Incident

“Incident” is a narrative poem that comprises 12 lines. These 12 lines are divided into three quatrains (stanzas with four lines) with the rhyme scheme ABCB. The predominant meter is the iamb, an unstressed beat followed by a stressed beat. The poem has alternating lines of iambic tetrameter (lines with four iambs) and lines of iambic trimeter (lines with three iambs): “Once ri | ding in | old Balt | imore, / Heart-filled, | head-filled | with glee” (Lines 1-2). This combination of stanzas, meter, and rhyme scheme is characteristic of ballad stanza, an old form that appears in traditional ballads—poems or songs that tell a story.

In the first stanza, the meter and rhyme are light and playful, underscoring the innocence of the speaker. The turn in the poem comes in Line 8. Although the tone shifts there, the highly structured rhyme scheme and meter persist, suggesting that this is less a poem about happy childhood and more a somber one that is typical of tragic ballads. In turning to the ballad form, Cullen communicates that this Black child’s experience is important and a fit topic for poets seeking to capture human experience.