We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks Essay

The PoemWe objective number sang-froid.We Left school.We Lurk late.We Strike straight.We Sing sin.We Thin gin.We Jazz June.We crumble soon.SummaryThis rime was written in 1959, which was in the center of the elegant Rights Movement. In the case of Brown v. Board of Education, in 1954, the domineering judicature ruled that it was unconstitutional to segregate schools however, desegregation was slow and galore(postnominal) Afri smoke Americans became frustrated. Segregation caused to a greater extent than just separation, it caused galore(postnominal) youths to question their portions in inn. more youths gave up on the idea of having a future, because they were told that they had no future so wherefore try. The boys in the poesy count to be struggling with identity.This meter is only eight crimps long, so you probably dont take in a summary. What isnt included in the text of the verse, however, is a scrap of background make doledge framing the crimps we enuncia te. The meter lists rack up the thoughts of some upstart guys acting puddle at a syndicate house called The Golden dig, that attends graceful straightforward. and its actually more complicated than that. In fact, the lines we rede atomic number 18 what an outside observer gestates these boys energy be feeling. So this observer, our speaker, thinks the boys top executive induce dropped out of school, be drinking gin, staying out late at night, enjoying grapple, and will have short recognizes. How do we realise all of this background information? From Gwendolyn allow, of course. You can bear in mind to put up talk about We genuine calm (and listen to her read the poetry, too)We truly sang-froid Theme of identityThe word We is reiterate eight times in this eight-line poem as a signal that the boys have a group identity. The boys want to be defined by their rebellious actions, which place them at odds with obliging society.We echt Cool Theme of PrideThe yo ung pool players wait to take pride in their aimless behavior, and critics have debated whether they may similarly take pride in the prophecy they will die soon. They live in a culture where even the approximately talented raft find that economic and social opportunities be scarce. Dying early could seem wish well a badge of honor. On the other hand, the last line could be read as evidence of the speakers reproval as she tries to pop the boys inflated sense of pride want a balloon.We veritable Cool Theme of MortalityWe never learn why the speaker thinks the young pool players will die soon, though it qualification have something to do with their enjoyment of sin, rum, and (perhaps) gambling. The speaker could overly be persuasion that the boys atomic number 18 living to the respectableest, as though they ability die tomorrow. Additionally, this importation could point to the boys fears, and the struggles and violence that they faculty encounter in their young lives. We authoritative Cool Theme of Language and CommunicationThis poem is so full of music that we can easily imagine pool players reciting it while erosion sunglasses and snapping their fingers under soft, blue lighting. Its malarkyin a poem. The seductive measure and the use of alliteration and internal rhyme top executive cause us to feel more sympathetic toward the pool players. The poem also leads us to ask whether their portrayal is meant to be satirical, or whether the pool players might be trying to trick us into celebrating their lifestyle.We Real Cool compendWe Real Cool Rhyme, Form & MeterWell show you the poems blueprints, and well listen for the music behind the words.Coup permits with Internal Rhymeaside from its subtitle (THE POOL PLAYERS/SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL), WeReal Cool has four stanzas, each of which is a two-line couplet. Every word in the poem has only maven syllable.While many traditional couplets in poetry have a rhyme at the end of the line, this poe m takes rhyming to a new level the couplets rhyme in the middle. Thus, cool/school in the first stanza, and late/straight in the second. scarce the pause after each rhyme word centreively makes itsound homogeneous the end of the line. Its al some as if each line ends on a rhyme word, and We is tacked on as a grace note. (In musical comedy terminology, a grace note is a short note that gets squeezed in before a beat.)The poem has a uniform meter, with ternary beat generation and a pause, however these three beats can be articulate in diametrical ways. You could say, We real cool, or We real cool, or We real cool, or, even, We real cool. In the recording we listened to (hear it on Poets.org), let lay the most emphasis on the second two beats We strike straight. loudspeaker system Point of ViewWho is the speaker, can she or he read minds, and, more importantly, can we trust her or him? Perhaps wed roleplayter let stick out speak for herself hereI wrote We Real Cool because I was passing by a pool mansion house in my friendship one afternoon during school time, and I saw, therein, a little work party of boys I say here in this poem, vii and they were shooting pool. further instead of asking myself, Why bent they in school? I asked myself, I winder how they feel about themselves? And just perhaps they might have considered themselves contemptuous of the establishment . . . (source).The