Countee Cullen published "From the Dark Tower" in 1927 in his second collection of poems, Copper Sun. The poem is a sonnet that focuses on the injustices of racism, as the speaker notes that white people deprive Black people of the fruits of their labor. However, the speaker—who is Black—is confident that this will not be the case forever, ultimately suggesting that such hardships build strength and resiliency. In turn, the speaker sets forth the optimistic belief that Black people will one day triumph over racist oppression and "reap" the rewards of their hard work.
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The Full Text of “From the Dark Tower”
1We shall not always plant while others reap
2The golden increment of bursting fruit,
3Not always countenance, abject and mute,
4That lesser men should hold their brothers cheap;
5Not everlastingly while others sleep
6Shall we beguile their limbs with mellow flute,
7Not always bend to some more subtle brute;
8We were not made to eternally weep.
9The night whose sable breast relieves the stark,
10White stars is no less lovely being dark,
11And there are buds that cannot bloom at all
12In light, but crumple, piteous, and fall;
13So in the dark we hide the heart that bleeds,
14And wait, and tend our agonizing seeds.
The Full Text of “From the Dark Tower”
1We shall not always plant while others reap
2The golden increment of bursting fruit,
3Not always countenance, abject and mute,
4That lesser men should hold their brothers cheap;
5Not everlastingly while others sleep
6Shall we beguile their limbs with mellow flute,
7Not always bend to some more subtle brute;
8We were not made to eternally weep.
9The night whose sable breast relieves the stark,
10White stars is no less lovely being dark,
11And there are buds that cannot bloom at all
12In light, but crumple, piteous, and fall;
13So in the dark we hide the heart that bleeds,
14And wait, and tend our agonizing seeds.
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“From the Dark Tower” Summary
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“From the Dark Tower” Themes
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Black Oppression and Hope
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “From the Dark Tower”
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Lines 1-2
We shall not always plant while others reap
The golden increment of bursting fruit, -
Lines 3-4
Not always countenance, abject and mute,
That lesser men should hold their brothers cheap; -
Lines 5-6
Not everlastingly while others sleep
Shall we beguile their limbs with mellow flute, -
Lines 7-8
Not always bend to some more subtle brute;
We were not made to eternally weep. -
Lines 9-12
The night whose sable breast relieves the stark,
White stars is no less lovely being dark,
And there are buds that cannot bloom at all
In light, but crumple, piteous, and fall; -
Lines 13-14
So in the dark we hide the heart that bleeds,
And wait, and tend our agonizing seeds.
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“From the Dark Tower” Symbols
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Crops and Planting
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Darkness
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“From the Dark Tower” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Anaphora
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Assonance
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Consonance
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Euphony
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Metaphor
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Enjambment
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Sibilance
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Allusion
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Personification
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“From the Dark Tower” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Shall
- Reap
- Increment
- Bursting
- Countenance
- Abject
- Mute
- Cheap
- Everlastingly
- Beguile
- Limbs
- Mellow
- Bend
- Subtle
- Brute
- Eternally
- Sable
- Relieves
- Stark
- Piteous
- Tend
- Agonizing
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “From the Dark Tower”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“From the Dark Tower” Speaker
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“From the Dark Tower” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “From the Dark Tower”
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More “From the Dark Tower” Resources
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External Resources
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Jim Crow Laws — More on the racist and segregationist policies still in place at the time Cullen wrote this poem.
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The Poet's Voice — Hear Countee Cullen read one of his other well known poems, "Heritage."
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More About Cullen — To learn more about Countee Cullen, take a look at this overview of his life and work.
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The Harlem Renaissance — For more information about the Harlem Renaissance, check out this helpful entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica.
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A Reading of the Poem — Hear the poem read aloud.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Countee Cullen
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