“Chicago” by Carl Sandburg is a very angry poem. In the first stanza he uses phrases like, “Hog Butcher for the World” and “City of Big shoulders” to describe how tough the city is, and how it breaks down a person. I also noticed that “Hog Butcher,” “World,” “City,” and “Big” were all capitalized as if to make it a title or badge of honor. The second stanza is more detailed. I especially noticed lines like, “painted women under the gas lamps luring farm boys,” “Gunman kill and go free and kill again,” and “on the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger.” These lines really implied that the city was cruel, unfair, and indifferent; ultimately taking away all of one’s humanity. The last lines were more disturbing yet, and told of how the city was still ignorant to this and thought they were invincible and could be like this forever, “laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle.” This poem is also, to some extent, true in the author’s eyes. He knows the cruelty of the world, for at thirteen, he dropped out of school and worked odd jobs, and at seventeen he traveled as a homeless person. In addition, he lived in Chicago for some time. “Fog” was much different in the sense that it was not as “loud,” but left me with the same uneasy feeling. This poem was about fog that creeps over a city and harbor. The lines “on little cat feet” and “on silent haunches” left me with the impression that the fog arrives silently and eerily and hangs there hauntingly and knowingly. I compared it to an actual cat and the way they crawl up and stop there, staring at you, as if they know something you don’t. It is a peaceful poem, but left me uneasy. Ultimately, both these poems gave me the same uncomfortable feeling. I really did enjoy them both, but they made me think. “Chicago” was loud but still eery at the same time, while “Fog” was seemingly peaceful and calm, but became dark and scary.
After reading these two poems "Chicago" and "Fog," both by Carl Sandburg, I noticed that both poems had a dark theme. In "Chicago" the author starts with with first stanza being not in much detail as the following stanzas, but grabs the reader's attention. In the second stanza Sandburg uses lines such as "They tell me you are wicked and I believe them" and "And they tell me you are crooked and I answer." This kind of confused me because I was unsure who the author was referring to as "you". I think he might of been referring to the city, but I am unsure. But, then the author continues on with the poem and uses words such as "shoveling," "wrecking," and "rebuilding". I think these words really set the tone for the poem and I got an idea from the author that Chicago was a cruel place in his opinion. The other poem "Fog" was very different from Chicago. It was much shorter and made more sense to me. A line that stood out to me was "the fog comes on little cat feet". It gave me a different perspective on fog, and how it moves in so slowly, smoothly, and quietly. I thought that the author really grabbed the reader with this introduction line. Then at the end of the poem the author ends with "and then moves on." I interpreted this in two different ways. One way was just the basic way of how fog just moves on, but the other way was that I think the author was trying to say that life moves on all of the time. Life comes and goes just like fog. Overall I thought these poems both had the same dark tone, but were very different in the size and topic.
These two poems written by Carl Sandberg i beleive have nothing in common. I believe that these two poems are totally opposite. One example of them being opposite is that the Chicago poem talks about how he is proud of his city even though many bad things may happen in Chicago like gangs and many other problems. The poem Fog is the opposite and is very calm and peacful how the fog and the cat sit on the harbor and peer out over the boats. Another example of a difference between these two poems is that, the wording of the first poem is crazy and hectic, where the second poem is very calm peacful and no big words. This is why i belive that these two poems have nothing in common.
I enjoyed reading both "Chicago" and "Fog" by Carl Sandburg. It was interesting to see two poems that are so different written by the same author. The poem "Chicago" is more of a metaphor for the city, while "Fog" is straightforward and short. The first poem is obviously about Chicago because of the title, and I think the second one is too because the poet, Carl Sangburg, lived in Chicago for a long time. The first poem is about Chicago, but if not for the title, it would seem like the description of a person. The first part of the poem seems to describe chicago as proud, tough, and hardworking. The poem goes on to describe a "person," which is actually Chicago. The poet, or whoever is narrating the story, seems to be defending Chicago, and is proud of it despite criticism because he knows that every city has its problems. I really liked the lines "Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth, under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs," because it was saying that underneath the ugly, dark, and polluted, there is perfection and other good things. My favorite part of the poem, though, was definitely the repetition of the first few lines in the end, even though the ending seemed lighter and more positive than the first ones did.
