Yet Do I Marvel By Counte Cullen Summary

The poem “Yet Do I Marvel”, by Countee Cullen, points out the paradox of believing in a good God when there's so much wrong in the world, and particularly touching base on racism in America. The speaker in the poem asks if God is supposed to be good, then why punish him by making him black in a world where blacks suffer all kinds of misfortune, like racism, disrespect, and misunderstanding?
The speaker of the poem is a poet who is black, but I am not sure if Cullen is referring to himself, but I assume that the speaker is a poet who is also African American. For instance, the poet ends the poem by saying, ”To make a poet black, and bid him sing!” (line 15). With this metaphor, Cullen is aware of the racial prejudices faced by African American, yet is rejoicing at the idea of God making him a poet and giving him a voice to express how he feels.

For instance the word awful is repeated, “What awful brain couples His awful hands” (line 12). The poet is pointing out just how terrible common daily struggles are living as an African American. The word "His" is also repeated several times referring to God, and his force and control over people, “Inscrutable His ways are” and “His awful hands” (line 9 & 12). What the poet is conveying here is that he doesn't understand God’s ways, why God would let his people treat each other with hatred. Cullen specifically uses the word "quibble" to help question why God does not interject or object to the harsh state of things on Earth. He is referring specifically to how God can allow for discrimination and vile things to occur. Cullen is trying to understand the greater nature of God and the reasons God allows for the continuing of these negative aspects of life to