Carl Sandburg : America 's Poet

Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman had very similar lives. They both came from working class families and neither one of them went to high school or graduated college. They learned from watching people and by reading books on their own. They both had a certain sense for the world that made them able to see what was going on around them and grasp its significance. Although Whitman was born sixty years before Sandburg there were still a lot of the same things happening in America and they both picked up on one important factor of the time, that of the average working class man. Whitman and Sandburg admired the working class man for all of his hard work and they wrote a lot about this

Figurative Language Essay We live at such a frantic, hectic pace in today's society that it is rare, but crucial, to m. take time to focus on the little blessings around us. In the poem “Sketch” Carl Sandburg demonstrates mindfulness. Sometimes solitude can allow you to enter your own world. Studies have shown that those who take time to quiet their mind live a happier, more serene, and overall more fulfilled life.

Poetry as a literally work in which the expression of ideas and feelings is given strength has had great authors overtime who took different perspectives in this genre of literature. These poets used distinctive rhythm and style to express their styles, poetic themes, outlook on life, and had their share of influence on the American society. This paper uses the basis of these styles, themes, outlook on life and subsequent influence on the American society to compare three prolific poets who ventured into this literature genre: Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, and Maya Angelou. Robert Frost (1874-1963) holds a unique and almost sole position in the career span which mostly encompasses

He thought poetry was an art of association, it inspires readers' imagination with symbolism rather than direct imitation of life, and hold the reader's feelings and arouse them to act with passion. His style throughout the 19th century formed the mainstream of American poetry”(1).

Of the utmost importance to us was American identity, which was a deciding factor in eliminating some candidates such as David Baker and Alex Dang. We also assessed the efforts of the poet in promoting poetry, the thoughtfulness of the messages contained in their poems, whether or not they displayed a distinct writing style within their poetry, the recognition they have received for their work, and also finally their background. Even though many factors were considered, American identity is weaved into each and every one – for example, when providing background information on the poet, the presenters had to demonstrate how their background helped the poet to develop distinctly American characteristics, and then show how it was represented in their works. These expectations which we had set for a prospective poet laureate were easily surpassed by Komunyakaa. For reference, he surpassed the next highest score, Mary Karr’s, by an astonishing 3 points, scoring 21 out of a possible 24 points, and this well-rounded excellence proved him to be the ideal

Carl Sandburg wrote many poems, but this is a simpler text than he is use to writing. “Hope Is a Tattered Flag” was written in 1936, when America was coming out of the Great Depression. The poem gave several people hope and inspiration!

Whitman wrote broad stanzas and focused on the whole of America as his inspiration. His lines covered a wide range of topics and generated multiple points of view for the reader. He called his life’s work “Leaves of Grass”; stressing the

While Carl Sandburg’s “To the Ghost of John Milton” and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “Milton” both discuss individuals leading rebellions against tyranny, their approaches widely differ. Sandburg’s use of free verse furthers his argument by symbolically showing that both individuals and writing should be free. On the other hand, Longfellow structures his poem in the rhyme structure of the Italian sonnet to add sound imagery of people revolting like waves crashing against the shore. Although both emphasize Milton’s rebellion against authoritative figures, I believe the structure of Sandburg’s poem in free verse better captures the freedom Milton craved.

     Carl Sandburg may be one of our most influential poets in American history, he knew the American working man and his necessities. Sandburg used his poetry to explicate to the economy how life is, can, and could be. Carl Sandburg was born in Galesburg, Illinois January 6, 1878 to Swedish immigrant parents with the names of August and Clara Johnson. His family was extremely poor. Carl left school at the age of thirteen to work odd jobs from bricklaying to dish washing to earn money to support the family. At seventeen, he left home to travel to Kansas as a hobo, there he turned to the army for help. He served eight months in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American war.

Through a careful interpretation of A Defense of Poetry by Percy Bysshe Shelley and Democratic Vistas by Walt Whitman, one can gain a holistic sense of poetry, what it is and what it does, that can be applied to literary texts of all times. One can better understand Allen Ginsberg's "America" through an examination of the aforementioned texts as well. The literary merit of the poem is best recognized through Walt Whitman's Democratic Vistas, although Percy Bysshe Shelley's A Defense of Poetry also contributes some very critical parallels to the poem and its characteristics.

Robert Frost is an iconic poet in American literature today, and is seen as one of the most well known, popular, or respected twentieth century American poets. In his lifetime, Frost received four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry, and the Congressional Gold Medal. However, Robert Frost’s life was not always full of fame and wealth; he had a very difficult life from the very beginning. At age 11, his father died of tuberculosis; fifteen years later, his mother died of cancer. Frost committed his younger sister to a mental hospital, and many years later, committed his own daughter to a mental hospital as well. Both Robert and his wife Elinor suffered from depression throughout their lives, but considering the premature deaths of three of their children and the suicide of another, both maintained sanity very well. (1)

In the words of Anne Bradstreet, “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” As writers of the modern era expressed their hardships through poetry, one can only hope that they kept such advice in mind. Through captivating works, poets such as Langston Hughes, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Robert Frost, and E.E. Cummings expressed the struggles of life during the modern era. By examining what these poets have to say about dissatisfaction with life, feelings of inadequacy, and loneliness, it becomes clear that life during the modern era was full of hardships.

Carl Sandburg, born in Galesburg, Illinois, on January 6, 1878, was an American poet, writer, and editor who won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. However he was best known for his poetry. His most famous poem, called happiness explained an experience he had in college. Carl attended Lombard college located in chicago, illinois, from

America experienced profound changes during the mid 1800’s. New technologies and ideas helped the nation grow, while the Civil War ripped the nation apart. During this tumultuous period, two great American writers captured their ideas in poetry. Their poems give us insight into the time period, as well as universal insight about life. Although polar opposites in personality, Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman created similar poetry. Dickinson’s “Hope is a Thing with Feathers” and Whitman’s “O Captain! My Captain!” share many qualities.

President Abraham Lincoln, admired by Walt Whitman, blossomed in “Whitman's writing and in American mythology”(Eiselein) for his leadership and nobility. Whitman hoped for a rugged, healthy, who knew what real, physical work was, to be the “[r]edeemer [p]resident of [t]hese [s]tates”(Whitman). His hopes came true “as in a dream”(Whitman) when “four years later, just such a beard-faced boatman”(Goodheart) entered the White House. Walt Whitman discovered the “comprehensive, all-directing soul he had long been seeking”(Reynolds) in Abraham Lincoln’s life. Therefore Whitman, a patriotic American, would see Lincoln’s death as not only a grave tragedy but also a “promise [of] ultimate purgation and unification for America.”(Reynolds).