I thought the poem "Fog" felt very dark and gloomy. From the poem, the fog seemed like something dark and evil looming and watching over the city in silence, darkening it. I thought that the last line seemed very eerie how it just leaves, and then life can go back to normal. Both poems definitely had a darkness to them, even though the first one started out dark, but ended on a slightly lighter note. The contrast between the two was interesting because the first poem describes Chicago in general, while the second one describes one minor part of the city.
In the two poems written by Carl Sandberg, the theme of anger was present. I also noticed evil lingering throughout "Chicago" and "Fog." While reading "Chicago" it was like I could feel hard working people around me gasping for air in the smokey city. One line says, "Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing and white teeth, under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs." This displays a hard working citizen working in Chicago. In this same line I felt that even though the hustle and bustle of Chicago is hard to grasp, along with the smoke and dirt throughout the city, it shows that through all that, happiness can still be found. This relates to the "Fog" poem I enjoyed the "Fog" poem more than the "Chicago" poem. I didn't like it more because it was shorter, but because it spoke to me more. "The fog comes and it sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on." This line was similar to the previous line from "Chicago." It shows that even though fog might not be pleasant, it will eventually pass and the world will return to brighter things. I also like the phrase, "silent haunches," because this made me think of the fog ready to approach, but then in time, danger or anger always passes.
I really liked both of these poems for very different reasons. Chicago was very loud, crisp and harsh. It made me feel angry as I read it and words jumped out at me and pounded in my head like the beat of a drum, "Bareheaded, shoveling, wrecking, stormy, husky, brawling." there were many words like this in the poem that gave it a nice beat and made the poem vary rhythmic. Chicago, in this poem, is depicted as very harsh, unforgiving, tough, haughty, indifferent and mean. I loved all of the images that this poem gave me and made me really think. Fog, on the other hand was very short but gave me kind of the same feelings and images. The fog is cunning and I really like how Sandburg gave it the personality of a cat, cunning and sneaky, sneaking up on the city.
Both "Chicago" and "Fog" were written very differently even though they were by the same author, Carl Sandburg. Sandburg's poem "Fog" was very straight forward and simple because it was short and only six lines. However, the length in this poem didn't matter to me. I thought this was a very strong and meaningful couple of sentences that displayed a vivid image in my mind. The last stanza especially made me think about how fog is something that comes every once in a while but when it does you feel gloomy and so do people around you. I look at fog as something bad lingering above you that we're just waiting until it finally passes. However, the poem "Chicago" was very different. Not only was it much longer but it was much more descriptive and had a different meaning. I didn't think that this poem was as powerful as "Fog." Sandburg definitely shows his pride for the city throughout the poem even though he describes the hardships too. In one of the lines it says "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 a live and coarse and strong and cunning." I think that line especially shows how much the poet feels about Chicago, and it portrays a strong opinion.
I found that both of Sandburg's poems, "Chicago" and "Fog" both give a feeling of darkness and eeriness to the city of Chicago. Although they are different poems, have different meanings, and different styles in terms of how they were written they share one theme: Chicago.
Although "Fog" doesn't give a specific city name, after doing a little background information on Sandburg, it is safe to assume that it is Chicago, for Sandburg grew up in Illinois, and most of his work was inspired by Chicago. He even had a whole publication of his poetry about Chicago. Plus, Chicago is famous for its heavy, dense fog, which the poem centers on. In contrast to the poem "Chicago", by Sandburg, Fog is more about the atmospheric environment of the city. I disagree with the idea that Fog has a peaceful connotation. I feel that what Sandburg was trying to convey was the fact that the fog isn't peaceful, that it is just so common that it goes about unnoticed/ not payed attention to. The fog in Chicago is as common as rain in London, thunderstorms in Florida, and blizzards in the northeast. I think that the idea of the ordinariness that fog has in Chicago's physical atmosphere was the purpose Sandburg was trying to explain
The poem "Chicago" reflects on the interactional and nightlife in Chicago. He describes Chicago as a very tough and cunning city- he gives images of dark activities going on such as murders killing in the streets ("the gunman kill and go free to kill again"), prostitutes trying to get customers ("painted women under the glass lamps luring the farm boys"), and people living in poverty, hungry ("on the faces of woman and children i have seen marks of wanton hunger).
