The lyric in the poem The Incident is a great example. A lyric, a short poem that conveys the writer’s thoughts and emotions through short stanzas is a lyric. The poem is a three-part rhyme. Cullen uses the poetic reader to address the discrimination and racism between blacks in America. This poem was chosen by me to write because it’s one that many people can identify with. It also reflects the struggles of blacks and whites for equality and discrimination. Despite the many improvements made over the years, our country still has a lot of work ahead. It is important to recognize that discrimination against the poor and people of color continues to occur every day.
The speaker opens the first verse by describing what happened. These lines suggest that the speaker may be referring to Baltimore City. Baltimore was very segregated at this time. There were different blocks for black and white neighborhoods. He seems happy at that time, however, the speaker says. He then explains that he was riding a bicycle down the streets of Baltimore, something many children do. This stanza concentrates on how happy the speaker was. This is how he describes himself and his friend. It doesn’t give you any indication of the differences in their race. It is only until the next line that he says, “And as I smiled. But he poked through // His tongue. And he called me, ‘Nigger.’” This allows one to assume that both boys are of different races. You can infer that the speaker is an African American boy while the other person is white. This is the most crucial stanza in the poem. It has an impact on how the poem ends. He was having a wonderful time, until another boy made discriminatory remarks that ruined his entire trip to Baltimore.
After describing the consequences of the encounter with the boy in white, the lines read: “From May through December; / Out all the events that took place there / That’s what I remember.” The boy’s comment influenced his memories of Baltimore. He moved from the first paragraph describing his happiness walking down Baltimore’s streets to the last, emphasizing how upset he had been by the boy. The poem’s tone is very dark and sad. In the beginning, there is a happy child. But in the end, there is a sad kid. The speaker does an excellent job of describing this tone throughout the whole poem. You can almost imagine yourself there.
Many people can relate because discrimination is still a major problem in our society today. The poem was titled The Incident by the author to emphasize the darker tone it portrays. One incident can transform a person’s perception of another person or place. Countee Curlen did a wonderful job of allowing his readers to feel the same emotions as if they were experiencing. His writing made people more open to the possibility of empathy with discrimination victims.