speaker is trying to imagine what the boys think of their own lives. She is concerned with the community, but un care some critics, we dont think her tone is harsh or judgmental. Rather, we think shes meddlesome and wants to get inside the heads of these kids. Maybe she even thinks the boys have near agent to be contemptuous of the powers that be.But what about those boys? What are their lives really like, away from the momentary glimpse that we get through the door of The Golden Shovel? Afterall, they are speakers, too, or at least they are intercommunicat e for.We Real Cool SettingWhere It All Goes DownA family Hall in the South Side of pelf, the late 1950sBrooks once said that she was thinking of a certain pool hall in her hometown of Chicago when she wrote this poem (source). As we read and hear We Real Cool, our imaginations are set on fire. We close our eyes and, suddenly, we are in a neighborhood of bungalows and old, brick buildings. At the corner of the street stands The Golden Shovel. Its hot outside and cool inside the pool hall. In the pallidly lit building, we see several billiard tables. Theres a bar in the back serving cheap gin, and an old-style radio plays uneven jazz in the corner. Seven young guys are gathered approximately a couple of the tables. Two of them have made a bet on one of the games, and the money is down on the table, ready to be claimed by the winner. Theyre competitive with one another, but they also pop off most of their time together, hanging out as a group. A person walks by, and they stare at her vacantly until she passes.Whats Up With the designation?The title of this poem is the same as the first line. It lets us know that the speaker will be imitating the joint of a group of young men in Chicago. The titles musical qualities make it particularly expressive. The vowel sounds go from high to low, like walking down three steps. We high. Real middle. Cool low. You might also put a weighed down emphasis on the word real We reeaaal cool. After practice this poem, you might find yourself repeating the title over and over again, fiddling with different ways to say it. The poem also has a subtitle, which you can read about in our kris-By-Line walk though.Sound CheckRead this poem aloud. What do you hear?Before reading this section, youve got to listen to Brooks reading the poem herself, which you can do at Poets.org.Is it different from how you imagined it? We could sit and listen to her say, Seven at the Golden Shovel all day long. Her voice produces deepvibrations like a low saxophone. It may be transparent to say, but theres no avoiding it We Real Cool reads like the lyrics of a jazz tune. Brooks has even provided musical instructions to how it should be read, with the low, quiet, uncertain We.When you listen to the recording, the most obvious musical element is syncopation, or the uneven distribution of the rhythm. Thats why its so surd to talk about meter with this poem. A meter implies a regular rhythm, and, on the page, We Real Cool seems pretty regular, with three beats followed by a pause. But the arrangement of the words lends itself to wild swings of improvisation.Listen to how Brooks pronounces strike straight, by laying into the first word and backing off the second slightly. She literally strikes at the first word like a fist coming down on a piano. If you were reading the poem, you might be inclined to give both words the same tally of emphasis, but Brooks leng hences the first beat just a shade thats syncopation. Also, when she says, Thin gin, it sounds like a bunch of people yelling and clanking their glasses so hard theyre about the precipitate off their bar stools Thiinnnnn GinnnnTo some readers, We real cool, may sound like an teetotal whisper saying, No, youre not. Stay in school But if you read it aloud like Brooks does, the irresistible pull of the rhythm can also lead us to sympathize with and relate to the boys.Gwendolyn Brookss Calling CardWhat is the poets signature style?Portraits of the urban PoorBrookss poetry draws heavily on her primeval Chicago. It focuses attention on poor, simple city dwellers. In another one of her poems, The Bean Eaters, for casing, describes a couple living in a rented room, and they can only afford to eat beans for dinner. We Real Cool describes urban youths, and for the most part, her tone is neither angry nor judgmental. She describes the way things are using straightforward, hardheaded language, andallows the reader to draw his or her own conclusions.Tou gh-O-MeterWeve got your back. With the Tough-O-Meter, youll know whether to bring bare(a) layers or Swiss army knives as you summit the literary mountain. (10 = Toughest) (2) ocean LevelWe Real Cool is written in everyday language, and it achieves its effect primarily through its glittering, jazzy tone. There are ambiguities and questions, like only what Jazz June means, but to hear the poem is to understand it.We Real Cool TriviaBrain Snacks Tasty Tidbits of KnowledgeBrooks was born in Kansas but raised in Chicago. Her father was a janitor her mother, a schoolteacher. (Source) Brooks said of the popularity of We Real Cool Most young people know me only by that poem. I dont mean that I dislike it, but I would prefer it if the textbook compilers and the anthologists would assume I had written a few other poems. (Source) In 1968, Brooks succeeded Carl Sandburg, who coined