And even though he is describing Chicago in a rather unattractive way, he is proud of what the city is. He is proud of its industrial strength, and the strength of its men. This is also shown in the last few stanzas where he describes a working man, smoked covered and most likely with dust filling up his lungs, he laughs, proud and unashamed to be part of the industrial power of our nation- he is proud to be in Chicago.
In the poem "Chicago." At first I thought it was talking about a human being. It sounded like the author was talking to someone. He used "you" a lot which made me feel like Chicago was a person. Although many people told the author many bad things about Chicago, he was still proud of his city. He admitted that there were things that were bad about his city, but he was still proud of his city. In the poem "Fog." It gave me a very clear picture in my mind. It reminded me of fog coming in and hovering over a city. Then the fog passes by the city. Although this poem was shorter than the other one it made a very good image in my mind.
The two poems by Carl Sandburg, "Chicago" and "Fog" were similar and different in many ways. In the poem "Chicago" he is simply describing the city of Chicago. I think that he is depicting the city as if it has its bad sides to it, as many other cities do, but still it is a great city that cannot be compared to. At first I got a dark feeling out of it, but he seems to redeem the city in the line "Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning." I think he is writing about how Chicago has its secrets and dark side to it, but that it is really an amazing city that has a great history and culture to it. I also lived in Chicago for a period of time and much of my family comes from Chicago or outside of Chicago, so while reading this poem I was able to relate to the city of Chicago that I know as well as picture it in my head.
In the poem "Fog," I actually pictured the poem as a cat instead of fog rolling in. In this line "It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on," I could picture a cat because that is what cats tend to do. They come in silently and then walk away silently to do unknown things. I think these two poems relate because I almost feel like the perspective of the poem "Chicago" was from the perspective of the fog. When I think about fog, I imagine it sort of rolling in over the sky and watching over the city or place I am in, and that is how the fog is described in the poem "Fog." In "Chicago" the perspective of the poem sounds like someone who knows all the secrets of the city, which I think relates to how cats are silently watching you as well as fog is.
Carl Sandburg wrote the two poems Chicago and Fog to have few similarities. In Chicago, Sandburg depicts his opinion of a society. He believes that a society can have many conflicted interests, but everybody at the end of the day is still alike. He says “under his ribs the heart of people,” meaning that no matter how many troubles that a society has, people are still people. Everybody is equal in the view of society as long as they are humans. The point that he tries to prove is that without the average person, the main body of society will not work, just like there will be no “pulse of a human body”. He uses the analogy of the human body and society to convey his point in an interesting manner. In the poem Fog, Sandburg talks about fog meaning evil rolling over society. Fog gives me a dark feeling, one that you cannot see the light through. He says “The fog comes on little cat feet” because he wants to emphasize the point that people realize the evil of the world at a young age, and grow up with terrible things happening around them. He grew up in one of the hardest times the world has ever known, living through both World Wars and the Great Depression. This poem states his feelings on the world as he lived, and not what anybody else’s opinions were. Great poets use feelings instead of thoughts, and Sandburg uses his feelings to express himself through poetry.
I enjoyed reading both of these poems tremendously. Although both "Fog" and "Chicago" by Carl Sandburg are extremely different,they both portray great thoughts and images. At first, i thought that "Chicago" was from a person's viewpoint, but after reading it again, i noticed actually how many words described the city, and that there is not one individual point of view."Bareheaded, Shoveling, Wrecking, Planning,..." every single sentence wrapped itself around the idea of the city and brought a new view forward. because of this, Sandburg is able to also give multiple, slightly different perspectives, which in turn, evoked more thoughts. on the other hand i thought "Fog" was extraordinary. usually i don't find much interest in short poems, but if there was one to keep it would be this. His portrayal of fog was perfect. to try to make a list about how many things fog is involved in is impossible, and to try to wrap our heads around how many different things fog can be or do is out of the question, beyond the bounds of reason. out of the twenty one words, it only takes two to describe the entire essence of fog: sitting and silent. it is incredible how well Carl Sandburg wrote this poem, especially in so few words. overall, i enjoyed both poems greatly, and would definitely read more of his Sandburg's work.
