Tableau

Tableau

Locked arm in arm they cross the way,

   The black boy and the white,

The golden splendor of the day,

   The sable pride of night.

From lowered blinds the dark folk stare,

   And here the fair folk talk,

Indignant that these two should dare

   In unison to walk.

Oblivious to look and work

   They pass, and see no wonder

That lightning brilliant as a sword

   Should blaze the path of thunder. 

-Countee Cullen


Cullen's poem talks about the unheard of equality and unity between whites and blacks, and the dream of it one day being normal. He uses the metaphor of a white boy and a black boy together, arm in arm, being stared at by indignant whites and blacks from their homes. The third and final stanza compares the white and black boys to thunder and lightning, in the sense that there is no question about them going together. In this way, Cullen expresses his view of culture in the 20's, and how he hopes it can one day change to be. 


Tableau illustrates a determination to fight against oppression, from the way Cullen used, "From lowered blinds the dark folk stare, 
And here the fair folk talk". 
There is subtle oppression against white and black unity, even if it is not direct. In addition, there is a desire to reconstruct the meaning of "negro" apparent in Tableau. Countee Cullen expresses his hope that one day, instead of being looked down upon, negroes can be looked at as equals with whites, that they can walk arm in arm, without staring and talking from indignant passers by. 


In Tableau, we see symbolism and rhyme. Symbolism is apparent when Cullen uses the metaphor of thunder and lightning to talk about the normality of blacks and whites together in harmony-
"They pass, and see no wonder
That lightning brilliant as a sword

Should blaze the path of thunder.

Rhyme is seen throughout Tableau-the last word of every other line rhymes. 

I chose Cullen's Tableau because what he writes about was still a relevant issue when it was written. It is a true Harlem Renaissance poem, especially because it was written by one of the more famous poets of that time. I personally like the poem because of its sheer beauty, how easily it flows, and creates an image in my mind of what Cullen was thinking. His thoughts become words in Tableau perfectly.