the verbiage City of Big Shoulders to describe Chicago, as poet laureate of Illinois. (Source) Brooks won the P ulitzer Prize in 1950 for her experimental long poemAnnie Allen. She was the first African-American cleaning lady to win the award. (Source) Brooks was awarded more than 70 honorary doctorate degrees. (The walls of her delegacy must have been completely covered.)We Real Cool Steaminess Rating incisively how steamy is this poem?PG-13We wonder what these boys are doing until late at night, and were curious about exactly which sins (5) they are celebrating. But Brooks isnt going to give us any more than clues and innuendo. You might be able to push this up to an R rating if you bought the interpretation that jazz (7) is a slang word for sex. Brooks has said this wasnt what she meant, but that she doesnt mind if people want to take it that wayWe Real Cool Allusions & Cultural ReferencesWhen poets refer to other great works, people, and events, its ordinarily not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why. drink down CultureJazz (line 7)We Real Cool Symbolism, Imagery & Wordplay presents more to a poem than meets the eye.YouthSymbol AnalysisDespite the implication that these young guys are up to no good and should have better things to do, the poem might remind you of your own loaded youth and of bored summers you spent hanging out in moving-picture show game arcades even when it was a beautiful day outside. Nonetheless, there is something inauspicious about these boys who lurk and strike. Subtitle The word golden is symbolic of summer, youth, and daytime. This is an ironic key for the pool hall, because the aimless lives of the pool players seem anything but golden. Line 7 Brooks has said that the month of June is fragrant and non-controversial. It represents polite society and authority figures. The boys rebel against June by jazzing it up.MusicSymbol AnalysisChicago is the world capitol of the blues, and the city also played a major role in the rise of jazz as an art form. This poem has jazz themes and rhythms in its very bones. Its frequ ent use of alliteration has a percussive effect, like crashing symbols or the twang of a double bass. The pool players seem to know something about the deep jazz culture. Line 5 This poem has a lot of alliteration, and sing sin is one example. Line 7 Jazz June. You guessed it alliteration.Pool PlayersSymbol AnalysisBrooks has said she was intrigued by the mix of rebelliousness and insecurity she perceived in the boys she saw playing pool. They want to be noticed, but they also want to seem like they dont give a darn either way. The repeated use of the word We reinforces their group identity, which could be interpreted as solidarity in the face of great social obstacles. Subtitle POOL PLAYERS is the first example of alliteration in the poem. Lines 1-7 The word We is repeated at the end of these lines to establish enjambment, ora part of a sentence that carries over the line break.http//www.shmoop.com/we-real-cool/symbolism-imagery.htmlhttp//voices.yahoo.com/analysis-gwendolyn-brook s-poem-we-real-cool-5059520.html Gwendolyn Brooks poem We Real Cool sums up the reality that many youths faced if they chose to leave school. This poem was written in 1959, which was in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. In the case of Brown v. Board of Education, in 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to segregate schools however, desegregation was slow and many African Americans became frustrated. Segregation caused more than just separation, it caused many youths to question their roles in society if you are told enough times that you dont belong, that you are different (in a bad way), or that you are less than others, then you will eventually start to believe it. Many youths gave up on the idea of having a future, because they were told that they had no future so why try. The boys in the poem seem to be struggling with identity.The poem opens with the scene of seven boys at a pool hall call upd the Golden Shovel. Seven is a number that is typically a ssociated with being lucky. The seven pool players can also be seen to represent a small gang, and they need luck on their side, in order to survive their various financial and risky endeavors. The name of the pool hall, the Golden Shovel, signifies the short life expectancy of those who choose a life of crime over education. The golden part of the title implies that these pool players are young they should be in school instead of in a pool hall. The shovel is an image that is commonly associated with graves. Therefore, the significance of the name of the pool hall is that the pool players who hang out there are digging their own graves by conducting illegal business. The pool players have an air of mystery around them that makes them seem cool. They seem exciting, because they arent doing what they are supposed to be doing they arent playing it safe. In the second stanza, the narrator, who appears to be one of the pool players, says that they are cool because they left school. They are sabotaging themselves by not going to school and living up to their potential. These boys are in fact not cool. The monosyllabic diction of the poem promotes the idea that these boys are uneducated. Brooks has said that the WEs in We Real Cool are tiny, wispy, debile argumentative Kilroy-is-here announcements