Diana Kim
Mrs. Awad
English 12
26 February 2014
Carl Sandburg: Poet of the People
As a spokesperson for average, everyday people, Carl Sandburg was a gifted poet who captured the spirit of industrial America. Sandburg, who is a son of Swedish immigrants, was born and raised in Galesburg, Illinois. Forced to go work at an early age because of poverty, Sandburg spent six years working at a variety of jobs as he attended school on an irregular basis. Although he enrolled at Lombard College, he left school shortly before his graduation and spent several years traveling around the country, again working at diverse jobs. From his adolescence to adulthood, Sandburg experienced hard conditions of working class in America. In 1913 he settled in Chicago, …show more content…
An excerpt from, his poem, “The People, Yes”, was published at the height of the Great Depression, he was inspired to write it for those hit hardest by unemployment and poverty. Setting his poem in the Great Depression, Sandburg depicts workers’ endurance and aspirations. In this poem, the people, exploited and manipulated by the government over and over again, lament they can not read, study, and talk with their friends about politics and enjoy their lives because they took all their time to earn their living. However, Sandburg feels work was man 's greatest salvation, describing how the people will live on and endure the tough working environment. In his other poem, “I Am the People, the Mob”, Sandburg states that they are the ones who work, invent, make food and clothes, witness history, and give birth to leaders. Without them, there would not even be a government because there would be no one to support it. However, the people have been forgotten by society, and government. They do not remember how important the people are and how hard they work. Sandburg demonstrates that people should not sneer and deride workers and should remember to learn from them and use their lessons of the past. One of the poems in which the readers can sympathize with a common desire among labors is …show more content…
He is, rather, a fan of free verse. He is not bound by use conventional stylistic elements; he uses plainspoken language to give intimacy to readers so that they can recognize his ideas easily. He also does not deviate much from his general style, not like Emily Dickinson, who varies her own stylistic devices. Using simple and direct tone and figurative language to reveal this notion, he shares these opinions by writing powerful as in poetry, “The People, Yes”, “I Am the People, the Mob”, “At a Window”, and “Child of the Roman”. Because he was alive and writing poetry during the 1910’s to 1930’s, his poems tend to share many of the characteristics with other poems from this same time period. A majority of Sandburg 's works are about the exact same subject. He laments the inequity and struggle in the working class. His ideas directly relate to his life and opinions. He believes the workers of this era were being put down too much, but they endured hardship and established the present America. Sandburg’s poetry helps modern generation remember and appreciate the working class’s contributions and
Mrs. Awad
English 12
26 February 2014
Carl Sandburg: Poet of the People
As a spokesperson for average, everyday people, Carl Sandburg was a gifted poet who captured the spirit of industrial America. Sandburg, who is a son of Swedish immigrants, was born and raised in Galesburg, Illinois. Forced to go work at an early age because of poverty, Sandburg spent six years working at a variety of jobs as he attended school on an irregular basis. Although he enrolled at Lombard College, he left school shortly before his graduation and spent several years traveling around the country, again working at diverse jobs. From his adolescence to adulthood, Sandburg experienced hard conditions of working class in America. In 1913 he settled in Chicago, …show more content…
An excerpt from, his poem, “The People, Yes”, was published at the height of the Great Depression, he was inspired to write it for those hit hardest by unemployment and poverty. Setting his poem in the Great Depression, Sandburg depicts workers’ endurance and aspirations. In this poem, the people, exploited and manipulated by the government over and over again, lament they can not read, study, and talk with their friends about politics and enjoy their lives because they took all their time to earn their living. However, Sandburg feels work was man 's greatest salvation, describing how the people will live on and endure the tough working environment. In his other poem, “I Am the People, the Mob”, Sandburg states that they are the ones who work, invent, make food and clothes, witness history, and give birth to leaders. Without them, there would not even be a government because there would be no one to support it. However, the people have been forgotten by society, and government. They do not remember how important the people are and how hard they work. Sandburg demonstrates that people should not sneer and deride workers and should remember to learn from them and use their lessons of the past. One of the poems in which the readers can sympathize with a common desire among labors is …show more content…
He is, rather, a fan of free verse. He is not bound by use conventional stylistic elements; he uses plainspoken language to give intimacy to readers so that they can recognize his ideas easily. He also does not deviate much from his general style, not like Emily Dickinson, who varies her own stylistic devices. Using simple and direct tone and figurative language to reveal this notion, he shares these opinions by writing powerful as in poetry, “The People, Yes”, “I Am the People, the Mob”, “At a Window”, and “Child of the Roman”. Because he was alive and writing poetry during the 1910’s to 1930’s, his poems tend to share many of the characteristics with other poems from this same time period. A majority of Sandburg 's works are about the exact same subject. He laments the inequity and struggle in the working class. His ideas directly relate to his life and opinions. He believes the workers of this era were being put down too much, but they endured hardship and established the present America. Sandburg’s poetry helps modern generation remember and appreciate the working class’s contributions and