I really liked these poems by Carl Sandburg a lot. He put a certain dark, eerie almost sinister look on Chicago. I can picture rioters and looters in the street robbing and terrorizing innocent people, but he remains prideful in his city, and is almost proud of the horrible things certain people do.
In "Chicago" Mr. Sandburg refers to the city as a lawless playground for killers who kill, and without punishment kill again. the most powerful line for me in the entire poem is "it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again" which shocked me and brought it to another low.
In "Fog" Sandberg makes us think that he's talking about Chicago, but in my mind i thought he was talking about how humans do not expect evil to over take their conscience, at least quietly. And by the time that person knows what the've done it's too late to stop.
Mr. Sandberg is truly amazing, his writing style is mixed and tone, sad and upsetting, he almost has pity for those who are overtaken with evil and do bad things. He uses empathy as a way of conveying his anger, happiness, and sadness. Overall two very good poems.
The two poems were very different. They had a difference in tone, length, and meaning.
I felt that the poem “Chicago” was about the good and the bad of the city. How the “painted” women lure the farm boys. I think that “painted” means someone that wears a lot of makeup and is fashionable. I think the meaning of the poem is that cities may have corruption, and murderers, and bad people but at the heart of the city everyone is happy where they are.
On the other hand, the poem “Fog” is short and right to the point. It describes the journey of fog, as it approaches a city and sits there, and eventually moves on. However, I think that the fog could stand for any bad situation that is going on. How the situation comes out of nowhere. It looms over your head for a while, and eventually goes away. I enjoyed both of these poems.
“Chicago” by Carl Sandburg is a very angry poem. In the first stanza he uses phrases like, “Hog Butcher for the World” and “City of Big shoulders” to describe how tough the city is, and how it breaks down a person. I also noticed that “Hog Butcher,” “World,” “City,” and “Big” were all capitalized as if to make it a title or badge of honor. The second stanza is more detailed. I especially noticed lines like, “painted women under the gas lamps luring farm boys,” “Gunman kill and go free and kill again,” and “on the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger.” These lines really implied that the city was cruel, unfair, and indifferent; ultimately taking away all of one’s humanity. The last lines were more disturbing yet, and told of how the city was still ignorant to this and thought they were invincible and could be like this forever, “laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle.” This poem is also, to some extent, true in the author’s eyes. He knows the cruelty of the world, for at thirteen, he dropped out of school and worked odd jobs, and at seventeen he traveled as a homeless person. In addition, he lived in Chicago for some time.
ReplyDelete“Fog” was much different in the sense that it was not as “loud,” but left me with the same uneasy feeling. This poem was about fog that creeps over a city and harbor. The lines “on little cat feet” and “on silent haunches” left me with the impression that the fog arrives silently and eerily and hangs there hauntingly and knowingly. I compared it to an actual cat and the way they crawl up and stop there, staring at you, as if they know something you don’t. It is a peaceful poem, but left me uneasy.
Ultimately, both these poems gave me the same uncomfortable feeling. I really did enjoy them both, but they made me think. “Chicago” was loud but still eery at the same time, while “Fog” was seemingly peaceful and calm, but became dark and scary.
After reading these two poems "Chicago" and "Fog," both by Carl Sandburg, I noticed that both poems had a dark theme. In "Chicago" the author starts with with first stanza being not in much detail as the following stanzas, but grabs the reader's attention. In the second stanza Sandburg uses lines such as "They tell me you are wicked and I believe them" and "And they tell me you are crooked and I answer." This kind of confused me because I was unsure who the author was referring to as "you". I think he might of been referring to the city, but I am unsure. But, then the author continues on with the poem and uses words such as "shoveling," "wrecking," and "rebuilding". I think these words really set the tone for the poem and I got an idea from the author that Chicago was a cruel place in his opinion.
