The Harlem Renaissance Countee Cullen

1. The Harlem RenaissanceCountee Cullen Page 816 2007 COS – 1a; 2 2010 COS – RL.11-12.1; RL.11-12.2; RL.11-12.4; RL.11-12.9; RL.11-12.10; W.11-12.2; W.11-12.4; W.11-12.5; W.11-12.6; W.11-12.10; SL.11-12.1; L.11.12.1; L.11-12.2; L.11-12.3; L.11-12.4; L.11.12-5; L.11-12.6 AHSGE – R.III.3; R.IV.2

2. Harlem Renaissance • Early 1920s • The upsurge in African American cultural expression that took place in Harlem, New York

3. Harlem Renaissance • Featured the blues. • Jazz was just beginning. • Jazz evolved from African American folk music

4. Countee Cullen (p. 818) • Considered himself as a lyric poet in the Romantic tradition, not as a black poet writing about social and racial themes.

5. Literary Terms • Metaphor (p. 819) -- a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without the use of a specific word of comparison • Tableau – a scene or an action stopped cold.

6. “Tableau” (p. 819) • Find examples of metaphor. • Find an example of a simile. • What is the scene described in the poem?

7. Quickwrite (p. 821) • The power of a word to taunt, to criticize, to dehumanize can’t be underestimated. You might be shaken by the offensive word in this poem – imagine how it would affect a child. Before you read “Incident,” quickwrite your response to the poem’s title. Does it suggest something serious, or something relatively minor? How would you react if the title were “Catastrophe”?

8. “Incident” (p. 821) • What was the incident in the poem? • How long was the speaker in Baltimore? • How do you know that the incident was really a major event to the speaker? • Do you believe that events that are minor to one person may be major to another? Explain.

9. Activity • Analyzing Literature • Both poems deal with the subject of racial prejudice. In an essay, compare/contrast the two poems. Focus on how the poems use images, tone, and their individual themes to convey their messages about racial prejudice. Be sure to make specific references to the text.