Poetry is a technique of using words to express a feeling or feelings about a subject. There are different types of poets that write for different purposes. Some poets write for the purpose of entertainment. Some write to express their feelings in words. Others poets write to make a living. Usually, successful poets have a interesting life story. Carl Sandburg was arguably one of the best poets and had one of the most interesting life story in the history of poetry. Carl Sandburg was a very successful poet born in Galesburg on January 6, 1878. Sandburg was born to Swedish immigrants August and Clara Anderson Sandburg. When he was a young boy, he quit school after his graduation from eighth grade in 1891 and spent ten years doing a variety of jobs. Some of the jobs Sandburg did was delivering milk, harvesting ice, laying bricks, threshing wheat in Kansas, and shining shoes. In 1897, he traveled on the streets as a hobo. While traveling as a hobo, he gained new political views. Also, while traveling as a hobo he learned folk songs, which he later performed at speaking …show more content…
In this poem, he rarely uses figurative language. However, his poem has a deep meaning about the way he grew up. His words give a tone of jealousy of the people that had houses and other things he did not. He states, “Buy shoes for rough weather in November. Buy shirts to sleep outdoors when May comes”(Sandburg). This symbolizes him having to buy clothing to sleep outside because he did not have a home at the time. The time period in which Sandburg wrote this poem influences his usage of vocabulary. For example, he says, “In the faces marching in the firelog flickers”(Sandburg). This shows that it was written around the early 1900s because back then they would commonly use firewood for heat. Also, there is very little rhyming in this poem. Sandburg had a rough time growing up without a