Mr. Gershman/Ms. Arsenault
ILA 9 Honors
Max Vido
11/9/08
“Any Human to Another”
Understood and Explained
The ills I sorrow at
Not me alone
Like an arrow,
Pierce to the marrow,
Through the fat
And past the bone
Your grief and mine
Must intertwine
Like sea and river,
Be fused and mingle,
Diverse yet single,
Forever and forever.
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.
Joy may be shy, unique,
Friendly to a few,
Sorrow never scorned to speak
To any who
Were false or true.
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.
Many people in the United States have not experienced living in a community
fifteen to twenty blocks long. In the 1920’s Harlem sustained this description and
claimed the largest concentration of African Americans in the United States. With the
upbeat atmosphere the literary community was at its height. Among the eminent figures
of the Harlem Renaissance was Countee Cullen, a poet striving for racial equity. In 1935,
Cullen wrote a poem titled “Any Human to Another”. Within the poem, Cullen describes
sorrow as a common aspect of life. The elaborate writing as well as the rhyme scheme of
this poem enhances the meaning for the reader. While there is no obvious race that “Any
Human to Another” was written for, it is implied that Countee Cullen wrote the poem for
the Harlem community. “Any Human to Another”, stresses equality and self-identity
which is expressed through language that universally speaks to humanity.
Throughout the Harlem Renaissance the issue of racial identity often arose.
African Americans were beginning to realize there powerful position in their community.
This consciousness was followed by great productivity in the areas of writing, art, and
music. Countee Cullen incorporated his sense of racial idenitity in many of his poetry
works, but especially in the poem, “Any Human to Another”. A notable stanza in the
poem writes, “Your grief and mine must intertwine like sea and river be fused and
mingle, diverse yet single, forever and forever” (Cullen). From this line it is
understandable that the speaker is describing identity. He states the words, “diverse yet
single” (Cullen), explaining how the human race identifies themselves as human beings
yet individuals at the same time. When talking about civil rights, this theme can be
associated. While people usually describe themselves for their unique characteristics,
talents, and body features, sometimes forgotten is the feature shared both globally and
indefinitely (Wasley 5). Everyone is a human being. Connected with the Harlem
Renaissance, this theme makes it quite apparent how African Americans felt about
prejudice. With African Americans sharing their humanity with whites, they found it
tough to understand the other races’ motivation for segregation.
The Harlem Renaissance was a splendid awakening of African American writing
which stressed equality. Incorporated with the upsurge, was writing that spoke equal
rights along with sorrows suffered by blacks. In Countee Cullen’s poem, “Any Human to
Another”, these themes are presented. Cullen writes, “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” (Cullen). From these lines Cullen conveys the image of a man avoiding
sorrow. Rightfully, a man avoiding the pain of others is not fulfilling his spot in society.
Cullen speaks for the social minority in this poem who may not have experienced joy like
a privileged man (“Any Human to Another”3). With this context being written in the
time period of the Harlem Renaissance, one can understand the connection with civil
rights. A person avoiding the pain in society is not being fair to their human race.
During the Harlem Renaissance blacks were suffering while whites did little to help their
cause. Their disregard for other human beings in society can relate to the words written
in Countee Cullen’s poem, “Any Human to Another”.
A quality that Countee Cullen possessed in most of his writings was his ability to
create a universal language. Countee Cullen strived for African American writing to be
less racial, but language that spoke to every culture in America, which could lead to an
increased appreciation of the poem. Even though Countee Cullen struggled with his own
goal, he did manage to achieve this principal technique in the poem, “Any Human to
Another”. From the title alone, the reader can understand Cullen’s attempt of achieving
his goal. “Any Human to Another,” meaning humans suffering world wide despite
unique differences. In the context of the poem Cullen never states a specific culture or
race to connect his themes to. It is implied by the author that “Any Human to Another”
was written to depict racial unfairness in the African American community. Most likely,
this stems from Cullen’s previous brushes with racial writing. Yet, Cullen’s main goal
was to be a poet who was judged by his words, rather than the color of his skin (Wasley
6). His figurative language helped considerably to achieve his goal. In “Any Human to
Another”, Cullen uses a simile in the following stanza, “Your grief and mine must
intertwine like sea and river be fused and mingle, diverse yet single, forever and forever”
(Cullen). A river is a single body of water that then fuses into a sea of vast waters. This
stanza helps demonstrate how his themes were for all humanity, which is represented by
the diverse waters of the sea (“Any Human to Another” 2). Cullen’s writing was never
intended to focus on one race, but to include all races in order to promote the bridge of
the literary communities.
After reading the poem, “Any Human to Another”, understanding of the Harlem
Renaissance is greatly improved. While it is already understood that the Harlem
Renaissance was a time period which reflected an advance in racial identity and creative
writing, the universal language present was not clearly presented by the Harlem poets.
From the context of “Any Human to Another”, one can understand the wish to have a
common literary language. It is also easy to draw inferences from the poem that connects
Countee Cullen’s life to the Harlem Renaissance. Being African American in the 1920’s,
Countee Cullen writes as a poet stressing racial identity and equality which was being
discovered in Harlem at the time. Yet, the ability to be racially equal in his writing has
made Countee Cullen a world renowned poet. The Harlem Renaissance required a writer
to ignore racial remarks in their writing, and Countee Cullen achieved this significant
principle in the poem “Any Human to Another”.
Works Cited
“Any Human to Another.” Poetry for Students. Ed. Marie Napierkowski and Mary Ruby.
Vol. 3. Detroit: Thomas Gale, 1998. 1-14. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale.
Springfield Township High School. 11 Nov. 2008 <http://infotrac.galegroup.com/
itweb/?db=GVRL>.
Wasley, Aidan. “Critical Overview.” Poetry for Students. Ed. Marie Napierkowski and
Mary Ruby. Vol. 3. Detroit: Thomas Gale, 1998. 5-7. Gale Virtual Reference
Library. Gale. Springfield Township HIgh School. 11 Nov. 2008
<http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/?db=GVRL>.