Yet Do I Marvel Analysis

Gabrielle Dangler

May 24th, 2012

6th hour

Yet Do I Marvel Analysis

Yet do I Marvel  by Countee Cullen says a lot in a few words. Its message encompasses, not only does its message encompass its author, but all the other Black poets of the Harlem Renaissance. And although this poem does not specifically speak of it, it could be said that Yet Do I Marvel, holds a message about racial discrimination in general. This poem seems to unfold like a riddle whose answer sits upside at the end. Only upon reading the last line can one fully understand just what Countee Cullen is saying with this work. The poem is a puzzle, the last line completing the picture that is the poem.       The beginning, in basic terms says, I’m not dissing god right now, he’s kind and I do not doubt that, but life is pretty friggin cruel. The twelfth line reads, “What awful brain compels his awful hand." A powerful question, for asking why it is that God, a kind being, brings such awful fate is a deep thing that at one time or another we all ask. In reaching the final line it all falls into place. The last line, “To make a poet black, and bid him sing,” is the final clue. It is an uphill battle to be a black poet in a racially segregated world. He is, on a whole saying, I’m not dissing you, or saying you aren’t kind, but to make me a black poet and then ask me to “sing” or be heard is barbaric. Black poets in the Harlem Renaissance were really the first predominant black artists in a way. They were making a statement, trying to be heard. This poem is a testament to the trouble they really have.

        An argument could also be made that this poem stretches beyond just black poets and to the entire black population. Let’s face it, during this era it was harder to be heard as a black artist but even harder to be heard just as a black person. The ordeal and cruelty of this ordeal is the same, both artist and civilian had to fight to be heard in a world where segregation and racism was running rampant.

In conclusion, Yet Do I Marvel is really just one artist complaining about the injustice that was the treatment of black artists. In a way, this poem is even more than the puzzle picture; it could be seen on a universal level. . A true tribute to artists of the Harlem Renaissance, this poem is truly a work to be salvaged through the ravages of time.