Skip to main content

In the poem "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks, what are three literary devices used? What is the theme?

The theme of the short poem by Gwendolyn Brooks is that high school dropouts often feel proud and sure of themselves at first because they are bolstered by their peers, but eventually they will suffer the negative consequences of their choices. In the poem, the jazz-like rhythm and the multiple lines that end in "we" portray the cocky swagger of the seven who "left school." These teens believe they are "cool" as they go about their singing, drinking, dancing, and hanging out. The fact that there are seven of them and the repetition of "we" suggests that they gain their self-image from being part of this group. The last line stands in harsh contrast to the rest of the defiant words; they will pay for their poor choices eventually. The chances of their dying young are high.


Several poetic devices are used in the poem. Consonance is used in "real cool" with the repeated end /l/ sound emphasizing the overconfident attitude of the teens. Examples of alliteration are "lurk late," "strike straight," and "jazz June." The rhymes that occur not in end position but in the penultimate word of each line are an unusual technique. This is paired with another unusual rhyming technique: using identical rhymes at the end of each line except the last. The technique that gives the poem its unique feel is the ironic use of enjambment and caesura. Normally a line that ends without punctuation should be read smoothly to the next line without pausing. This is called enjambment. Caesura is a hard stop in the middle of a line of poetry, which occurs in every line of this poem except the last. However, because of the repeated "we," which is the last word of each line but the beginning of a new sentence, readers are tempted to pause after "we" before going to the next line. This is, in fact, what Brooks intended. (You can listen to her read her own poem at the link below.) Thus the poem defies the rules for reading poetry, just as the seven have defied the rules of society by dropping out of school. Finally, the poem ends with irony. The dire sentence imposed on the seven at the end stands in stark contrast to the lively arrogance they exhibit in the rest of the poem. Having the "we" deliver the prophecy of their own demise is ironic since they probably don't understand or believe those words--at least not yet. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more