The woman that he knows is clearly a white woman at the time when people had slaves. Saying that she thinks she will have the same carefree life in heaven and the black people will still be slaving for her. The narrator has a tone of contempt when talking about the woman at the beginning using the word "snores" which has a negative connotation. The narrator switches the tone to more lamentable in the second part using the word poor and chores. This lady is depicted as arrogant, lazy, and a racist who, even in heaven, believes the rich will sleep in and the blacks rise early.
I agree. Also, given that this woman is referred to as 'lady' in the title, it's likely that the woman is a lot older than the narrator, and given that the poem was written in the early twentieth century (because that was when the author was alive), it's possible that the narrator is also the author, and that the lady in question is someone she actually knew.
The narrator is describing a woman who she does not like. The woman is a racist, who probably has slaves, this shows that the narrator is probably african american/a slave. I agree with the people above.
The woman is describing a person who is so confident in the social order of things (the segregation of the races) that she believes that it will remain the same even in heaven.
Honestly, this poem is frightening and makes me very mad. The woman doesn't even consider the fact that her slaves might have earned a better afterlife than she has. They've likely coped with beatings, malnourishment, and significantly harder lives. The woman in the poem enjoys constant peace and relaxation, but doesn't think twice about sharing such benefits with her slaves. This "lady" is probably not a mean person at heart, but has been brought up thinking that this is an acceptable way of behaving. To her, African Americans only exist to cook and clean and care for people of her ethnicity. Even when they're dead, slaves don't get a break. It's hard to relate to such an ignorant, brainwashed woman.
I totally agree. Although the times of this poem are drastically different than today, this still bugs me because of the offensiveness this naive woman shows her employee. I can't believe she thinks even heaven is segregated.
This deals with slavery and the way slave owners thought of themselves. They think it's a fact that they one, make it to heave and two, still own slaves. They live in luxury as their money makes money and the lady can sleep in. The slaves of course can't do this and have to work.
The poem talks about racism and ignorance even though it's a short poem its words say enough. I think that one of the literary devices is allusion with the words "heaven" and "cherubs" and how they're used when people talk about God/Jesus and they're commonly used in the bible. That's saying how the white people (in the words of the poem) are the people who're going to heaven.
In this poem the lady seems to believe that she will always have a better life and be in a higher class even in the afterlife. She thinks that she will be able to sleep all day and do nothing and still keep her high status. On the other hand, she thinks that black people will always be serving her and doing all the work that has to be done, and never get to live in luxury just because they are black.
I think this poem is from the view of an ignorant, upper class, white "lady," who believes that even up in heaven slaves are still not free, and must serve under her. Allusion is a literary device in this poem when the words "heaven" and " cherubs" come up. These words allude to the bible. This is also kind of irony because "heaven" is said to be the holiest place, but she believes that there are still classes in heaven and no one is living in peace.
I generally agree with everyone else who has already commented, but I don't think the "poor black cherubs" mentioned are necessarily slaves. They quite possibly could be servants (partly because poor could be referring to their state of wealth or that they are less well off in an emotional sense? like poor kid, he dropped his ice cream). The diction in this poem is related to the afterlife and religion. The words "celestial chores" really stood out to me. Celestial refers to heaven or the visible universe. This seems to refer to the ideas of the woman mentioned in the poem, as the black servants or slaves in her mind perform tasks in both life on earth and the afterlife.
I agree with this the most, Kate. Cherubs are angelic servants and would have a very high standing, and do God's bidding just like everyone else, but with pleasure. When I first read it, I got the sense that the lady does not hold her standing above the others, but rather pities them based on the key word "poor". I do not think this refers to their economic position, but rather their pitiable lives.
The narrator is talking about a woman he knows that has higher place in society than he does. From the way the narrator describes this woman, she is aware of her carefree lifestyle. In addition, she definitely knows how difficult the narrator's life is and choses to do nothing about it. The use of several religious terms caused me to associate the relationship between the narrator and this woman with a relationship between a human and some kind of god. It seems that the narrator doesn't particularly like this woman, but respects her out of fear. Equally interesting is the mention of the "black cherubs" waking up at seven. In the Bible, God rested on the seventh day after the creation of the world. However, the "black cherubs" (I'm assuming this is a term for slaves) do not rest at seven. I think the narrator used this to demonstrate how skewed the social pyramid of the time was.