ReplyDeleteThe other poem "Fog" was very different from Chicago. It was much shorter and made more sense to me. A line that stood out to me was "the fog comes on little cat feet". It gave me a different perspective on fog, and how it moves in so slowly, smoothly, and quietly. I thought that the author really grabbed the reader with this introduction line. Then at the end of the poem the author ends with "and then moves on." I interpreted this in two different ways. One way was just the basic way of how fog just moves on, but the other way was that I think the author was trying to say that life moves on all of the time. Life comes and goes just like fog. Overall I thought these poems both had the same dark tone, but were very different in the size and topic.
These two poems written by Carl Sandberg i beleive have nothing in common. I believe that these two poems are totally opposite. One example of them being opposite is that the Chicago poem talks about how he is proud of his city even though many bad things may happen in Chicago like gangs and many other problems. The poem Fog is the opposite and is very calm and peacful how the fog and the cat sit on the harbor and peer out over the boats. Another example of a difference between these two poems is that, the wording of the first poem is crazy and hectic, where the second poem is very calm peacful and no big words. This is why i belive that these two poems have nothing in common.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading both "Chicago" and "Fog" by Carl Sandburg. It was interesting to see two poems that are so different written by the same author. The poem "Chicago" is more of a metaphor for the city, while "Fog" is straightforward and short. The first poem is obviously about Chicago because of the title, and I think the second one is too because the poet, Carl Sangburg, lived in Chicago for a long time. The first poem is about Chicago, but if not for the title, it would seem like the description of a person. The first part of the poem seems to describe chicago as proud, tough, and hardworking. The poem goes on to describe a "person," which is actually Chicago. The poet, or whoever is narrating the story, seems to be defending Chicago, and is proud of it despite criticism because he knows that every city has its problems. I really liked the lines "Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth, under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs," because it was saying that underneath the ugly, dark, and polluted, there is perfection and other good things. My favorite part of the poem, though, was definitely the repetition of the first few lines in the end, even though the ending seemed lighter and more positive than the first ones did.
ReplyDeleteI thought the poem "Fog" felt very dark and gloomy. From the poem, the fog seemed like something dark and evil looming and watching over the city in silence, darkening it. I thought that the last line seemed very eerie how it just leaves, and then life can go back to normal. Both poems definitely had a darkness to them, even though the first one started out dark, but ended on a slightly lighter note. The contrast between the two was interesting because the first poem describes Chicago in general, while the second one describes one minor part of the city.
In the two poems written by Carl Sandberg, the theme of anger was present. I also noticed evil lingering throughout "Chicago" and "Fog."
ReplyDeleteWhile reading "Chicago" it was like I could feel hard working people around me gasping for air in the smokey city. One line says, "Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing and white teeth, under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs." This displays a hard working citizen working in Chicago. In this same line I felt that even though the hustle and bustle of Chicago is hard to grasp, along with the smoke and dirt throughout the city, it shows that through all that, happiness can still be found. This relates to the "Fog" poem
I enjoyed the "Fog" poem more than the "Chicago" poem. I didn't like it more because it was shorter, but because it spoke to me more. "The fog comes and it sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on." This line was similar to the previous line from "Chicago." It shows that even though fog might not be pleasant, it will eventually pass and the world will return to brighter things. I also like the phrase, "silent haunches," because this made me think of the fog ready to approach, but then in time, danger or anger always passes.
I really liked both of these poems for very different reasons. Chicago was very loud, crisp and harsh. It made me feel angry as I read it and words jumped out at me and pounded in my head like the beat of a drum, "Bareheaded, shoveling, wrecking, stormy, husky, brawling." there were many words like this in the poem that gave it a nice beat and made the poem vary rhythmic. Chicago, in this poem, is depicted as very harsh, unforgiving, tough, haughty, indifferent and mean. I loved all of the images that this poem gave me and made me really think. Fog, on the other hand was very short but gave me kind of the same feelings and images. The fog is cunning and I really like how Sandburg gave it the personality of a cat, cunning and sneaky, sneaking up on the city.
