
What is the meaning of yet do I Marvel?
Yet Do I Marvel. Written By: Yet Do I Marvel, sonnet by Countee Cullen, published in the collection Color in 1925. Reminiscent of the Romantic sonnets of William Wordsworth and William Blake, the poem is concerned with racial identity and injustice.
What is yet do I marvel by Countee Cullen about?
Countee Cullen and a Summary of Yet Do I Marvel. Yet Do I Marvel is a traditional sonnet that deals with the awesome and awful power of God in relation to the challenging lives of humans and animals. God can never truly be understood by the human mind but there is still a need to marvel at how certain things turn out.
Who is Andrew and what is yet do I marvel about?
Andrew has a keen interest in all aspects of poetry and writes extensively on the subject. His poems are published online and in print. Yet Do I Marvel is a traditional sonnet that deals with the awesome and awful power of God in relation to the challenging lives of humans and animals.
Who wrote the song yet do I Marvel?
Countee Cullen, “Yet Do I Marvel” from Color. Copyright 1925 by Harper & Brothers, NY. Renewed 1953 by Ida M. Cullen. Copyrights held by The Amistad Research Center, Tulane University. Administrated by Thompson and Thompson, Brooklyn, NY. Source: My Soul’s High Song: The Collected Writings of Countee Cullen (Anchor Books, 1991)

What is the message of Yet Do I Marvel?
Yet Do I Marvel, sonnet by Countee Cullen, published in the collection Color in 1925. Reminiscent of the Romantic sonnets of William Wordsworth and William Blake, the poem is concerned with racial identity and injustice.
What type of poem is Yet Do I Marvel?
sonnet"Yet Do I Marvel" is a sonnet. There are basically two types of sonnets: the Italian and the English. We'll focus on the English sonnet, since that is the form Cullen uses. This sonnet is fourteen lines long (all sonnets are, traditionally), and employs a regular rhyme scheme.
Why do you think Cullen chose the title Yet Do I Marvel?
By Countee Cullen "Yet Do I Marvel" is like the calling card of the whole poem. "Marveling" is the source of the speaker's inspiration. His wonderment about God leads him to wonder how God could "make a poet black," and yet, this uncertainty about life is what makes up the poem.
What is the tone of Yet Do I Marvel?
However, in the last two lines, Cullen's tone shifts, introduced by the transition "Yet do I marvel." His tone at this point is heavy with frustration and the irony of his situation as a talented black poet.
What is a quatrain in poetry?
A four-line stanza, often with various rhyme schemes, including: -ABAC or ABCB (known as unbounded or ballad quatrain), as in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” or “Sadie and Maud” by Gwendolyn Brooks. -AABB (a double couplet); see A.E. Housman's “To an Athlete Dying Young.”
What is the tone of From The Dark Tower?
The poem is a sonnet that focuses on the injustices of racism, as the speaker notes that white people deprive Black people of the fruits of their labor. However, the speaker—who is Black—is confident that this will not be the case forever, ultimately suggesting that such hardships build strength and resiliency.
What is the White House by Claude McKay about?
Claude McKay's 1922 sonnet "The White House" explores the pain and frustration of living in a racist society. The speaker describes being shut out of a metaphorical "white house" in order to illustrate the way Black Americans are denied the same basic rights and opportunities as white people.
Who wrote from the Dark Tower poem?
Countee CullenCountee Cullen is one of the most representative voices of the Harlem Renaissance. His life story is essentially a tale of youthful exuberance and talent of a star that flashed across the African American firmament and then sank toward the horizon.
What is the theme of the Shroud of color?
In 'The Shroud of Color', Cullen uses this story to emphasise the religious themes linking to his poetry, but also to the feeling of despair and hopelessness, coupling with the idea that he is a ship “unmoored”, or lost at sea; he feels as if he has proven his love to God, yet is still on the path of self-sacrifice, ...
What is an English sonnet?
English sonnets are usually formed by three quatrains (4-line stanzas) followed by a rhyming couplet. A typical Shakespearean rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Other English sonnet styles alter this rhyme scheme somewhat, but the quatrain-quatrain-quatrain-couplet form is consistently used.
What is the theme of the Shroud of Color?
In 'The Shroud of Color', Cullen uses this story to emphasise the religious themes linking to his poetry, but also to the feeling of despair and hopelessness, coupling with the idea that he is a ship “unmoored”, or lost at sea; he feels as if he has proven his love to God, yet is still on the path of self-sacrifice, ...