The "racist" lady thinks there are slaves in heaven. This is major because it implies that the lady feels as though slavery is so right, that in heaven (where everything is pure and just) slavery will be considered "normal." This just shows how ignorant and maybe selfish she is. I imagine the lady being talked about as an older woman with a set way of thinking. Most likely she grew up seeing slavery and believing it to be normal. With a whole lifetime of this (without any major changes or stops to slavery) she obviously came to a conclusion of: God hasn't stopped it now, so why wouldn't slavery be in heaven? It's so sad that one could think this way about other human beings.
This poem is very sad because it describes a really ignorant woman who believes she's better than everyone else. She thinks that "her class" (rich white people) will still be rich and waited on hand and foot by "poor black cherubs". This woman is very rude because she thinks that she will always be in a higher class than black slaves, even after death.
This poem is about life in heaven for a black person and a white person. The narrator believes that he/she would have a life full of hard work and chores in heaven while a white person would have a relaxing and peaceful time even though heaven is supposed to be a place of equality and peace. Also, at this time there was a lot of racial segregation in the United States.
The lady that this poem discusses is a devout racist. She believes that even in heaven, where all men should be equal, black people should be enslaved to work for white people white they bask in their leisure time. This poem is most likely from the view of a person with opposite views on slavery, and it can be inferred that they despite her for such.
When I first saw the title, I thought that this was a love poem to a lady that the speaker loved. However, I soon realized that this was not written in a loving way but with contempt. The speaker has observed the ignorance of this woman as her(presumably) slaves work hard. She has been handed things her entire life and has the point of view that the white people are the premier race. She is seemingly oblivious to what the "black cherubs" and frankly doesn't care.
The character in this poem is an ignorant, racist woman. By using words with a religious connotation like "heaven" and "cherubs" the poem seems much more innocent. It seems like by using religion that the woman believes that slavery and segregation is what god wants, and the "poor black cherubs" are meant to wake up at 7 and work for people like her even in heaven.
The woman that this poem is about seems to be racist. When describing her, the writer uses diction that makes her sound lazy while the "poor black cherubs" are doing a bunch of work. Since the author describes this lady as lazy, the poem has an overall negative tone toward her.
At first when I saw the title I thought that it was going to be more abut a love story. When I began reading it seemed as if the lady was racist. It seems that she thinks her rate(maybe white) is superior over others. She makes the judgment of a African American individual as a "poor black cherub". She talks about how they will still be doing chores, so maybe this poem is based off when blacks were not free and were slaves. Many of this went on in the south.
I found it quite interesting that the poem itself in form relates to the topic. I immediately noticed the separation of the two line stanzas, which directly reflect the topic of racism touched upon in the poem. The speaker intimates that the lady spoken of believes that even in heaven, the inequality between races will persist. The narrator shows a hint of bias in the wording of "poor black cherubs," as this metaphor alludes to religious tales of cherubs, and the word poor creates a tone of pity. The polite diction of the narrator also displays a sense of respect he or she has towards this "Lady I Know," even though he or she may not approve with this Lady's opinion on segregation.
I think the speaker is talking about a higher class lady. The "black cherubs" the speaker refers to are most likely African Americans that have to get up at seven in the morning and work or do chores while the lady and the class she belongs to sleeps in. this poem was probably made to emphasize the difference between races at the time. Biblical slavery was in no way less harsh than slavery in the United States so the author might have used the religious references to show how the "black cherubs" were being treated
The speaker is talking about a woman who she doesn't seem to be quite find of. This woman is most likely an arrogant, racist, white woman. She believes that she is superior and better than others, specifically African Americans. She refers to them as "black cherubs" and thinks that even after death, in the presence of God, black people are meant to be slaves and do the dirty work. The meter and rhyming in this poem give the work a sense of sassiness which enhances the meaning of the work as a whole.
I think that this poem describes a white racist woman, but I don't agree with the suggestions that the African Americans referenced are slaves, considering slavery was abolished in the United States a while before Countee Cullen was born. That said, this was definitely a time when African Americans were prejudiced and denied basic rights. The woman described is so oblivious to the injustice of racism that she believes that even when African Americans are angels in heaven, they're still second class to white angels. Cullen's diction about heaven (cherub, celestial) emphasizes the absurdity of a divine, virtuous angel having to do chores.
