Point of View

“Heritage” is a poem voiced in the first person. One can deduce that the speaker of the poem is man of African origin and, likely mirroring the historical perspective of the author, Afro-American. The poem begins with an introspective question the speaker poses to himself: “What is Africa to me?” (1). This question is repeated throughout the course of the poem. This lends the verse a type of musicality, as if the question is a type of refrain to be answered in call-and-response fashion. Despite this choral attribute, the poem is both confessional and intimate, with the speaker relaying what often feels like an inner monologue.

The question of perspective is introduced as a theme within the poem itself. Just within the first stanza of the poem the speaker refers to himself in the first person and then reflects upon himself in the third person, using...