What specific details describe Africa? Start with the opening descriptions that Cullen presents as contrasts. As the poem progresses, what visual picture emerges? Is it noteworthy that some details are inaccurate, such as the fact that the cinnamon tree referred to in the refrain is not, in fact, native to Africa? Is the depiction stereotypical? Consider how a person would learn about Africa in the early $1920s$.

Browning’s nouns often are accompanied by strong modifiers. What is meant by “manly scorn” (l. $2$), “vain denial” (l. $5$), and “revolted cry” (l. $5$), for instance?

Why do the two women who guard the doors of the Company’s office (para. $25$) remind Marlow of the greeting gladiators offered to the Roman emperor, “Ave! Morituri te salutant” (Hail! We who are about to die salute you)? What does the recollection suggest about Marlow’s attitude toward his new job and his life in general?

What is the “it” referred to in lines $13$ and $15$ of this poem? Why does Johnson call for “defend[ing] it / With honor’s holy breath” (ll. $15–16$)?

What conflicts or contradictions between being a writer and being a woman does Browning suggest in these two sonnets?

In paragraph $3$, what is the “tone” to which Sarah alludes? Can you describe it more specifically?