Cullen uses the word "even" in the first line and that really sticks out to me. Like she is so ignorant she thinks that EVEN in heaven, she gets to do nothing, but sleep and snore. I think the snoring could also show a distaste for the woman because usually snoring is not a quality one wishes to have or envies and when I think of snoring, I can honestly say that the first thing that comes to my mind is pigs. In my opinion, I think the speaker is mocking the woman by describing the cherubs are "poor." However, I think that this poem talks about the baby cherubs in a positive context. Even these babies, who in their life may have been possibly adult slaves or child slaves that worked every day and got beaten maybe every day, wake up at seven every morning. I feel like this is their choice because in heaven, you think it would be a free place. I think it is also a gift of God to give them celestial chores. I mean this lady sleeps and snores like a pig for all eternity, these cherubs have been through so much in life, that God gives them the opportunity to do holy and celestial chores for all the years they suffered and in my opinion they are happy to do it because i feel they are waking up so early on their own because they want to. The lady thinks she is better, but really she's lower than the cherubs class wise. I think some people may not interpret this the right way, but I really enjoy this poem and like that the speaker kind of mocks the lady and somewhat sneakily burns her.
Countee Cullen seems to maybe be a black person too because of how he talks about the white lady. He says "She even thinks" and that gives me the feeling that he strongly dislikes her and all who act so ignorant and racist. However, he does not use such terribly mean diction towards her because he might still respect her a little or he at least knows her. With the separation between the lines, you can tell that these are two different perspectives on such a touchy subject. The woman is extremely racist and thinks very highly of herself and poorly of others.
the woman being referred to in this poem is an old racist lady thinking about heaven. The author even alludes to the bible referencing heaven and cherubs as this old racist woman seems to believe there whites are superior in the afterlife. this poem ridicules the old racist woman since she believes she will go to heaven although she is racist. this lady is a bum...
Right away the reader can grasp that the pome is about racism. How the whites always think poorly of the African Americans without knowing the whole truth. This idea of separation is enforced by the stanza separation. One stanza being the perspective of a white person and the other stanza being the perspective of a African American person. The speaker is saying that the white teacher thinks all her students are late because they are sleeping in when in reality the children are getting up very early to do chores.
In this poem, you can tell that the narrator is white and old lady. She is referring to another person and is being very racist. She believes she is right and believes she will go to heaven for this.
The author uses both allusion and irony in this poem. The author first uses allusion in the words "heaven" and "cherubs," which alludes to the Bible. Heaven is represented as a holy, good, faithful, other values. Cherubs are angles. The women in this poem has such a bad view of life and death. Ironically,she thinks because of her white superiority, it will lead her into the gateway of Heaven and will have a position of privilege and luxury. She thinks African Americans will still wait upon her as she just sleeps in. Even though there is class in Heaven, she still thinks there is a separation of the wealthy and the poor. Heaven is suppose to be a place where everyone is equal and good, but this ignorant woman sees nothing wrong with the racism she foresees in it.
This poem is talking about social classes in previous centuries. White people were generally richer than African Americans. In the first stanza the author is referring to a white women thinking about people in her social class that get to sleep and have it all. The second stanza has a mood that is pity or depressing because she feels bad for the African Americans who have to get up early every morning to do the dirty work. The mood shirts from happy and peaceful to sorrow and pity.
In this poem the lady described is a racist who thinks her status will stay the same in heaven. She thinks that the African American slaves will also be doing the same thing in heaven. By the tone and diction of the poem you can tell that the author is not a racist and has different values than the lady she is writing about. You can tell that Cullen feels bad for the slaves because she uses adjectives like poor and celestial to describe them, which the lady being described would probably not have used if she was talking about them. Also, the tone seems angry or irritated. The poem is an enjambment because the first three lines don't have punctuation at the end, which makes the poem one single thought. It keeps the reader more interested and gives it more emphasis.
The poem has an ab ab type of structure and I also think that the poem is about racism in a way because the author specifies black cherubs and I don't think she just did it to add a description. It takes place in heaven where the lady and others are resting while black angles wake up early to work. I think this reflect the events that the author sees. The author might be seeing in their life that white people just rest while the colored people do the hard work. It a suttle sadness that comes fron the poem and it all depends on how you interpret the poem.