ReplyDeleteBoth "Chicago" and "Fog" were written very differently even though they were by the same author, Carl Sandburg. Sandburg's poem "Fog" was very straight forward and simple because it was short and only six lines. However, the length in this poem didn't matter to me. I thought this was a very strong and meaningful couple of sentences that displayed a vivid image in my mind. The last stanza especially made me think about how fog is something that comes every once in a while but when it does you feel gloomy and so do people around you. I look at fog as something bad lingering above you that we're just waiting until it finally passes.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the poem "Chicago" was very different. Not only was it much longer but it was much more descriptive and had a different meaning. I didn't think that this poem was as powerful as "Fog." Sandburg definitely shows his pride for the city throughout the poem even though he describes the hardships too. In one of the lines it says "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 a live and coarse and strong and cunning." I think that line especially shows how much the poet feels about Chicago, and it portrays a strong opinion.
I found that both of Sandburg's poems, "Chicago" and "Fog" both give a feeling of darkness and eeriness to the city of Chicago. Although they are different poems, have different meanings, and different styles in terms of how they were written they share one theme: Chicago.
ReplyDeleteAlthough "Fog" doesn't give a specific city name, after doing a little background information on Sandburg, it is safe to assume that it is Chicago, for Sandburg grew up in Illinois, and most of his work was inspired by Chicago. He even had a whole publication of his poetry about Chicago. Plus, Chicago is famous for its heavy, dense fog, which the poem centers on.
In contrast to the poem "Chicago", by Sandburg, Fog is more about the atmospheric environment of the city. I disagree with the idea that Fog has a peaceful connotation. I feel that what Sandburg was trying to convey was the fact that the fog isn't peaceful, that it is just so common that it goes about unnoticed/ not payed attention to. The fog in Chicago is as common as rain in London, thunderstorms in Florida, and blizzards in the northeast. I think that the idea of the ordinariness that fog has in Chicago's physical atmosphere was the purpose Sandburg was trying to explain
The poem "Chicago" reflects on the interactional and nightlife in Chicago. He describes Chicago as a very tough and cunning city- he gives images of dark activities going on such as murders killing in the streets ("the gunman kill and go free to kill again"), prostitutes trying to get customers ("painted women under the glass lamps luring the farm boys"), and people living in poverty, hungry ("on the faces of woman and children i have seen marks of wanton hunger).
And even though he is describing Chicago in a rather unattractive way, he is proud of what the city is. He is proud of its industrial strength, and the strength of its men. This is also shown in the last few stanzas where he describes a working man, smoked covered and most likely with dust filling up his lungs, he laughs, proud and unashamed to be part of the industrial power of our nation- he is proud to be in Chicago.
In the poem "Chicago." At first I thought it was talking about a human being. It sounded like the author was talking to someone. He used "you" a lot which made me feel like Chicago was a person. Although many people told the author many bad things about Chicago, he was still proud of his city. He admitted that there were things that were bad about his city, but he was still proud of his city.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem "Fog." It gave me a very clear picture in my mind. It reminded me of fog coming in and hovering over a city. Then the fog passes by the city. Although this poem was shorter than the other one it made a very good image in my mind.
The two poems by Carl Sandburg, "Chicago" and "Fog" were similar and different in many ways. In the poem "Chicago" he is simply describing the city of Chicago. I think that he is depicting the city as if it has its bad sides to it, as many other cities do, but still it is a great city that cannot be compared to. At first I got a dark feeling out of it, but he seems to redeem the city in the line "Come and show me another city with lifted head singing
ReplyDeleteso proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning." I think he is writing about how Chicago has its secrets and dark side to it, but that it is really an amazing city that has a great history and culture to it. I also lived in Chicago for a period of time and much of my family comes from Chicago or outside of Chicago, so while reading this poem I was able to relate to the city of Chicago that I know as well as picture it in my head.
