The poems “I, Too” by Langston Hughes and “Incident” by Countee Cullen use visual imagery, tone, literary devices such as hyperbole, symbolism, and foreshadowing in different ways to illustrate the interaction in public life between two different races and in private life the internal struggle of an African American for not being able to fight the prejudice against them. Both poets share racism as part of their lives, and although dealing with racism is the central tension engaged in the poems, Cullen suggests that experiences can influence your outlook on life and change your attitude. Hughes, on the other hand, proposes that with an optimistic attitude you can change the outcome of your future and that your attitude is independent of past experiences. “I, Too” and “Incident” are both lyric poems. The “Incident” is more of a narrative that drifts into the past, while the speaker of “I, Too” thinks instead about the plausible future. Hughes wrote a poem in free verse, which is ideal for imagining the future because it leaves more flexibility to the imagination. Cullen wrote a poem in metrical verse – alternating between iambic tetrameter and iambic quarter – which consists of ballad stanzas to form an orderly structure with patterns just as a plot does. An abrupt contact of irrational repugnance was what inspired “Accident,” while “I, Too” was inspired by racial segregation. The purpose of these poems was to see racism through an optimistic point of view, which Hughes managed to convey, and through the perspective of an innocent child, which Cullen had represented through his work. The poems are very typical, and this is how poets manage to win the readers' empathy. Poets were able to construct a self for the… medium of paper…, which was demonstrated when the black child wanted the white child's approval. However, Hughes's speaker confirms that we do not need the admiration of others to feed the so-called appetite; which refers to complacency. These experiences influenced the speakers in different ways; it impacted the speaker in “Incident” in a deconstructive way, while it impacted the speaker in “I, Too” in a constructive way. Work Cited Hughes, Langston “I, Too.” Poems, poets, poetry: an introduction and an anthology. 3rd ed. Ed. Helen Vendler. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, 2010. 501-502. Print.Cullen, Count "Accident". Poems, poets, poetry: an introduction and an anthology. 3rd ed. Ed. Helen Vendler. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. 450. Print.Poems, Poets, Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology. 3rd ed. Ed. Helen Vendler. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. 183. Print.