In this poem, the woman is a racist that believes that there are classes in heaven and that she is superior to the "poor black cherubs". This woman believes that black people will still do her chores in heaven.
In a weird way I kind of like this poem. The use of cherubs, a character usually associated with love, as people who are being thought of as servants is interesting. I also think that the way the stanzas are written to exaggerate the shift is a clever way of making the poem seem relatively normal, and then quickly throwing itself under the bus with the racist downturn. I mean there is no way of differently interpreting this woman's view of black people, she's just down right racist.
I definitely got the sense that this poem is about racism. The lady in the poem apparently thinks that even in heaven there will be slaves and social classes. The use of the woord "poor" in the poem tells us that the lady pities black people and that they have to work for her. I think that the author is against rasicm or slavery in some way because he obviously does not like this lady eventhough the title of the poem leads you to believe otherwise before you read it.
In this short poem, the speaker has negative feelings toward this lady who is most likely white or rich. The allusion to heaven helps support the speaker's idea that this privileged lady will not be rich when she is dead. The speaker believes in heaven the hard workers will be rewarded while the lazy, rich will not be.
This is a racist poem!!!!!!! Saying that the people in heaven can sleep in and snore, but the black people that aren't in heaven have to do chores and work, implying that black people are slaves, which has been abolished in America (because we ain't be hatin' on Rashawndala!). The point of view of the narrator is from a person who could be African-American because it says "She even thinks..." which means that the "she" the narrator is referring to a female who thinks white have it easy and blacks have it hard. When you think about the perspective, a female who thinks that whites have it easy could be a white girl who is full of herself taught to her by her indecent, scumbag, makin'-bank-by-havin'-shady-deals-with-the-devil father, or a black girl who hasn't given up hope that blacks and whites can be equal because of all the white girls who keep on repeating to the black homies that they are the superior race in comparison to others (i.e. themselves! [hope they get shanked in the face with a rusty scapel!!!!])
This poem's foreshadows a love a poem. It is actually a mockery to a white woman that is so high in class that she expects it to be that way after she dies. This poem contains an allusion because it references Christianity with heaven and the after life. The tone of this poem is sarcastic mockery because the author's diction shows that she is simply wrong. He doesn't say everyone is equal but that was the message using blunt words like "snore". After understanding what this woman is like it is improbable that she even goes to heaven.
The speaker seems arrogant of her race and looks down on other races. The class system doesn't matter in the heavens, "Her class lies late and snores." The lady in the lower class is African American because of tone and diction, "While poor black cherubs rise at seven To do celestial chores." The lady is a slave and her job is to do the chores will the master rests so the rich rest while the poor work.
"She even thinks that up in heaven Her class lies late and snores"
In this stanza, the speaker is describing a lady who thinks of her own personality as better and higher up than others. Being "up in heaven" meaning perfect.
"While poor black cherubs rise at seven To do celestial chores".
This stanza is probably connecting the story to slaves. Looking at it this way, this poem is more likely about a woman who owns slaves and thinks she is right in doing it.
Well this poem is racist. She says her class is lazy and does not listen even in heaven. It seems that even heaven has social classes because black people do all the work.
This poem is most likely told from the perspective of someone of lower sture in society, such as a slave. They are saying that this women thinks she is better than them, so the tone used to talk about her is negative. The second part of the poem is written in a way that makes black people seem like they are at the bottom of society. The author also chose some interesting diction by using the word "cherub." This is a posotive connotation because it reffers to the black people as "angelic." The point of b=view of this story is obviously in the bias of someone who is against slaves.
Again, I don't think my original comment was published because I was using Safari. This poem is very sad because it is written from the point of view of a black women who is commenting on what a white woman feels. This white woman feels so superior that she believes people with serve her in heaven, people like her current servant. In my opinion, this "superior woman" deserves hell. :)
The woman that he knows is clearly a white woman at the time when people had slaves. Saying that she thinks she will have the same carefree life in heaven and the black people will still be slaving for her. The narrator has a tone of contempt when talking about the woman at the beginning using the word "snores" which has a negative connotation. The narrator switches the tone to more lamentable in the second part using the word poor and chores. This lady is depicted as arrogant, lazy, and a racist who, even in heaven, believes the rich will sleep in and the blacks rise early.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Also, given that this woman is referred to as 'lady' in the title, it's likely that the woman is a lot older than the narrator, and given that the poem was written in the early twentieth century (because that was when the author was alive), it's possible that the narrator is also the author, and that the lady in question is someone she actually knew.
