More on Countee Cullen's "Heritage"

Today, we concluded that, in "Heritage," Cullen explores the tension he feels between his Christian values and African heritage. This tension manifests itself in the poem's:

• Structure (rhyme scheme, stanza division, line breaks, line length, spacing) -- Example: rhyming couplets
• Syntax --Example: “What is Africa to me?”
• Word choice (connotations, double-meanings, puns, slang) – Example: “So I lie,” adjectives: “strong” (4) “regal” (4), “barbaric” (13).
• Sound - alliteration: “sun or scarlet sea” (2), barbaric birds,” “cats crouching” (34, 35), Repetition: “What is Africa to me?” and “So I lie,” the “unremittent beat” (66)
• Imagery/figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification): biblical throughout, “like a baited worm” (78)

Homework for Monday: In about one page, compare/contrast "Heritage" to either Phillis Wheatley's "On Being Brought From Africa to America" or Hughes's "The Negro Speaks of Rivers." Consider their similarities (both in terms of content and form) and their differences. It might be helpful to list the formal constructs by category for Wheatley's poem or Hughes's poem (as we did with "Heritage), to better indentify potential intersections.

Please also read the section on "Nature and Time" (11-14) and the first three poems on the syllabus for Week 4 (Bishop, Blake, and Whitman).