PT123.S1.P2.Q13 > Explanation

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Countee Cullen (Countee Leroy Porter, 1903–1946) was one of the foremost poets of the Harlem Renaissance, the movement of African American writers, musicians, and artists centered in the Harlem section of New York City during the 1920s. …

Intro topic · Countee Cullen, important poet of Harlem Renaissance

Beginning with his university years, Cullen strove to establish himself as an author of romantic poetry on abstract, universal topics such as love and death. Believing poetry should consist of "lofty thoughts beautifully expressed," Cullen preferred controlled poetic forms. He used European forms such as sonnets and devices such as quatrains, couplets, and conventional rhyme, and he frequently employed classical allusions and Christian religious imagery, which were most likely the product both of his university education and of his upbringing as the adopted son of a Methodist Episcopal reverend.

Cullen's style · Romantic poetry on abstract, universal topics; controlled, European forms

Some literary critics have praised Cullen's skill at writing European-style verse, finding, for example, in "The Ballad of the Brown Girl" an artful use of diction and a rhythm and sonority that allow him to capture the atmosphere typical of the English ballad form of past centuries. …

Praise for Cullen · Some like Cullen's skill at writing European-style poems

Example poem: The Ballad of the Brown Girl. Captured atmosphere of English ballad.

Others have found Cullen's use of European verse forms and techniques unsuited to treating political or racial themes, such as the themes in "Uncle Jim," in which a young man is told by his uncle of the different experiences of African Americans and whites in United States society, or "Incident," which relates the experience of an eight-year-old child who hears a racial slur. One such critic has complained that Cullen's persona as expressed in his work sometimes seems to vacillate between aesthete and spokesperson for racial issues. …

Critics of Cullen · Don't like use of European forms for political and racial themes

Don't like Cullen going between artist and spokesperson for racial issues.

But Cullen himself rejected this dichotomy, maintaining that his interest in romantic poetry was quite compatible with his concern over racial issues. He drew a distinction between poetry of solely political intent and his own work, which he believed reflected his identity as an African American. As the heartfelt expression of his personality accomplished by means of careful attention to his chosen craft, his work could not help but do so.

Cullen's perspective · Rejected dichotomy between artist and interest in racial issues

Distinguished between purely political poetry and his own work, which wasn't purely political.

Explicit references to racial matters do in fact decline in Cullen's later work, but not because he felt any less passionately about these matters. Rather, Cullen increasingly focused on the religious dimension of his poetry. In "The Black Christ," in which the poet imagines the death and resurrection of a rural African American, and "Heritage," which expresses the tension between the poet's identification with Christian traditions and his desire to stay close to his African heritage, Cullen's thoughts on race were subsumed within what he conceived of as broader and more urgent questions about the suffering and redemption of the soul. Nonetheless, Cullen never abandoned his commitment to the importance of racial issues, reflecting on one occasion that he felt "actuated by a strong sense of race consciousness" that "grows upon me, I find, as I grow older."

Cullen's later work · Focused on universal religious themes

Cullen was still interested and committed in racial themes, even if explicit racial references weren't as common in his later work.

Passage Style

Critique or debate

Spotlight

13.

Which one of the following most accurately describes the organization of the passage?

Question Type

Describe organization

Structure

We should look to our low-res summary to answer this question. In P1, the author introduces Cullen and his poetic style and influences. In P2 she presents the views of various critics and Cullen’s response to those critiques. And in P3, she clarifies some of Cullen’s motivations and interests underlying his work.

Biographical information about Cullen is outlined, his artistic development is traced through several of his poems, and a critical evaluation of his later work is offered.

This gets P2 and P3 wrong. P2 doesn’t trace Cullen’s artistic development; it looks at various critics’ opinions of Cullen’s work, as well as Cullen’s own response to those opinions. And while P3 does look at his later work, it doesn’t give a critical evaluation. It just explains Cullen’s interests and motivations while he produced that later work.

11%

Biographical information about Cullen is outlined, criticism of his use of European verse forms is presented, and the success of this use is evaluated.

P3 isn’t an evaluation of Cullen’s success. It’s a clarification of Cullen’s interests and concerns later in his career.

Biographical information about Cullen is outlined, his approach to writing poetry is described, and the relationship between his poetry and his life is discussed.

This misses most of P2, which presents the opinions of various critics. It also doesn’t really capture P3, which is about how Cullen chose to express certain themes in his later work.

13%

Cullen's approach to poetry is described, certain poems are characterized as his most notable, and a claim about the religious focus of his work is made.

The author doesn’t characterize any poems as “most notable.” She gives examples of a few poems in order to help explain critics’ views in P2 and to illustrate the themes Cullen focused on in P3. But she doesn’t suggest those poems are more notable than any others.

Cullen's approach to poetry is described, differing opinions about the success of his poetry are presented, and thematic developments in his later work are discussed.

This is a good low-res summary of the passage.

69%

PrepTest 123 - Section 1 - Passage 2 - Question 13

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