DeleteThe narrator is describing a woman who she does not like. The woman is a racist, who probably has slaves, this shows that the narrator is probably african american/a slave. I agree with the people above.
DeleteThe woman is describing a person who is so confident in the social order of things (the segregation of the races) that she believes that it will remain the same even in heaven.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, this poem is frightening and makes me very mad. The woman doesn't even consider the fact that her slaves might have earned a better afterlife than she has. They've likely coped with beatings, malnourishment, and significantly harder lives. The woman in the poem enjoys constant peace and relaxation, but doesn't think twice about sharing such benefits with her slaves. This "lady" is probably not a mean person at heart, but has been brought up thinking that this is an acceptable way of behaving. To her, African Americans only exist to cook and clean and care for people of her ethnicity. Even when they're dead, slaves don't get a break. It's hard to relate to such an ignorant, brainwashed woman.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. Although the times of this poem are drastically different than today, this still bugs me because of the offensiveness this naive woman shows her employee. I can't believe she thinks even heaven is segregated.
DeleteThis deals with slavery and the way slave owners thought of themselves. They think it's a fact that they one, make it to heave and two, still own slaves. They live in luxury as their money makes money and the lady can sleep in. The slaves of course can't do this and have to work.
ReplyDeleteThe poem talks about racism and ignorance even though it's a short poem its words say enough. I think that one of the literary devices is allusion with the words "heaven" and "cherubs" and how they're used when people talk about God/Jesus and they're commonly used in the bible. That's saying how the white people (in the words of the poem) are the people who're going to heaven.
ReplyDeleteIn this poem the lady seems to believe that she will always have a better life and be in a higher class even in the afterlife. She thinks that she will be able to sleep all day and do nothing and still keep her high status. On the other hand, she thinks that black people will always be serving her and doing all the work that has to be done, and never get to live in luxury just because they are black.
ReplyDeleteI think this poem is from the view of an ignorant, upper class, white "lady," who believes that even up in heaven slaves are still not free, and must serve under her. Allusion is a literary device in this poem when the words "heaven" and " cherubs" come up. These words allude to the bible. This is also kind of irony because "heaven" is said to be the holiest place, but she believes that there are still classes in heaven and no one is living in peace.
ReplyDeleteI generally agree with everyone else who has already commented, but I don't think the "poor black cherubs" mentioned are necessarily slaves. They quite possibly could be servants (partly because poor could be referring to their state of wealth or that they are less well off in an emotional sense? like poor kid, he dropped his ice cream). The diction in this poem is related to the afterlife and religion. The words "celestial chores" really stood out to me. Celestial refers to heaven or the visible universe. This seems to refer to the ideas of the woman mentioned in the poem, as the black servants or slaves in her mind perform tasks in both life on earth and the afterlife.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this the most, Kate. Cherubs are angelic servants and would have a very high standing, and do God's bidding just like everyone else, but with pleasure. When I first read it, I got the sense that the lady does not hold her standing above the others, but rather pities them based on the key word "poor". I do not think this refers to their economic position, but rather their pitiable lives.
DeleteThe narrator is talking about a woman he knows that has higher place in society than he does. From the way the narrator describes this woman, she is aware of her carefree lifestyle. In addition, she definitely knows how difficult the narrator's life is and choses to do nothing about it. The use of several religious terms caused me to associate the relationship between the narrator and this woman with a relationship between a human and some kind of god. It seems that the narrator doesn't particularly like this woman, but respects her out of fear. Equally interesting is the mention of the "black cherubs" waking up at seven. In the Bible, God rested on the seventh day after the creation of the world. However, the "black cherubs" (I'm assuming this is a term for slaves) do not rest at seven. I think the narrator used this to demonstrate how skewed the social pyramid of the time was.
