The New Poetry RL 4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. RL 5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.

did you know? Carl Sandburg . . . • considered running for president of the United States. • worked as a war correspondent during World War I. • wrote books for children. • spoke before Congress about Abraham Lincoln.

Chicago Grass Poetry by Carl Sandburg

Meet the Author

Carl Sandburg

1878–1967

When Carl Sandburg died in 1967, President Lyndon Johnson was among the first to sing his praises. “Carl Sandburg,” the president declared, “was more than the voice of America, more than the poet of its strength and genius. He was America.” Johnson’s feelings were not unique. Americans everywhere cherished Sandburg, believing his verse celebrated their spirit and speech as well as championed their cause.

he ran out of money, he returned to the Midwest, writing for journals in Chicago and joining the lecture circuit. His skill as an orator eventually earned him a job in Milwaukee as an organizer for the Wisconsin Social-Democratic Party. While living there, he married Lillian Steichen, who, like Sandburg, was committed to fighting social injustice.

A Hobo at Heart Sandburg grew up in

moved to Chicago, where Sandburg became a reporter, editorial writer, and columnist for the Chicago Daily News. Two years later, his verse began to appear in Poetry, a prominent literary magazine. With the publication of his poetry collections Chicago Poems, Cornhuskers, and Smoke and Steel, Sandburg gained a reputation as the poet of the common people. The poetry readings he gave further heightened his popularity. Interspersing poetry with commentary and folk songs sung in his melodious baritone, Sandburg enthralled audiences wherever he went.

America’s heartland in Galesburg, Illinois. From his Swedish immigrant parents, August and Clara Sandburg, he learned to value hard work and education. His family’s poverty, however, forced Sandburg to curtail his schooling at 13 in order to go to work. He labored at various jobs, ranging from shining shoes to delivering milk. When he turned 19, he left home to explore the American West, becoming one hopped freight of the many hoboes who hop trains in order to travel free. Social Activist When tthe Spanish-

erupted in 1898, American War erupt Sandburg served for eight months After his return, in Puerto Rico. Afte Lombard College he studied at Lomb receiving a but left without rece diploma. Overtaken once again by rambled about the wanderlust, he rambl country, soaking up America’s sights and songs. When so

Literary Celebrity In 1912, the couple

Sandburg won a number of awards and honors, including the 1951 Pulitzer Prize for poetry for Complete Poems and the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for history for Abraham Lincoln: The War Years, the last volume in a six-volume biography.

Author Online Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML11-928

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text analysis: tone and diction Some poems exhibit a subtle tone that is difficult to perceive and nearly impossible to describe. Others practically break forth with trumpets in the first stanza. Whether gently or boldly, poets generally convey tone, or attitude toward the subject, through diction (word choice and syntax) and choice of details. In the first lines of “Chicago,” Carl Sandburg’s diction creates a tone of admiration for a hard-working city: Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight Handler; Stormy, husky, brawling, City of the Big Shoulders. . . . Read these two poems by Sandburg aloud to help you identify the tone of each. If you read with emotion, your tone of voice may provide you with clues to the poem’s tone. Review: Personification

reading skill: synthesize details In “Chicago,” Sandburg presents a long list, or catalog, of qualities, images, and statements about the city. Collectively, this sensory language helps create vivid imagery of the city. As you read, pay close attention to the sensory language that Sandburg employs, and note how he uses it to create imagery. After you read the poem, you’ll be asked to synthesize numerous details into a single, coherent impression.

Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

Would you rather live in the city or the

country?

“If you would be known, and not know, vegetate in a village; if you would know, and not be known, live in a city,” wrote the poet Reverend Charles Caleb Colton. What benefits and drawbacks do you associate with city living? with country living? What kind of place inspires you the most? In the poems that follow, Carl Sandburg explores different settings that have affected him. QUICKWRITE Think about a city or a place in the country where you would like to live. What aspects of this setting particularly appeal to you? How might living there enrich your life? Spend a few minutes writing in response to these questions.