Who wrote from the Dark Tower poem?
Countee CullenCountee Cullen is one of the most representative voices of the Harlem Renaissance. His life story is essentially a tale of youthful exuberance and talent of a star that flashed across the African American firmament and then sank toward the horizon.
What is the White House by Claude McKay about?
Claude McKay's 1922 sonnet "The White House" explores the pain and frustration of living in a racist society. The speaker describes being shut out of a metaphorical "white house" in order to illustrate the way Black Americans are denied the same basic rights and opportunities as white people.
What is the meaning of the poem "I do not doubt God is good, well-meaning, kind"?
Reminiscent of the Romantic sonnets of William Wordsworth and William Blake, the poem is concerned with racial identity and injustice. The poet ponders the nature of God, stating “I do not doubt God is good, well-meaning, kind.”. While he accepts God’s wisdom in most puzzling matters of life and death, he is confounded by the contradiction ...
What is an encyclopedia editor?
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. ...
Literary Devices
Throughout this poem, the poet makes use of several literary devices. These include but are not limited to:
Detailed Analysis
In the first lines of this poem, the speaker notes that he has no doubt about God’s intentions. He knows that God is “well-meaning.” Although there are many dark things to behold in the world, all in all, God is kind. The speaker also believes that if God chose to, he could explain the nature of his creation.
Similar Poetry
Readers who enjoyed this piece should also consider reading some other Countee Cullen poems. For example:
What Is The Meter of Yet Do I Marvel?
Yet Do I Marvel is a traditional 14 line sonnet with iambic pentameter the dominant meter (metre in British English) and consistent full end rhyme the norm. It is split into an octave (eight lines) and a quatrain (four lines) before the couplet concludes. In this sense it is closer to what is known as the English sonnet in form.
What is the rhyme scheme of the end rhymes?
Rhyme. All of the end rhymes are full and the rhyme scheme is ababcdcdeeffgg. This scheme is traditional up to the last six lines, which are three couplets, fully rhymed. So, for example: kind/bind and why/die are full end rhymes.
When was Countee Cullen's first book published?
Countee Cullen, born in 1903, graduated from New York University in 1923 and had his first book of poems published in 1925 , Color. Being black, he soon got to be a part of the Harlem Renaissance .
Which line doesn't conform to the speech?
So the majority of the lines are steady and have a familiar rhythm, falling then rising, just like in ordinary speech. The line that doesn't conform is line 13 :
Do I Marvel in first person?
Yet Do I Marvel is written from a first person perspective. The speaker expresses from the opening line his faith in the goodness of God, and then attempts to put into context just why it is that God's actions are beyond the understanding of mere mortals. God could explain why the life of the blind mole is such a challenge, ...
Do I marvel?
Yet Do I Marvel is a sonnet that focuses on the essential paradox of a good God's divinely created life on earth and the puzzling challenges that entails. It starts with a positive premise, gives examples that might question, and concludes with a little bit of wonder.
Is God understood by the human mind?
God can never truly be understood by the human mind but there is still a need to marvel at how certain things turn out. Countee Cullen, born in 1903, graduated from New York University in 1923 and had his first book of poems published in 1925, Color. Being black, he soon got to be a part of the Harlem Renaissance .

Countee Cullen and A Summary of 'Yet Do I Marvel'
'Yet Do I Marvel'
- I doubt not God is good, well-meaning, kind, And did He stoop to quibble could tell why The little buried mole continues blind, Why flesh that mirrors Him must some day die, Make plain the reason tortured Tantalus Is baited by the fickle fruit, declare If merely brute caprice dooms Sisyphus To struggle up a never-ending stair. Inscrutable His ways are, and immune To catechis…
Analysis of The Poem
- 'Yet Do I Marvel' is a sonnet that focuses on the essential paradox of a good God's divinely created life on earth and the puzzling challenges that entails. It starts with a positive premise, gives examples that might question, and concludes with a little bit of wonder. The first line introduces the reader to a speaker who is faithful to his God an...
What Is The Meter of The poem?
- 'Yet Do I Marvel' is a traditional 14-line sonnet with iambic pentameter the dominant meter (metre in British English) and consistent full end rhyme as the norm. It is split into an octave (eight lines) and a quatrain (four lines) before the couplet concludes. In this sense, it is closer to what is known as the English sonnet in form.
Sources
- Black Poets of the United States, Jean Wagner, Uni of Illinois, 1973 www.loc.gov/poetry © 2018 Andrew Spacey