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Poem Analysis: We Real Cool By Gwendolyn Brooks

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There are many different poems all over the world. Some are old with lots of meaning and some are newer with no meaning at all. Poems are made up of different elements to make the poem flow. All of these devices are important and are necessary to have to make a poem extravagant. A poem that I enjoyed in this poetry section is “Resume” by Dorothy Parker and a poem that I did not like very much was, “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks. Resume was written in 1926. I believe that one of the reasons why I like this poem so much is because it is meaningful and takes a serious matter, but is a light verse at the same time. There are many things about this poem that make it work and flow well. Parker uses lots of imagery throughout the whole poem. I get a fantastic image when we read “Rivers are damp” (2). In this line Dorothy is talking about someone trying to commit suicide by drowning themselves, this is not the best image, but I still get a clear idea of what is trying to happen. That is not the only line that creates a picture, the words also provide a great image. All of the words in this poem provide a harsh representation and the words that do this are, razors, rivers, acids, pills, guns, nooses, and gas. Another device that Parker …show more content…

This title could be read as resume and we get the impression to continue something. After reading the poem we get the idea that the author is saying to resume your life, finish living. When we put accents in the word we get résumé. Most people may think that this is an odd title choice because a résumé is something that is used for jobs, like a list of accomplishments. Failed suicide attempts are not considered accomplishments to people, but a list of accomplishments from the speaker’s point of view from the struggles that they were dealing with. The word play between these two words help the poem maintain a balance between a serious matter and light

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