Read the prompt and then the poem, annotating as you read. Then, respond to the prompt in a fully developed paragraph of 8-10 sentences.

Question

Read the prompt and then the poem, annotating as you read. Then, respond to the prompt in a fully developed paragraph of 8-10 sentences.

What is the theme of Countee Cullen’s “Any Human to Another”? How does Cullen develop this theme, stanza by stanza, through imagery and figurative language?

Any Human to Another
by Countee Cullen

The ills I sorrow at
Not me alone
Like an arrow,
Pierce to the marrow,
Through the fat (5)
And past the bone.

Your grief and mine
Must intertwine
Like sea and river,
Be fused and mingle, (10)
Diverse yet single,
Forever and forever.

Let no man be so proud
And confident,
To think he is allowed (15)
A little tent
Pitched in a meadow
Of sun and shadow
All his little own.

Joy may be shy, unique, (20)
Friendly to a few,
Sorrow never scorned to speak
To any who
Were false or true.

Your every grief (25)
Like a blade
Shining and unsheathed (1)
Must strike me down.
Of bitter aloes (2) wreathed,
My sorrow must be laid (30)
On your head like a crown.

(remembering to cite line numbers when providing textual evidence).

Answer 1

The theme of Countee Cullen's "Any Human to Another" is the interconnectedness of human suffering and empathy. Cullen develops this theme stanza by stanza through imagery and figurative language. In the first stanza, Cullen uses the image of an arrow piercing through to the marrow and past the bone to show how deeply shared sorrows can affect individuals ("Like an arrow, / Pierce to the marrow, / Through the fat / And past the bone" (5)). He then compares grief to the intertwining of the sea and river, showing how diverse yet interconnected human experiences are ("Must intertwine / Like sea and river, / Be fused and mingle, / Diverse yet single" (10)). Cullen uses the metaphor of a tent pitched in a meadow to caution against pride and to emphasize the shared nature of joy and sorrow ("Let no man be so proud / And confident, / To think he is allowed / A little tent / Pitched in a meadow / Of sun and shadow / All his little own" (15)). The poem concludes with the image of grief striking one down like a blade, and the idea that sorrow must be shared, not borne alone ("Your every grief / Like a blade / Shining and unsheathed / Must strike me down. / Of bitter aloes wreathed, / My sorrow must be laid / On your head like a crown" (25-30)). Overall, Cullen's use of vivid imagery and figurative language throughout the poem reinforces the theme of the interconnectedness of human suffering and the necessity of empathy.