Chicago And My City

During the 20th century the American poet Carl Sandburg and the African-American poet James Weldon Johnson wrote vivid poems about two main cities in the United Sates to show the dual side of each one. These two poems ‘’Chicago’’ and ‘’My city’’ have a similar theme, tone and speaker however the structure of each poem is very different.

Chicago and New York are two major cities in United States and the poets Carl Sandburg and James Weldon Johnson embody their feelings toward these two. The speaker in both poems is similar, these two poems are told by people, more specific citizens from Chicago and New York (‘’My city’’), so the speaker in ‘’Chicago’’ and in the poem ‘’My city’’ is a proud citizen talking about the duality of the two cities. The tone of both poems is similar as well, the tone from ‘’Chicago’’ is a vivid, alive and dark tone because it describes how Chicago can be joyful place to live but very dangerous too:‘’under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs’’. In the same way is described the tone from the poem ‘’My city’’ which is a joyful, picturesque and happy tone but also a depressing tone when it talks about the duality of the city which in this case is the bad side of every city, a dark and lonely city.

On the other hand the structure of the poem ‘’Chicago’’ and ‘’My City’’ they both differ. Carl Sandburg uses a very free type of poem to write ‘’Chicago’’, the poem is a free verse and the poet uses no specific rhyme

scheme. In contrast to ‘’Chicago’’ the poet James Weldon Johnson uses a very different structure, he uses in his poem ‘’My city’’ a strict and organic form; this poem is known to be an Italian sonnet, this means that the poem includes two parts that together form an Italian sonnet, the first part of the poem is an octave and this first part ask a question and then following it the poem has a second part which is the sestet where the question in the octave it is answered. The poem has a regular rhyme scheme ABBACDDC in the octave, and DEDEGG in the sestet. Although these two poems have a contrasting structure, both poems use a certain characteristic that let readers to create images and make the reading easier and this is catalog, a listing of people, objects or qualities and in both poems the poets use catalog; in the poem ‘’Chicago’’ Sandburg uses professions to create catalog: Hog Butcher for the World, tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, player with railroads and the Nation's Freight Handle. Weldon Johnson uses characteristic that describe New York City: But, ah! Manhattan's sights and sounds, her smells, Her crowds, her throbbing force, the thrill that comes from being of her a part, her subtle spells, Her shining towers, her avenues, her slums- O God! The stark, unutterable pity.

‘’Chicago’’ and ‘’My city’’ have a different structure but something that is ‘’Chicago’’ and ‘’My city’’ have a different structure but something that is similar in both poems is the theme. The theme of both poem is that both citizen from Chicago and New York are proud of their city, their feelings toward their cities is like no other pride, the poems express that there is no

other city like theirs: Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning. Eventhough their cities might have corruption, flaws and a dark side the feel love for their city. Sandburg and Weldon Johnson use duality in their poems to show that Chicago and New York have great side of culture, buildings and many entertaining places but yet their citizens accept the bad side of delinquency.

The pride and the love for cities like Chicago and New York are embodied in poems from Sandburg and Weldon Johnson and this poems show

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