Thinking he could possibly make a friend he smiled, but was totally unprepared for the boy's reaction. Instead of a friendly gesture in return the boy stuck out his tongue and called him a "nigger." As you could imagine the boy's feelings were hurt. Out of all the things he experienced during his seven month stay in Baltimore that dreadful incident was the most memorable for him.
             After reading that poem I felt sympathy for the young boy and mad at the "Baltimorean" for being so cruel. This poem appealed to my emotions and moved me. It was a shame that someone at his tender age of eight had to encounter such discrimination. The boy's innocence and naive ness is what makes readers feel sorry for him. I think that is why Cullen chose to make the character in his poem so young. If the boy had been a grown man instead I don't think his readers would have had the same reaction because in that time period that incident was nothing out of the ordinary. It was common to hear of a black man experiencing that kind of discrimination and things far worse like lynching.
             Cullen chose an interesting method to write about the topic of racial discrimination. His choice of words and rhythm is not what I would expect for such a serious topic. The rhythm of the poem is almost like a nursery rhyme.


Essays Related to Literary Analysis of Incident - Countee Cullen

1. Countee Cullen and the Harlem Renaissance

Countee Cullen was born Countee Leroy Porter on May 30,1903 in Louisville Kentucky and later raised by his grandmother in New York City. ... This specifically encouraged him to pursue a literary career. ... ("Countee Cullen" 1) When he finally returned to New York City he began teaching in the public school system. ... (Estell 824) Countee Cullen like many other artists during the Harlem Renaissance had a major impact because he like others contributed to every aspect of it. ... (Cayne 210) Countee Cullen and many of the other artists during the Harlem Renaissance differed because he thoug...

  • Word Count: 1342
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Incident

The poem "Incident," by Countee Cullen, is one that could be described as a piece of Lyric Poetry. ... Cullen ends this poem with," Of all the things that happened there/ That's all that I remember/. ... Cullen is giving us a message in the poem, one that is well known already racism. ... Cullen describes the events so that the reader can fall into the character in the poem. ... Again "Incident" is primarily discussing the issue of racism in our lives. ...

  • Word Count: 676
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Explication of Countee Cullen*s Yet do I Marvel

Explication of Countee Cullen*s "Yet Do I Marvel" In the poem "Yet Do I Marvel," Countee Cullen makes it clear in his opening line of, "I doubt not God is good, well-meaning, kind," that he believes in a god that cares for his followers and protects his loyal servants. ... In lines five to eight, ("Make plain the reason tortured Tantalus is baited by the fickle fruit, declare if merely brute caprice dooms Sisyphus to struggle up a never-ending stair."), Cullen uses symbolism by speaking of characters form Greek mythology who were made to suffer through tedious torture for eternity to rep...

  • Word Count: 337
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. Harlem Renaissance

In Countee Cullen's Incident, he is recalling an incident in Baltimore when he was called a racial term. ... Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, and Claude McKay all influenced me as an aspiring writer. Countee Cullen didn't always write political poems or prose. ...

  • Word Count: 258
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: High School

5. african-american poetry

The Harlem Renaissance, as the name given to this whole bunch of artistic and literary revivals, is believed to have begun in 1923 with Jean Toomer's novel Cane. Besides Toomer, some of the important writers of the time can be listed as Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Claude McKay. ... Countee Cullen's "Incident" is another striking one in terms of how it makes the reader feel. ...

  • Word Count: 750
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

6. INNOCENCE AND EXPERIENCE

Countee Cullen wrote a poem called "Incident", about an experience he had early in his life. In the poem, Cullen describes his trip to Baltimore. ... There were many events that occurred during his trip, but the only incident he remembers is the one that shattered that innocence and made him experienced. ... In some of the incidents all I remember is the bad that happened and not the good. ... This incident is one of the few things I remember about the second grade, although I ran into my teacher a few years ago and she told me several things I didn't recall. ...

  • Word Count: 550
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Color Blind

Countee Cullen (1903-1948) tells a poignant story in a form of a rhyme poem, "Incident,"" that gives the reader compassion of an eight-year-old African boy. ... Countee Cullen enlightens us in his heartrending rhyme verses an "Incident- that he confronted as being an African American - "Nigger."" ... Cullen tells the story of little boys and not adult people; "a Baltimorean poked out his tongue, and called me, "Nigger."" ... Besides, Cullen has a similar fazade that is comparable to Dunbar's mask. ... Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote "We Wear the Mask- to point out the oppression of African Ame...

  • Word Count: 1162
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

8. Poem Analysis On "Tableau (For Donald Duff)"

The poem Tableau (for Donald Duff) written by Countee Cullen, shows the friendship of two young boys, one black and the other one white as they walk down the street "locked arm in arm" (line 1). ... Cullen wrote this poem as an iambic tetrameter. ... Cullen's use of imagery adds color and life to the poem. ... Cullen talks about the white boy being "the golden splendor of the day" (line3) and the black boy being "the sable pride of night" (line 4). ... The way Cullen expresses the two boys friendship as "That lightening" shows the relationship the boys have together is strong an...

  • Word Count: 538
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Writers speak out

Several authors such as Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, and Countee Cullen confronted this situation of the incomplete American dream with literature that proposed the irony of its society. ... Last but not least, there was Countee Cullen. Cullen was focused on black equality; however, he was most interested in succeeding in the white dominated field of literature. ...

  • Word Count: 548
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question