Yet Do I Marvel Flashcards
by Countee Cullen — tap or click to flip
Flashcard Review
Flashcards: Yet Do I Marvel
What type of sonnet is "Yet Do I Marvel"?
A Shakespearean (English) sonnet with the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
What is the famous final couplet of "Yet Do I Marvel"?
"Yet do I marvel at this curious thing: / To make a poet black, and bid him sing!"
Who is Tantalus in Greek mythology, as referenced in the poem?
A figure condemned to stand in water beneath fruit trees, but the water recedes and fruit withdraws whenever he reaches for them.
Who is Sisyphus in Greek mythology, as referenced in the poem?
A figure condemned to roll a boulder up a hill for eternity, only to watch it roll back down each time.
What does "inscrutable" mean in the context of the poem?
Impossible to understand or interpret -- describing God's ways as beyond human comprehension.
What does "catechism" refer to in the poem?
A set of questions and answers used for religious instruction -- Cullen says God's ways are immune to such questioning.
What does "awful" mean in "What awful brain compels His awful hand"?
Awe-inspiring or filled with awe (the older meaning), not the modern sense of "terrible."
What is the central paradox of "Yet Do I Marvel"?
That God, who is supposedly good, would give a Black person the gift and compulsion to create poetry in a world that denies Black humanity.
Why does the speaker begin by listing examples of divine mystery?
To build toward the final couplet, where he presents the existence of a Black poet as the greatest and most personal mystery of all.
What does the speaker profess about God in the opening line?
That God is "good, well-meaning, kind" -- faith that is then complicated by the poem's questioning.
Why is the mole mentioned in the poem?
As an example of divine mystery -- why would a good God create a creature that is born blind and lives underground?
What does "flesh that mirrors Him must some day die" refer to?
Human mortality -- why would God create humans in His image only to have them die?
How does Cullen use classical mythology in the poem?
He references Tantalus and Sisyphus as examples of inexplicable divine cruelty, paralleling the suffering of being a Black poet.
What literary movement is "Yet Do I Marvel" associated with?
The Harlem Renaissance.
In what collection was "Yet Do I Marvel" published?
Color (1925), Countee Cullen's debut collection.
What is the volta (turn) of this sonnet?
The final couplet, which shifts from abstract theological questioning to the personal, racial dimension of the speaker's experience.
What is ironic about Cullen writing in traditional European sonnet form?
He demonstrates mastery of the Western poetic tradition while using it to challenge the racial assumptions embedded in that tradition.
What tone does the speaker maintain through most of the poem?
Measured and philosophical acceptance of divine mystery, shifting to astonished wonder in the final couplet.
What does "bid him sing" mean in the final line?
God gave the Black poet both the talent and the compulsion to create art, even in a world hostile to his existence.
How does "Yet Do I Marvel" reflect Cullen's artistic philosophy?
It embodies his belief that mastering traditional forms was itself a form of racial achievement, while the content directly confronts racial paradox.
What does "fickle fruit" refer to?
The fruit that tempts Tantalus but withdraws whenever he reaches for it -- symbolizing unattainable desire.
What does "brute caprice" mean in the poem?
Cruel, arbitrary whim -- questioning whether Sisyphus's punishment is merely the result of God's random cruelty.