From the Dark Tower Analysis - Literary devices and Poetic devices

From the Dark Tower

By Countee Cullen

We shall not always plant while others reap
The golden increment of bursting fruit,
Not always countenance, abject and mute,
That lesser men should hold their brothers cheap;
Not everlastingly while others sleep
Shall we beguile their limbs with mellow flute,
Not always bend to some more subtle brute;
We were not made to eternally weep.

The night whose sable breast relieves the stark,
White stars is no less lovely being dark,
And there are buds that cannot bloom at all
In light, but crumple, piteous, and fall;
So in the dark we hide the heart that bleeds,
And wait, and tend our agonizing seeds.

Summary of From the Dark Tower

Popularity of “From the Dark Tower”: This poem “From the Dark Tower” by Countee Cullen, a Harlem Renaissance icon and a great African American writer, first appeared in 1927. It was published in his collection, Copper Sun, which strangely has the same African American connotations. The sonnet shows the injustice and barbarism meted out to the African Americans and the voice of awakening that creeps slowly into the community. The popularity of the poem lies in its anti-racism stance.
“From the Dark Tower” As a Representative of Racial Discrimination: The speaker of the poem, who happens to be the poet himself, states that the future would be different from what it is now for them. They would not always be doing hard work to feed, comfort, and serve others. They would not tolerate misbehavior, inferior treatment, and rudeness. He vows that they will not tolerate suffering for long. In fact, he sees the silver linings and states that the darkness would not always prevail and wilderness would not continue beguiling them. They would fight and defeat these forces to end oppression and overcome these anti-racial policies. The poet urges his people to rise up against this injustice and end this darkness of barbarism.
Major Themes in “From the Dark Tower”: Hope of good days, anti-racism, and injustice are three major thematic strands of this sonnet “From the Dark Tower.” The sonnet shows its theme of hope through the first four quatrains stating that the days when they would be bowing down to injustice and serving others like servants are numbered. They would not be doing the same for ages what they have been doing since time immemorial. They want to end this anti-racism injustice. He is of the view that this oppression is going to end. Cullen clearly states that they would not sing and play flutes for others forever. In fact, they are tending the seeds that would germinate to end this injustice of oppression, and flowers from these seeds are going to blossom shortly. The sonnet shows that the Harlem Renaissance, whose product the poet was, was going to demonstrate its impact against racism.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in From the Dark Tower

Countee Cullen has woven literary devices into his sonnet in such a way that they have enhanced its impact. Some of the major literary devices used in this poem are as follows.

Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ in “We shall not always plant while others reap” and the sound of /o/ in “That lesser men should hold their brothers cheap.”
Alliteration: It means the use of initial consonant sounds in two or more successive words. The poem shows the use of the consonant sounds of /l/ in “less lovely.”
Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /t/ in “Not always countenance, abject and mute” and the sound of /s/ in “The night whose sable breast relieves the stark.”
Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;

And there are buds that cannot bloom at all
In light, but crumple, piteous, and fall;
So in the dark we hide the heart that bleeds,
And wait, and tend our agonizing seeds.

Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Countee Cullen has used imagery in this poem, such as “The night whose sable breast relieves the stark”, “In light, but crumple, piteous, and fall;” and “So in the dark we hide the heart that bleeds.”
Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet has used extended metaphors of plants, seeds, and flowers to show the rebellion against racial discrimination. There is another beautiful metaphor of night presented as a woman.
Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as fruits, seeds, flowers, hearts, and darkness to present racial injustice against the African American community.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in From The Dark Tower

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

Diction and Tone: Diction means the type of language and tone means the voice of the text. This poem shows formal and poetic diction but the tone is mournful and reassuring.
End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Countee Cullen has used end rhyme in this poem such as reap/cheap and fruit/mute.
Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.
Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows the ABBAABBA rhyme scheme in its octave and CCDDFF in its sestet.
It is a fourteen-lined poem. This poem is a sonnet as it has fourteen verses in it.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines are useful to quote when talking about the resolution to end injustice.