Epitaphs

For a Fool

On earth the wise man makes the rules,

And is the fool’s adviser

But here the wise are as the fools,

(And no man is the wiser).

For One Who Gaily Sowed His Oats

My days were but a thing for me to live,

For others to deplore;

I took of life all it could give:

Rind, inner fruit, and core.

For a Wanton

To men no more than so much cover

For them to doff or try,

I found in death a constant lover;

Here in his arms I lie.

For a Preacher

Vanity of vanities,

All is vanity; yea,

Even the rod He flayed you with

Crumbled and turned to clay.

 

In his poem “Epitaphs,” Countee Cullen writes gravestone inscriptions for four different unnamed people, showing how after death they all end up in the same place.

The first epitaph, written “For a Fool,” is used to show the life of a simple-minded man whose actions were governed by those who claimed to be more intelligent. The first two lines, “On earth the wise man makes the rules, and is the fool’s adviser,” describe the power dynamic between the two people during the fool’s life. Then, as the next two lines explain, “But here the wise are as the fools, (And no man is the wiser),” as both are laid to rest, no one can tell who was smarter. In this stanza, the ABAB rhyme scheme sets the lighthearted tone for the poem, despite the more serious subject matter. The iambic meter adds to this, creating a whimsical feel in contrast to the discussion of death.

The next is written “For One Who Gaily Sowed His Oats,” a phrase which describes a man who is seeking out as many sexual relationships with women as he can. This stanza continues the rhyme and meter seen in the first, suggesting a continuity between the two deceased. Cullen writes, “My days were but a thing for me to live, For others to deplore,” in reference to the idea that this man thought everything in the world was his to take, and was looked down upon by others for it. This is followed by “I took of life all it could give: Rind, inner fruit, and core.” This fruit metaphor describes the way this person ate up life to the point of gluttony.

The epitaph “For a Wanton” describes the counterpart to the prior man’s epitaph, a woman seeking the same sexual pleasure without commitment. Her gravestone reads, “To men no more than so much cover, For them to doff or try.” To her, men were temporary and expendable, and only to be used and sent away. However, after her life came to end, things changed, as it reads “I found in death a constant lover; Here in his arms I lie.” The afterlife is her first and last permanent relationship. Both this stanza and the prior are written in the first person, in contrast to the third-person perspective of the fool, suggesting the difference in the person who learned their lesson- in the fool’s case, the wise man, and in the case of the second and third, themselves.

The last epitaph, “For a Preacher,” takes a more unique voice in the second person, written as if it were the preacher speaking to his congregation. The phrase “Vanity of vanities, All is vanity, yea” comes from the Book of Ecclesiastes, as if the preacher were giving a sermon on this verse. In the last two lines, “Even the rod He flayed you with Crumbled and turned to clay,” the capital He refers to God, and the preacher is suggesting that even the ways in which God has punished you become insignificant with time and eventual death. Additionally, this epitaph takes on a different rhyme scheme, in the form of a ballad stanza. This shift shows a more affectionate attitude toward the preacher than the cemetery’s other inhabitants.

Cullen’s poem puts emphasis on the fact that death is the only guarantee in life. The main similarity between the four people is that in the end everything they valued became meaningless. Cullen’s epitaph demonstrates that all humans are the same once they are six feet under.