ReplyDeleteThe "racist" lady thinks there are slaves in heaven. This is major because it implies that the lady feels as though slavery is so right, that in heaven (where everything is pure and just) slavery will be considered "normal." This just shows how ignorant and maybe selfish she is. I imagine the lady being talked about as an older woman with a set way of thinking. Most likely she grew up seeing slavery and believing it to be normal. With a whole lifetime of this (without any major changes or stops to slavery) she obviously came to a conclusion of: God hasn't stopped it now, so why wouldn't slavery be in heaven? It's so sad that one could think this way about other human beings.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is very sad because it describes a really ignorant woman who believes she's better than everyone else. She thinks that "her class" (rich white people) will still be rich and waited on hand and foot by "poor black cherubs". This woman is very rude because she thinks that she will always be in a higher class than black slaves, even after death.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is about life in heaven for a black person and a white person. The narrator believes that he/she would have a life full of hard work and chores in heaven while a white person would have a relaxing and peaceful time even though heaven is supposed to be a place of equality and peace. Also, at this time there was a lot of racial segregation in the United States.
ReplyDeleteThe lady that this poem discusses is a devout racist. She believes that even in heaven, where all men should be equal, black people should be enslaved to work for white people white they bask in their leisure time. This poem is most likely from the view of a person with opposite views on slavery, and it can be inferred that they despite her for such.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw the title, I thought that this was a love poem to a lady that the speaker loved. However, I soon realized that this was not written in a loving way but with contempt. The speaker has observed the ignorance of this woman as her(presumably) slaves work hard. She has been handed things her entire life and has the point of view that the white people are the premier race. She is seemingly oblivious to what the "black cherubs" and frankly doesn't care.
ReplyDeleteThe character in this poem is an ignorant, racist woman. By using words with a religious connotation like "heaven" and "cherubs" the poem seems much more innocent. It seems like by using religion that the woman believes that slavery and segregation is what god wants, and the "poor black cherubs" are meant to wake up at 7 and work for people like her even in heaven.
ReplyDeleteThe woman that this poem is about seems to be racist. When describing her, the writer uses diction that makes her sound lazy while the "poor black cherubs" are doing a bunch of work. Since the author describes this lady as lazy, the poem has an overall negative tone toward her.
ReplyDeleteAt first when I saw the title I thought that it was going to be more abut a love story. When I began reading it seemed as if the lady was racist. It seems that she thinks her rate(maybe white) is superior over others. She makes the judgment of a African American individual as a "poor black cherub". She talks about how they will still be doing chores, so maybe this poem is based off when blacks were not free and were slaves. Many of this went on in the south.
ReplyDeleteI found it quite interesting that the poem itself in form relates to the topic. I immediately noticed the separation of the two line stanzas, which directly reflect the topic of racism touched upon in the poem. The speaker intimates that the lady spoken of believes that even in heaven, the inequality between races will persist. The narrator shows a hint of bias in the wording of "poor black cherubs," as this metaphor alludes to religious tales of cherubs, and the word poor creates a tone of pity. The polite diction of the narrator also displays a sense of respect he or she has towards this "Lady I Know," even though he or she may not approve with this Lady's opinion on segregation.
ReplyDeleteI think the speaker is talking about a higher class lady. The "black cherubs" the speaker refers to are most likely African Americans that have to get up at seven in the morning and work or do chores while the lady and the class she belongs to sleeps in. this poem was probably made to emphasize the difference between races at the time. Biblical slavery was in no way less harsh than slavery in the United States so the author might have used the religious references to show how the "black cherubs" were being treated
ReplyDeleteThe speaker is talking about a woman who she doesn't seem to be quite find of. This woman is most likely an arrogant, racist, white woman. She believes that she is superior and better than others, specifically African Americans. She refers to them as "black cherubs" and thinks that even after death, in the presence of God, black people are meant to be slaves and do the dirty work. The meter and rhyming in this poem give the work a sense of sassiness which enhances the meaning of the work as a whole.
ReplyDeleteThe author is a man...
DeleteI think that this poem describes a white racist woman, but I don't agree with the suggestions that the African Americans referenced are slaves, considering slavery was abolished in the United States a while before Countee Cullen was born. That said, this was definitely a time when African Americans were prejudiced and denied basic rights. The woman described is so oblivious to the injustice of racism that she believes that even when African Americans are angels in heaven, they're still second class to white angels. Cullen's diction about heaven (cherub, celestial) emphasizes the absurdity of a divine, virtuous angel having to do chores.
