The interlocking of man and nature [in Cane] creates a verbal tone-poem which reveals the mystery and spirituality that Toomer was so fond of describing…. [The central images of the book are] dusk, the moment of mystery, equipoise, and deep (purple) feeling; cane, the profound grip into the earth that nurtures life; fermentation, the creative power that gives life purpose. These images are "oracular" through the medium of the prophet-poet, who reveals the mystery of the spiritual life to those who are in danger of losing it forever. (p. 189)

Dusk is an integral part of Karintha and is used throughout the rural scenes of Georgia to describe the mystery and depth of experience with which Toomer infuses Cane. (p. 192)

If dusk is the medium through which the subtle flux of nature is projected, then song is the human counterpart. The lyrical sketch "Karintha" illustrates the extent to which...