Two poets describe the American plight and experience of the 19th and early 20th century in more detail and emotion than any other poets – Walt Whitman and Carl Sandburg. From two different generations, the younger writer’s content and style is very much an extension of his elder, Whitman. Both write, in a very casual style, about the suffering of the common man that they saw firsthand; Whitman’s “I Sit and Look Out” and Sandburg’s “Chicago” provide great examples of their observations of the American experience.
In the poem “I Sit and Look Out,” Whitman observes the suffering of workers in America during the 19th century, the country’s initial period of industrialization. He writes, “I sit and look out upon all the sorrow of the world, and upon all oppression and shame” (1). He describes the anguish and meanness he sees in a variety of individuals, including men, husbands, children, and sailors. He employs free verse and anaphora, the repeating of words at the beginning of the lines, to provide a rhythm and flow to his listing of societal horrors. For …show more content…
In “Chicago,” his love for the American worker and spirit matches that of Whitman. His time period is later, the poem was written in 1914, but he speaks out about the exploited masses and the discriminatory economic system. He writes of the city of Chicago, mimicking Whitman’s lengthy poetry lines disbursed between short lines. The poem starts with short lines describing the contribution the city makes to the nation through the work of the residents. Then, like Whitman, he shifts to lengthy lines describing the horrors of the city and the people. He employs anaphora as well, using the starting phrase, “They tell me . . .”, before returning to the short lines: “Bareheaded,/Shoveling,/Wrecking,/Planning, /Building,/ breaking,/ rebuilding” (13-17). Then, like Whitman, he shifts back to lengthy lines finding the good in all the
In the poem “I Sit and Look Out,” Whitman observes the suffering of workers in America during the 19th century, the country’s initial period of industrialization. He writes, “I sit and look out upon all the sorrow of the world, and upon all oppression and shame” (1). He describes the anguish and meanness he sees in a variety of individuals, including men, husbands, children, and sailors. He employs free verse and anaphora, the repeating of words at the beginning of the lines, to provide a rhythm and flow to his listing of societal horrors. For …show more content…
In “Chicago,” his love for the American worker and spirit matches that of Whitman. His time period is later, the poem was written in 1914, but he speaks out about the exploited masses and the discriminatory economic system. He writes of the city of Chicago, mimicking Whitman’s lengthy poetry lines disbursed between short lines. The poem starts with short lines describing the contribution the city makes to the nation through the work of the residents. Then, like Whitman, he shifts to lengthy lines describing the horrors of the city and the people. He employs anaphora as well, using the starting phrase, “They tell me . . .”, before returning to the short lines: “Bareheaded,/Shoveling,/Wrecking,/Planning, /Building,/ breaking,/ rebuilding” (13-17). Then, like Whitman, he shifts back to lengthy lines finding the good in all the