Countee+Cullen+2

=Countee Cullen=

by Ryan Wedel


Countee Cullen (born Countee LeRoy Porter) was born on May 30th 1903 in New York City. It is believed his parents abandoned him at birth, so he was raised by his grandmother. When his grandmother died in 1908, he was taken in by Reverend Frederick Ashbury Cullen. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School were he served as vice president his junior year and was involved with the school magazine and the Arista Honor Society. After completing high school, he went on to attend New York University and then Harvard University. While in college, many of his works were published in magazines such as //Century Magazine// and //Poetry.// In 1928, he married the daughter of the famous W.E.B. Du Bois, Nina Yolande Du Bois. They divorced after two years, and Countee went on to marry Ida Mae Roberson. On January 9th, 1946, Countee died of uremic poisoning. Some of his most famous work include //A Brown Girl Dead, For A Lady I Know, For A Poet, Fruit of the Flower// and //From the Dark Tower.//

=__Poetry Analysis__=

"A Brown Girl Dead"
With two white roses on her breasts, White candles at head and feet, Dark Madonna of the grave she rests; Lord Death has found her sweet.

Her mother pawned her wedding ring To lay her out in white; She'd be so proud she'd dance and sing to see herself tonight.

=__Analysis __=

This poem is about how beautiful death can be. It is also about how we can celebrate death at a high cost. In the poem, Cullen uses words to describe how this girl looks beautiful, even though she is dead. Being dressed up in white with white roses and white candles all symbolizes peace and tranquility. When people are trying to describe a peaceful scene, they use the color white because it is light and soothing. The girl being dressed in all white really shows that this funeral is not a sad occurrence, but more of a celebration of life by sending off a loved one with nice things and fancy clothes. This poem also symbolizes that people can give up a lot of things in order to have a moment that is just right. In the poem, the mother of the girl pawns her wedding ring just to have enough money for the funeral. They could have easily had a smaller funeral that was affordable, but they wanted the moment to be just right in order for them to honor their daughter's memory.

=__Works Cited __=


 * __http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/countee_cullen/poems/2425__
 * __Emmanuel Nelson, //African American Authors, 1745–1945//. Greenwood, 2000. [|ISBN 0313309108] . __
 * __ Gerard Early. [|"About Countee Cullen's Life and Career"] . Retrieved 2007-02-01 . __
 * __ Asante, Molefi Kete (2002). 100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Amherst, New York. Prometheus Books. [|ISBN 1-57392-963-8] .   __
 * __ <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; url(data: image/png; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #3366bb; padding-right: 13px; text-decoration: none;">[|"Countee Cullen (1903-1946)"] . Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.   __