Gwendolyn Brooks Speech To The Young Analysis

Have you ever been scared of going somewhere new? How about enrolling in a certain program? Did you want to just conceal yourself from the world around you? Maybe you stay that way for a while, but then you get up and realize that you have to move on, confront your fears, get on with life. The poem “Speech to the Young” by Gwendolyn Brooks is a poem talking to younger people that advises them on their lives going forward. It tells them to never give up, don’t let people deter them and always have sights on what you want to accomplish. Clarified explanation of the message, effective and clever use of hyperbole and metaphors, and choosing a certain audience all contributed to the overall relevance and flow of this poem.
The message that this poem displays is one that is heard, taught and loved by many people. This poem encourages readers to face the reality that life throws all kinds of curveballs--which in this poem, resemble people who are negative, tough to deal with, and just simply get in your way and deter you from achieving what you desire. It says “...to the down-keepers/ the sun-slappers/ the self-soilers” (2-4). The people referenced in this line embody the people who the speaker is saying to brush off. In relation to that, I feel there is a second part to the overall message and

“Speech to the Young” by Gwendolyn Brooks is a poem advising young people to stay focused, be ready for failure and show resilience. Without these components, the fluency and tone of the poem could be completely different. These components give this poem its identity, and they make it unique. What would it be without the “self-soilers”, “sun-slappers” or “harmony-hushers”? What would it be without the metaphorical commands at the end? These are testaments to how audience, rhetorical devices and effective message conveyance create a unique