Self-assessment

Self-Assessment
Explicating Countee Cullen’s Incident was a quite interesting, and very enlightening, endeavor. Although the poem was quite simple and straightforward, it takes a lot of imagination to make sense of the narrative. Although it is easy to understand, the sentiments or emotions embedded in it are quite complex and immeasurable, which make the analysis extremely challenging. The part where I have to analyze every line of the poem was the most challenging. Every line is infused with intense emotions. Moreover, the transitioning is quick and drastic. And it was difficult to find the right words to describe the author’s emotions. I tried to balance the intensity of the words with the emotions embedded in each line. It was very challenging to analyze someone else’s story using my own point of view.
But even though the task was very challenging, I found it quite entertaining. Because of the simplicity of the language used by the author, I immediately understood what the author was trying to say. It is not like the other poems that are filled with metaphors or complicated imagery. I learned several things from writing this essay. First, short poems are like novels; even though they are short, they can narrate an entire story. Second, poems like Incident are outwardly simple, but a deeper analysis of it will reveal a larger reality, such as racial prejudice and its impact on its victims. And lastly, simplicity is the beauty. A poem does not have to be too elaborate or complicated to be exceptional.