ReplyDeleteCullen uses the word "even" in the first line and that really sticks out to me. Like she is so ignorant she thinks that EVEN in heaven, she gets to do nothing, but sleep and snore. I think the snoring could also show a distaste for the woman because usually snoring is not a quality one wishes to have or envies and when I think of snoring, I can honestly say that the first thing that comes to my mind is pigs. In my opinion, I think the speaker is mocking the woman by describing the cherubs are "poor." However, I think that this poem talks about the baby cherubs in a positive context. Even these babies, who in their life may have been possibly adult slaves or child slaves that worked every day and got beaten maybe every day, wake up at seven every morning. I feel like this is their choice because in heaven, you think it would be a free place. I think it is also a gift of God to give them celestial chores. I mean this lady sleeps and snores like a pig for all eternity, these cherubs have been through so much in life, that God gives them the opportunity to do holy and celestial chores for all the years they suffered and in my opinion they are happy to do it because i feel they are waking up so early on their own because they want to. The lady thinks she is better, but really she's lower than the cherubs class wise. I think some people may not interpret this the right way, but I really enjoy this poem and like that the speaker kind of mocks the lady and somewhat sneakily burns her.
ReplyDeleteCountee Cullen seems to maybe be a black person too because of how he talks about the white lady. He says "She even thinks" and that gives me the feeling that he strongly dislikes her and all who act so ignorant and racist. However, he does not use such terribly mean diction towards her because he might still respect her a little or he at least knows her. With the separation between the lines, you can tell that these are two different perspectives on such a touchy subject. The woman is extremely racist and thinks very highly of herself and poorly of others.
ReplyDeletethe woman being referred to in this poem is an old racist lady thinking about heaven. The author even alludes to the bible referencing heaven and cherubs as this old racist woman seems to believe there whites are superior in the afterlife. this poem ridicules the old racist woman since she believes she will go to heaven although she is racist. this lady is a bum...
ReplyDeleteRight away the reader can grasp that the pome is about racism. How the whites always think poorly of the African Americans without knowing the whole truth. This idea of separation is enforced by the stanza separation. One stanza being the perspective of a white person and the other stanza being the perspective of a African American person. The speaker is saying that the white teacher thinks all her students are late because they are sleeping in when in reality the children are getting up very early to do chores.
ReplyDeleteIn this poem, you can tell that the narrator is white and old lady. She is referring to another person and is being very racist. She believes she is right and believes she will go to heaven for this.
ReplyDeleteThe author uses both allusion and irony in this poem. The author first uses allusion in the words "heaven" and "cherubs," which alludes to the Bible. Heaven is represented as a holy, good, faithful, other values. Cherubs are angles. The women in this poem has such a bad view of life and death. Ironically,she thinks because of her white superiority, it will lead her into the gateway of Heaven and will have a position of privilege and luxury. She thinks African Americans will still wait upon her as she just sleeps in. Even though there is class in Heaven, she still thinks there is a separation of the wealthy and the poor. Heaven is suppose to be a place where everyone is equal and good, but this ignorant woman sees nothing wrong with the racism she foresees in it.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is talking about social classes in previous centuries. White people were generally richer than African Americans. In the first stanza the author is referring to a white women thinking about people in her social class that get to sleep and have it all. The second stanza has a mood that is pity or depressing because she feels bad for the African Americans who have to get up early every morning to do the dirty work. The mood shirts from happy and peaceful to sorrow and pity.
ReplyDeleteIn this poem the lady described is a racist who thinks her status will stay the same in heaven. She thinks that the African American slaves will also be doing the same thing in heaven. By the tone and diction of the poem you can tell that the author is not a racist and has different values than the lady she is writing about. You can tell that Cullen feels bad for the slaves because she uses adjectives like poor and celestial to describe them, which the lady being described would probably not have used if she was talking about them. Also, the tone seems angry or irritated. The poem is an enjambment because the first three lines don't have punctuation at the end, which makes the poem one single thought. It keeps the reader more interested and gives it more emphasis.
ReplyDeleteThe poem has an ab ab type of structure and I also think that the poem is about racism in a way because the author specifies black cherubs and I don't think she just did it to add a description. It takes place in heaven where the lady and others are resting while black angles wake up early to work. I think this reflect the events that the author sees. The author might be seeing in their life that white people just rest while the colored people do the hard work. It a suttle sadness that comes fron the poem and it all depends on how you interpret the poem.
