Poems about culture delve into the rich tapestry of human traditions, beliefs, customs, and heritage. They explore the intricate interplay between individual identity and the collective experiences that shape societies.
These poems also celebrate the diversity, beauty, and resilience of different cultures, offering insights into the values, rituals, and narratives that define them.
Two famous examples of poems about culture include Langston Hughes‘ ‘I, Too, Sing America,’ which asserts the contribution and significance of African American culture in the broader American context, and Maya Angelou’s ‘Still I Rise,’ which embodies the indomitable spirit and cultural pride of the African diaspora.
‘The Almond Trees’ By Derek Walcott is a confessional poem about identity, history, and cultural identity.
'The Almond Trees' main topic is cultural identity. The poem shows how the speaker's cultural identity has changed through time as the culture was uprooted, brutalized, and enslaved. The concept of cultural shifts because of colonization is a concerning topic for the speaker to process.
‘An Unknown Girl’ by Moniza Alvi depicts the poet’s intense connection with her native culture through an unknown girl in an Indian bazaar.
The poem immerses the reader in a vibrant tapestry of cultural imagery. The speaker's detailed descriptions of specific cultural elements, like the 'kameez,' 'Miss India 1993' banners, and the 'hennaed peacock,' etc., evoke a sense of nostalgia and longing for a clear cultural identity. These images suggest the speaker's desire to embrace her native cultural identity amidst rapidly globalizing multicultural identities. The poem also subtly hints at the potential erosion of cultural identity in the face of globalization while juxtaposing Western and Indian elements in the bazaar.
‘What Were They Like?’ by Denise Levertov criticizes the Vietnam War, presenting the suffering of Vietnamese people while imagining genocide.
The first speaker's questions seem to enquire about the culture of some extinct civilization. Culture is portrayed as dynamic and alive within the people who embody it, as the second speaker demonstrates through his answers. Rather than presenting culture as something static or preserved in artifacts, the poem suggests that culture lives and evolves within people. The second speaker's descriptions of ordinary life before the war, such as fathers telling old tales to their sons, illustrate how culture is intimately intertwined with a community's everyday experiences and traditions.
‘The Minuet’ by Mary Mapes Dodge alludes to the many changes that the passage of time presents. This is specially related to the way that one speaker’s grandmother has changed.
One of the secondary elements this poem is concerned with is culture. The grandmother makes it clear that the dancing her grandchild engages in is very different from that which she enjoyed as a young woman. It was more refined and restrained and in which the emotions of the partners were imbued with calmness and control.
Sujata Bhatt’s ‘A Different History’ explores postcolonial identity, cultural hybridity, and the lasting trauma of colonization.
The poem delves into culture through a postcolonial lens, portraying how colonizers have reshaped the cultural landscapes and identities of colonized subjects. It explores the psychological nuances of culture assimilation, depicting a tension between asserting pre-colonial heritage and navigating a postcolonial reality where the imposed cultures have blended and evolved with natives. This tension reflects a broader struggle and dilemma that postcolonial societies face to reconcile their pre-colonial past with the realities of postcolonial present and globalization.
‘No More Boomerang,’ a poem by the Aboriginal Australian political activist and poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal (also known as Kath Walker) features how the aboriginal culture is in crisis for the growing materialism and colonial hegemony.
Culture is a central theme in this poem. She celebrates the richness and resilience of Indigenous culture while also highlighting the threats and challenges it faces. Through her verses, Noonuccal emphasizes the importance of preserving cultural heritage, reclaiming traditions, and asserting Indigenous identity.
Ros Barber’s ‘Material’ stitches a nostalgic mourning of the shift from hankies to tissues, blending personal grief and societal critique.
The poem shows the shift from a personalized, handcrafted world to a new, capitalized world driven by mass production. This new capitalist culture is dehumanizing and cold, as mass-produced goods lack the emotional attachment of handmade items, while malls lack the humanity and intimate connections formed with small shops. It implicitly critiques this cultural shift, emphasizing how mass production leads to neglected, estranged, and indifferent objects like tissues, resulting in a desolate world devoid of human connection.
‘Divisions’ by Tony Harrison speaks on themes like masculinity, unemployment, and identity. It focuses on the cultural landscapes of working-class communities.
Culture is a primary topic at work in this poem. The speaker indicates that the culture of this small Northern England town is highly influential on the young men who live there and is not doing them any favors when it comes to improving their lives.
‘English con Salsa’ is a lively poem that blends humor, culture, and language, celebrating bilingual identity and the everyday power of speaking with pride and personality.
Culture is at the heart of this poem. Valdés brings in flavours, music, spiritual beliefs, and daily traditions to show how rich and alive culture really is. She does not treat it as background. It shapes the way people speak, learn, and live. The poem reminds us that holding on to culture is not only meaningful - it is powerful. Valdés also examines how culture can be lost or obscured by migration. She highlights the idealisation of the "American way of life" among Americans, who expect any migrants to share the same idealisations.
‘Tea with our Grandmother’ explores culture, family traditions, and the role of grandmothers through everyday actions.
This poem is about culture because it shows important traditions and values passed down through families. Words like "habooba" connect to Arabic culture, and "ayeeyo" to Somali culture, showing respect for grandmothers. The poem talks about everyday actions, like grinding spices and making tea, which are important in many African homes. These details reflect the rich heritage and strong family bonds, showing how culture influences our lives and relationships.
‘The Mask’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a highly relatable poem that explores society’s expectations and how they often mean you can’t express yourself fully.
This piece alludes to the fact that the culture of the Victorian period made it near impossible for people, especially women, to express their feelings openly. It was very difficult to be anything other than society's idealized version of a woman.
‘Arabic’, a thoughtful poem by Naomi Shihab Nye appears in Red Suitcase: Poems (1994). This poem features a speaker’s forgetfulness concerning her mother tongue (Arabic) and culture.
The poem is deeply connected to culture because it shows how important language is in holding onto one’s roots. The speaker has slowly lost their ability to speak their mother tongue, and with that, they feel a growing distance from where they came from. The person they are speaking to reminds them that language carries traditions, emotions, and identity, making them realize how much they have drifted from their cultural background.
‘Beware: Do Not Read This Poem’ by Ishmael Reed is a thoughtful poem about culture and how language is used to tell stories. The poem warns against becoming too consumed within one method of storytelling.
Culture is a central topic, as the poem uses storytelling and language rooted in African American traditions. The tale of the mirror that “consumes” people reflects cultural stories about how too much focus on one thing can cause a loss of self. By blending folklore and familiar speech, this poem presents culture as something powerful that shapes identity, while also showing how culture can sometimes overwhelm a person completely.
tonite, thriller was about an old woman, so vain she surrounded herself with many mirrors
‘Love of Country’ presents a world in which patriotism is the most important virtue of all and the lack of it is unforgivable.
The poem regards one's culture as being entwined with one's national identity. Likewise, the narrator suggests that being omitted from a nation's culture and art is the greatest way to punish the non-patriotic.
‘Lochinvar’ is a ballad about a young and courageous knight who saves his beloved, the fair lady Ellen, from marrying another man.
'Lochinvar' offers a limited view into the cultural differences between the Scottish and English people living along the border. Lochinvar has limited possessions, and seems to live a semi-nomadic lifestyle. On the other hand, Ellen's family lives in a grand fortified fortress with a great hall for dances and political discourse. These differences may reflect Sir Walter Scott's views on the Scottish vs the English.
O young Lochinvar is come out of the west,
Through all the wide Border his steed was the best;
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