Countee Cullen: Collected Poems

Countee Cullen: Collected Poems Literary Elements

Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View

Most of Cullen's poems are written from a first-person perspective. The speaker is often characterized by their use of rich imagery and earnest emotionality. Most of these speakers are Black and share a number of qualities with Cullen himself. The consistency of the voice in his work makes it reasonable to assume these speakers are often representative of Cullen himself or at least some of his viewpoints.

Form and Meter

Many of Cullen's poems are written in ballad meter or iambic pentameter. They almost always feature an ABAB rhyme scheme.

Metaphors and Similes

Cullen's poetry heavily features figurative language. In the poem "Tableau," the speaker uses a metaphor to compare an interracial couple to "The golden splendor of the day, / The sable pride of night."

Alliteration and Assonance

Cullen often uses alliteration. In the poem "Heritage," there is alliteration in the S sounds of the line "What is Africa to me: Copper sun or scarlet sea." Assonance does not appear in his poems frequently.

Irony

Most of Cullen's poems are written in a very earnest tone and do not feature much irony.

Genre

Cullen wrote in a range of genres, from love poems to elegies.

Setting

Cullen's poems are often set in cities, though sometimes he refers to farms and rural areas.

Tone

The tone of most of Cullen's poetry is vulnerable and honest.

Protagonist and Antagonist

In much of Cullen's writing the protagonist is a Black individual and the antagonist is some representation, collective or individual, of racism and oppression.

Major Conflict

The major conflict in a number of Cullen's poems derives from a Black individual being afflicted by prejudice and hate.

Climax

The climactic moment in Cullen's poems usually occurs in the penultimate stanza, as the speaker wrestles with a difficult piece of information.

Foreshadowing

The opening lines of the poem, "From the Dark Tower," foreshadow the planting of seeds in the poem's later half.

Understatement

Most of Cullen's poems do not feature understatement.

Allusions

When the narrator claims he is trying to keep his desires in check is between he wants to suggest that be wants to appear civilized. This alludes to the idea that many see the Africans as being people who behave more like animals rather normal members of society.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

Cullen's poems mostly do not feature metonymy or synecdoche.

Personification

In the poem "Saturday's Child," poverty and pain are personified as godparents.

Hyperbole

In "Heritage," there is hyperbole in the description of the "surge and foam and fret" of his blood.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is not prominently featured in Cullen's poetry. There is onomatopoeia in the line "Does the bugle-throated roar."