Heritage-Countee Cullen

Heritage by Countee Cullen is a poem that describes Cullen’s love for Africa. Ultimately, Cullen thought he moved on from Africa when he came to America and was converted to Christianity, but in reality he finds that his love for Africa is still burning deep inside him.

Cullen’s first stanza addresses what Africa is to him:  a beautiful place with “copper sun” and “strong bronzed men.” He even compares Africa to Eden.

In the second stanza, Cullen talks about how he puts his thumbs in his ears and the thumping sound his blood makes reminds him of drumbeats he heard in Africa. He goes on to say that his African blood might “burst” out of him. This shows how much pride Cullen has in Africa. It’s almost like he has to suppress his love.

I like the third stanza. To many people, myself included, Africa is simply a place you read about. Yet, to Cullen, it is so much more. He speaks of all of the wildlife, including bats and lions. I was a little confused about the “silver snakes.” Are they scarves? Or possibly cocoons?

Cullen continues on in the fifth stanza to voice his displeasure about Africa being invaded, modernized, and civilized. The people with “padded feet” make “jungle tracks.” Essentially, people are coming and disturbing the natural environment, making roads and paths that Cullen feels shouldn’t be there. In the same stanza, what is the significance of the rain making Cullen want to do the “Lover’s Dance?”

Next, Cullen goes on to talk about his religion. Cullen states that, “With my mouth thus, in my heart/Do I play a double part.” Although he is a converted Christian, Cullen still believes in African gods. Cullen’s main problem with Christianity is that God is accepted as a white man. We all have this stereotypical assumption that God is white, but who really knows? This reminded me of the book, The Shack. If you’ve never read it, I highly recommend it. In the book, a man meets God in a shack. God is actually in the form of a large black woman. Eventually you learn that God can take on any form. I think God can be whatever color, size, shape, etc. that you want him to be. People shouldn’t get so caught up in deciding what God looks like because that is beside the point of religion.