In the poem "Fog," I actually pictured the poem as a cat instead of fog rolling in. In this line "It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on," I could picture a cat because that is what cats tend to do. They come in silently and then walk away silently to do unknown things. I think these two poems relate because I almost feel like the perspective of the poem "Chicago" was from the perspective of the fog. When I think about fog, I imagine it sort of rolling in over the sky and watching over the city or place I am in, and that is how the fog is described in the poem "Fog." In "Chicago" the perspective of the poem sounds like someone who knows all the secrets of the city, which I think relates to how cats are silently watching you as well as fog is.
Carl Sandburg wrote the two poems Chicago and Fog to have few similarities. In Chicago, Sandburg depicts his opinion of a society. He believes that a society can have many conflicted interests, but everybody at the end of the day is still alike. He says “under his ribs the heart of people,” meaning that no matter how many troubles that a society has, people are still people. Everybody is equal in the view of society as long as they are humans. The point that he tries to prove is that without the average person, the main body of society will not work, just like there will be no “pulse of a human body”. He uses the analogy of the human body and society to convey his point in an interesting manner.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem Fog, Sandburg talks about fog meaning evil rolling over society. Fog gives me a dark feeling, one that you cannot see the light through. He says “The fog comes on little cat feet” because he wants to emphasize the point that people realize the evil of the world at a young age, and grow up with terrible things happening around them. He grew up in one of the hardest times the world has ever known, living through both World Wars and the Great Depression. This poem states his feelings on the world as he lived, and not what anybody else’s opinions were. Great poets use feelings instead of thoughts, and Sandburg uses his feelings to express himself through poetry.
I enjoyed reading both of these poems tremendously. Although both "Fog" and "Chicago" by Carl Sandburg are extremely different,they both portray great thoughts and images. At first, i thought that "Chicago" was from a person's viewpoint, but after reading it again, i noticed actually how many words described the city, and that there is not one individual point of view."Bareheaded, Shoveling, Wrecking, Planning,..." every single sentence wrapped itself around the idea of the city and brought a new view forward. because of this, Sandburg is able to also give multiple, slightly different perspectives, which in turn, evoked more thoughts. on the other hand i thought "Fog" was extraordinary. usually i don't find much interest in short poems, but if there was one to keep it would be this. His portrayal of fog was perfect. to try to make a list about how many things fog is involved in is impossible, and to try to wrap our heads around how many different things fog can be or do is out of the question, beyond the bounds of reason. out of the twenty one words, it only takes two to describe the entire essence of fog: sitting and silent. it is incredible how well Carl Sandburg wrote this poem, especially in so few words. overall, i enjoyed both poems greatly, and would definitely read more of his Sandburg's work.
ReplyDeleteI really liked these poems by Carl Sandburg a lot. He put a certain dark, eerie almost sinister look on Chicago. I can picture rioters and looters in the street robbing and terrorizing innocent people, but he remains prideful in his city, and is almost proud of the horrible things certain people do.
ReplyDeleteIn "Chicago" Mr. Sandburg refers to the city as a lawless playground for killers who kill, and without punishment kill again. the most powerful line for me in the entire poem is "it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again" which shocked me and brought it to another low.
In "Fog" Sandberg makes us think that he's talking about Chicago, but in my mind i thought he was talking about how humans do not expect evil to over take their conscience, at least quietly. And by the time that person knows what the've done it's too late to stop.
Mr. Sandberg is truly amazing, his writing style is mixed and tone, sad and upsetting, he almost has pity for those who are overtaken with evil and do bad things. He uses empathy as a way of conveying his anger, happiness, and sadness. Overall two very good poems.
The two poems were very different. They had a difference in tone, length, and meaning.
ReplyDeleteI felt that the poem “Chicago” was about the good and the bad of the city. How the “painted” women lure the farm boys. I think that “painted” means someone that wears a lot of makeup and is fashionable. I think the meaning of the poem is that cities may have corruption, and murderers, and bad people but at the heart of the city everyone is happy where they are.
On the other hand, the poem “Fog” is short and right to the point. It describes the journey of fog, as it approaches a city and sits there, and eventually moves on. However, I think that the fog could stand for any bad situation that is going on. How the situation comes out of nowhere. It looms over your head for a while, and eventually goes away. I enjoyed both of these poems.