In the poem “We Real Cool” written by the first African-American to win a Pulitzer for Poetry, Gwendolyn Brooks discusses how she came across a group of young men at a pool hall, and what she thought they were feeling. Gwendolyn Brooks does a great job of discussing the issues, which African Americans faced during the time of the poem’s publication in the 1950’s in Chicago. Brooks does so in a clear and concise way that engages the readers by using alliteration, rhyme, and monosyllabic words. So when reading the poem it flows easily, and has a catchy, chant like quality. By using a unique frame and structure for her poem, Gwendolyn Brooks wrote a very well written poem that delivered a clear message.
At the beginning of the poem we first …show more content…
In the first stanza of the poem the speakers start with saying, “We left school.” We infer from that the young men are dropouts and do not attend school anymore. In the next line Brooks writes about how the young men stay out late, hinting towards not having many obligations, such as, a daytime job. Also by saying they “strike straight” we can infer that they always hit the ball right into the pocket, this showing that they have had a lot of practice and probably spend a lot of time playing pool or that they go for what they want and don’t beat around the bush. In the next stanza, Gwendolyn Brooks write’s, “We sing sin. We/ thin gin.”(ll. 5-6) From these words we can infer that she is trying to say that the young men are not innocent: they commit many sins and also drink. Lastly the poem ends with a blunt ending, “We/ die soon.” (ll. 7-8) meaning that with the lifestyle the young men lead, they know they will not live long. Gwendolyn Brooks also uses repetition in her poem, the word “we,” not only does Brooks use the “we” to refer to the speaker or speakers of the story, she uses seven “we”, because each one represents one of the seven pool players. Finally, at the end of the poem she ends abruptly without a “we” because now the pool players are dead. Another, interesting way Brooks structures the poem is the use of …show more content…
We strike straight. We
sing sin. We thin gin. We
jazz June. We die soon. (ll.1-8)
She also uses slang to emphasize a difference in the way the young men speak. I read the lines of the poem as having three beats and a pause. In other words, I stress the words after the “we”, and then said the “we” softly because I feel that even though the author identified the “we” as the young men, it is still uncertain overall when looking at the big picture because being reckless is not just for dropout study but can be seen as a lifestyle choice, something that can apply to many people.
Therefore, I believe that this poem is effective because of Gwendolyn Brooks’ use of unique frame and structure of the poem, and keeping the poem short and was able to get straight to her point on the topic. The poem is also written using “we”, which gives the feeling that it is the seven young men who are saying this poem, speaking from their knowledge. At the end the young men admit that living this lifestyle will cause them to die
At the beginning of the poem we first …show more content…
In the first stanza of the poem the speakers start with saying, “We left school.” We infer from that the young men are dropouts and do not attend school anymore. In the next line Brooks writes about how the young men stay out late, hinting towards not having many obligations, such as, a daytime job. Also by saying they “strike straight” we can infer that they always hit the ball right into the pocket, this showing that they have had a lot of practice and probably spend a lot of time playing pool or that they go for what they want and don’t beat around the bush. In the next stanza, Gwendolyn Brooks write’s, “We sing sin. We/ thin gin.”(ll. 5-6) From these words we can infer that she is trying to say that the young men are not innocent: they commit many sins and also drink. Lastly the poem ends with a blunt ending, “We/ die soon.” (ll. 7-8) meaning that with the lifestyle the young men lead, they know they will not live long. Gwendolyn Brooks also uses repetition in her poem, the word “we,” not only does Brooks use the “we” to refer to the speaker or speakers of the story, she uses seven “we”, because each one represents one of the seven pool players. Finally, at the end of the poem she ends abruptly without a “we” because now the pool players are dead. Another, interesting way Brooks structures the poem is the use of …show more content…
We strike straight. We
sing sin. We thin gin. We
jazz June. We die soon. (ll.1-8)
She also uses slang to emphasize a difference in the way the young men speak. I read the lines of the poem as having three beats and a pause. In other words, I stress the words after the “we”, and then said the “we” softly because I feel that even though the author identified the “we” as the young men, it is still uncertain overall when looking at the big picture because being reckless is not just for dropout study but can be seen as a lifestyle choice, something that can apply to many people.
Therefore, I believe that this poem is effective because of Gwendolyn Brooks’ use of unique frame and structure of the poem, and keeping the poem short and was able to get straight to her point on the topic. The poem is also written using “we”, which gives the feeling that it is the seven young men who are saying this poem, speaking from their knowledge. At the end the young men admit that living this lifestyle will cause them to die