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Chicago Carl Sandburg

5

10

Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight Handler; Stormy, husky, brawling, City of the Big Shoulders: a They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys. And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again. And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton1 hunger. And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them: Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning. Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities; Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness, Bareheaded, Shoveling,

a SYNTHESIZE DETAILS

The brief descriptive phrases in lines 1–5, also known as epithets, are almost like nicknames; in fact, some of them have come into common use. What do they tell you about the city’s economy and industry?

b

b TONE AND DICTION

Lines 6–8 contain harsh words such as wicked and brutal. Identify the language in lines 9–10 that counters this harshness. What does it reveal about Sandburg’s feelings toward the city as well as its critics?

1. wanton: without limitation.

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South of the Loop (1936), Charles Turzak. Color woodcut, Image 102/3˝ × 113/4˝, sheet 111/4˝ × 15˝. Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Northwestern University, 1992.73 © Joan Turzak Van Hees. 15

20

25

Wrecking, Planning, Building, breaking, rebuilding, Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth, Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs, Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle, Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs the heart of the people, Laughing! Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.

Analyze Visuals What qualities of the city are emphasized by both the horizontal and the vertical lines in this woodcut? Refer to specific areas of the print when giving your answer.

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Grass Carl Sandburg

Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.1 Shovel them under and let me work— I am the grass; I cover all. c

5

10

And pile them high at Gettysburg And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.2 Shovel them under and let me work. Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor: What place is this? Where are we now? I am the grass. Let me work. d

c

PERSONIFICATION Reread lines 1–3. Sandburg uses personification in establishing the speaker for this poem. Who is the speaker and what is its role in these scenes?

d TONE AND DICTION

Identify several examples of repetition in this poem. What tone is established by the repetition of these words and/or phrases?

1. Austerlitz (ôPstEr-lGtsQ) and Waterloo: sites of significant battles during the Napoleonic Wars (1800–1815). 2. Ypres (CPprE) and Verdun (vEr-dOnP): sites of significant battles during World War I.

Le Plateau de Bolante (1917), Félix Vallotton. Oil on canvas. Musée d’Histoire Contemporaine, Paris. © Musée d’Histoire Contemporaine-BDIC.

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After Reading

Comprehension 1. Recall What negative aspects of Chicago are presented in lines 6–8? 2. Clarify What scenes are referred to in “Grass”?

Text Analysis 3. Synthesize Details Think about the litany, or list, of images and ideas in “Chicago.” Based on the accumulation of detail in this poem, what general statement can you make about the people who live and work in the city? 4. Compare Tone and Diction Identify the tone of each poem. Are the tones similar or different? Cite at least three examples of diction that reveal tone in each poem.

RL 4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. RL 5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well as its aesthetic impact.

5. Evaluate Personification Sandburg uses personification in “Chicago” as well as in “Grass,” giving human characteristics to objects, animals, or ideas. Describe the figure who personifies Chicago. What words and phrases capture his most important traits? 6. Analyze Style What poetic or other stylistic devices underscore Sandburg’s characterization of Chicago as a brash, brawling, vibrant city? Consider such elements as line and stanza shape, rhythm, and other formal conventions. Be specific, citing examples from the text. 7. Interpret Setting and Theme Both “Chicago” and “Grass” depict a strong sense of place, each containing some contradiction. For each poem, identify this contradiction and use it to help you formulate a theme statement. Give evidence to support your answers. 8. Compare and Contrast Writers Carl Sandburg was greatly influenced by the poetry of Walt Whitman (see page 530). Compare and contrast the two poets in terms of the following points, citing specific lines from their work. Can you see Whitman’s influence in Sandburg’s poems? Explain why or why not. • use of catalog or litany

• tone and diction

• use of repetition and parallelism

• ideas about America

Text Criticism 9. Critical Interpretations Imagist poet William Carlos Williams once criticized Sandburg’s poetry as “formless.” Even some of Sandburg’s supporters conceded that this was true. Do you agree or disagree? Cite evidence to support your response, also explaining whether you would count yourself among his supporters or his critics, and why.

Would you rather live in the

city or the country?

In his poems “Chicago” and “Grass,” Carl Sandburg uses vivid imagery to make surprising statements about the city and the country. If you were going to write a poem about the city or the country, what imagery would you use? Explain.

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