(From an assigned discussion forum comparing Countee Cullen's "Heritage" and T. S. Eliot's "Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.")
For me, the most immediately noticeable literary element that these two poems share is their use of repetition and questions. Cullen’s poem has the obvious italicized section that is repeated, and he also asks questions, both within the italics (What is Africa to me?, most notably) and in several other places. Eliot repeats the phrases “how should I presume?” and “do I dare?” among others, and also asks many questions. Additionally, these two both display a very scattered, almost disjointed style, changing focus and subject within their poems with amazing abruptness. Eliot goes from talking about dining utensils to perfume to eating a peach to trousers to mermaids etc…. In much the same way, Cullen goes from the human body to jungle animals to Christianity. Also, I find their presentation similar in regards to intended audience. I could imagine both of these poems as silently formed in the speakers’ heads: it could even be argued that they’re not necessarily intended to be presented to an audience.
Also, just for what it’s worth, I want note that the concept of comparing these two poems side by side is not a new one: I actually found an analysis of the Cullen poem by critic David Kirby in which he calls Heritage a “black version of Waste Land.” But asking which poem feels more “American?” That feels like a copout to me… Cullen’s poem literally refers to Africa, but is American to me in its composition. I find it difficult to quantify the tone I get from Heritage, but it kind of feels like a young, modern African-American is searching for his roots and contemplating his place in the world through the text. Eliot’s poem also features a narrator who doubts himself and is searching his mind for some answers, but it doesn’t necessarily strike me as more “American” or “modern” than Heritage.
Asking which poem is more "American" is also a way of asking you to think about what "American" is. All Americans, except for American Indians, hail from somewhere else . . .
ReplyDeleteMore to the point here, we've got two speakers trying to figure out who they are in light of their histories, their social obligations, their imaginations. They have the freedom to ask these questions and to contemplate how they will relate to the expectations that they feel have been placed upon them. Clearly, Cullen doesn't feel connected to Africa--except through metaphor, what he's learned through second-hand sources, and he's wondering whether and how much he will identify with that representation of Africa. Prufrock has read the "great books" and lives in a city where "the women come and go/ talking of Michelangelo." He wonders what the role of the imagination is in a world that already seems so fully created and determined. The speakers are a lot alike, in many ways, and both live in the place where one is allowed to ask about one's relation to the past--but changing society's expectations is much harder.
It's interesting that there was a published comparison of the two poems. They are both very similar in several ways and it is an interesting thought that "Heritage" is a "black version" of Eliot's "Waste Land." You can see the different influences on black writers versus white writers.
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