Chicago
by Carl Sandburg
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: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 wanton 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,
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.
Summary of Chicago
- Popularity of “Chicago”: This poem by Carl Sandburg, a great American poet, was published in March of 1914. It demonstrates the poet’s ability to eulogize his city, Chicago. The poet has vowed to respond to the Chicago critics befittingly, paying them back in the same coin. He is of the view that the city of Chicago is alive to its cultural setting like a giant having several aspects. The beauty of the poem lies in making the city a giant like the Leviathan of Hobbes.
- “Chicago” As a Representative of Urbanity and Love of Birthplace: The poet starts with different titles given to the city of Chicago with some having good and some bad connotations. Yet, the poet concludes that almost all of these titles have some negativity in them. Therefore, he goes on to eulogize his city, saying that he is there to defend his city. He vociferously replies, turning his “sneer” on those who sneer at his city. He goes on to attack those critics saying that they could present an example of a city equal to this city. He personifies his city as a dog or some other animal that has intelligence and the will to change things. He then lauds it further saying that it behaves like an animate thing saying that it laughs with the young men and has its own destiny. However, what it has and what it is, the poet is proud of it saying that it could be a Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, or Freight of Handler. In fact, the poet is happy with the centrality of Chicago in the US economic architecture.
- Major Themes in “Chicago”: Intelligence, patriotism, and love with one’s birthplace are three major thematic strands of the poem. The poet opens the poem with the titles given to his city of Chicago. Then he goes on to make his critics silent, saying that he could respond to them in the same coin but he wants to eulogize his city to show his patriotism and his love for his birthplace. He praises his city and silences his critics saying that his city is alive to its dwellers and sympathizes and helps them during despondency.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Chicago
literary devices are tools used by writers and poets to convey their emotions, feelings, and ideas to the readers. Carl Sandburg has used various literary devices to enhance the intended impacts of his poem. Some of the major literary devices have been analyzed below.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /a/ in “Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight Handler”.
- Anaphora: It is the repetition of a phrase or words in the beginning of successive sentences or verses such as “And they tell…” and “Under the…”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /r/ in “Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight Handler” and the sound of /n/ in “Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs”.
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession. For example, the sound of /b/ in “Building, breaking, rebuilding.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make the readers perceive things with their five senses. For example, “Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat”; “Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight Handler” and “Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth.”
- Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The poem shows the use of irony in the titles that they show one thing about the city and another thing about its impacts.
- Personification: Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate objects. For example, “City of the Big Shoulders”, “Hog Butcher for the World” and “Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the”.
- Simile: It is used to compare an object or a person with something else to make meanings clear. For example, “Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness.”
- Apostrophe: An apostrophe is a device used to call somebody or something from afar. Here the poet used an apostrophe to call the city a wonderful place: “City of the Big Shoulders” expressing happiness and pride.
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; instead, it rolls over to the next line. For example,
“And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger.”
- Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. For example, “and they tell me” is repeated in the second stanza to emphasize the point.
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet uses metaphors for the city as he states, “They tell me you are wicked and I believe them.” It shows that they are comparing the city with an animal.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols like tools, railroads, handlers, and big shoulders. These symbols show the city as some giant.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Chicago
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this rhyme.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are thirty-four stanzas in this poem, with each varying in length.
- Free Verse: Free Verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free-verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
- Repetition: The poem has used several repetitions for rhetorical effects, such as “They tell me you….I have seen….”
Quotes to be Used
- The lines stated below are useful as a quote for people who never give up.
“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.”
2. The following lines are useful to praise one’s city.
Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.