Analysis of “Yet I Do Marvel” by Countee Cullen

Imagery is a key aspect of this poem. The poem is about racism, and when the author speaks of a buried mole digging in the soil, it is because it is easier for a reader to visualize this image rather than the concept of racism. Both situations are accompanied by the feeling of perseverance even when it is hard to see the rewards of the work being done. By taking a large, hard to envision idea and replacing it with an incident that is smaller in scale yet identical in the emotional repercussions, the reader can better grasp large concepts and complicated emotions.

The rhyme scheme in this poem is very unique. It starts out with a true rhyme scheme of ABABCDCD, but by the ninth line, the scheme changes to EEFFGG. Because the poem is technically a single stanza, the full rhyme scheme would be ABABCDCDEEFFGG. This change in pattern is very sophisticated, because rhyming helps to make things more lyrical and memorable, while the change in routine makes sure that the poem does not sound cliché. This method also gives to author more freedom of word choice while still adding structure to the poem. In this poem, there is also a fair amount of alliteration, marked by examples such as “God is good,” “fickle fruit,” “black, and bid,” which all help to make sure that the poem sounds melodic. This smooth delivery of the poem helps to add a cohesive binding to it.

A large part of the body of the poem is made up of allusions. While the references to God may not be strictly allusions, it is important to note that the author is referring to the Christian god, as demonstrated in line four (a belief in Christianity is that humans were made in God's image) and in the reference to the catechism. There are also references the two characters in Greek mythology, Tantalus and Sisyphus. The fact that all of these allusions mark struggles that have the same emotional scope as do struggles with racism means that they could also be interpreted as metaphors for the struggles the Black community has to deal with, especially concerning self-expression, as stated in the final line of the poem.