ReplyDeleteIn this poem, the woman is a racist that believes that there are classes in heaven and that she is superior to the "poor black cherubs". This woman believes that black people will still do her chores in heaven.
ReplyDeleteIn a weird way I kind of like this poem. The use of cherubs, a character usually associated with love, as people who are being thought of as servants is interesting. I also think that the way the stanzas are written to exaggerate the shift is a clever way of making the poem seem relatively normal, and then quickly throwing itself under the bus with the racist downturn. I mean there is no way of differently interpreting this woman's view of black people, she's just down right racist.
ReplyDeleteI definitely got the sense that this poem is about racism. The lady in the poem apparently thinks that even in heaven there will be slaves and social classes. The use of the woord "poor" in the poem tells us that the lady pities black people and that they have to work for her. I think that the author is against rasicm or slavery in some way because he obviously does not like this lady eventhough the title of the poem leads you to believe otherwise before you read it.
ReplyDeleteIn this short poem, the speaker has negative feelings toward this lady who is most likely white or rich. The allusion to heaven helps support the speaker's idea that this privileged lady will not be rich when she is dead. The speaker believes in heaven the hard workers will be rewarded while the lazy, rich will not be.
ReplyDeleteThis is a racist poem!!!!!!! Saying that the people in heaven can sleep in and snore, but the black people that aren't in heaven have to do chores and work, implying that black people are slaves, which has been abolished in America (because we ain't be hatin' on Rashawndala!). The point of view of the narrator is from a person who could be African-American because it says "She even thinks..." which means that the "she" the narrator is referring to a female who thinks white have it easy and blacks have it hard. When you think about the perspective, a female who thinks that whites have it easy could be a white girl who is full of herself taught to her by her indecent, scumbag, makin'-bank-by-havin'-shady-deals-with-the-devil father, or a black girl who hasn't given up hope that blacks and whites can be equal because of all the white girls who keep on repeating to the black homies that they are the superior race in comparison to others (i.e. themselves! [hope they get shanked in the face with a rusty scapel!!!!])
ReplyDeleteline 10: *has* given up hope
DeleteI just read this with leo and we agree with everyone.
ReplyDeleteI sense a lot of racism in this poem.
ReplyDeleteThis poem's foreshadows a love a poem. It is actually a mockery to a white woman that is so high in class that she expects it to be that way after she dies. This poem contains an allusion because it references Christianity with heaven and the after life. The tone of this poem is sarcastic mockery because the author's diction shows that she is simply wrong. He doesn't say everyone is equal but that was the message using blunt words like "snore". After understanding what this woman is like it is improbable that she even goes to heaven.
ReplyDeleteThe speaker seems arrogant of her race and looks down on other races. The class system doesn't matter in the heavens, "Her class lies late and snores." The lady in the lower class is African American because of tone and diction, "While poor black cherubs rise at seven To do celestial chores." The lady is a slave and her job is to do the chores will the master rests so the rich rest while the poor work.
ReplyDelete"She even thinks that up in heaven
ReplyDeleteHer class lies late and snores"
In this stanza, the speaker is describing a lady who thinks of her own personality as better and higher up than others. Being "up in heaven" meaning perfect.
"While poor black cherubs rise at seven
To do celestial chores".
This stanza is probably connecting the story to slaves. Looking at it this way, this poem is more likely about a woman who owns slaves and thinks she is right in doing it.
Well this poem is racist. She says her class is lazy and does not listen even in heaven. It seems that even heaven has social classes because black people do all the work.
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ReplyDeleteThis poem is most likely told from the perspective of someone of lower sture in society, such as a slave. They are saying that this women thinks she is better than them, so the tone used to talk about her is negative. The second part of the poem is written in a way that makes black people seem like they are at the bottom of society. The author also chose some interesting diction by using the word "cherub." This is a posotive connotation because it reffers to the black people as "angelic." The point of b=view of this story is obviously in the bias of someone who is against slaves.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I don't think my original comment was published because I was using Safari.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is very sad because it is written from the point of view of a black women who is commenting on what a white woman feels. This white woman feels so superior that she believes people with serve her in heaven, people like her current servant. In my opinion, this "superior woman" deserves hell. :)