Introduction
Gwendolyn Brooks is an important and well-known figure in American poetry of the 20th century. “We are really cool” and “Malcolm X” is one of the greatest poems written by Brooks. She is the kind of author who widely employs syntactic means to express her texts’ significant meanings. In the poems “We real cool” and “Malcolm X,” Brooks uses short sentences and other means of expression. In the present essay, the central aim is to analyze both poems and perform a compare-and-contrast analysis. It will demonstrate similar (as short sentences) and different means of expression, which were employed in the two poems.
Prior to performing a compare-and-contrast analysis, it seems justified to provide a brief overview of Brooks’s two poems. “We real cool” poem was published in 1960 in “The bean eaters” collection. The poem tells about a group of young people who spend time outside of a pool hall. Brooks shows these teenagers as rebellious, brave, and freedom-loving. On the one hand, it has a double meaning: Brooks celebrates young people who have the courage to fight with authority. However, on the other side, she warns people against self-destructive behavior and shows that their actions have consequences.
Concerning the poem “Malcolm X,” it was first published in 1968 in Brook’s book “In the Mecca.” The work is devoted to Malcolm X, or Malcolm Little, who was an African American human rights activist. Brooks celebrated his life and personality through this poem and reflected on the consequences his murder led to. Even though “Malcolm X” is not the most famous piece by Gwendolyn Brooks, it is a significant word after X’s assassination (Malcolm X). It should be highlighted that commitment to her race is an essential theme in her works.
“We Real Cool” and “Malcolm X”: employing short sentences
Gwendolyn Brooks widely uses various poetic devices in her poetry. In “We real cool” and “Malcolm X,” she employs short sentences as a means of expression. Both poems touch on challenging and essential themes, which are expressed through short sentences where each word matters. “We real cool” consists of only eight lines reminding a motto or a slogan of the rebellious young people. Here, she uses short sentences to express the significance of the theme and the teenagers’ stubbornness. However, a different case can be observed in “Malcolm X”: Brooks uses short sentences in order to highlight the importance of X’s personality, as well as the consequences of his assassination.
Moreover, it is essential to note that even though Brooks employs short sentences in both poems, poetic devices differ significantly. For instance, in “We real cool,” every line except the last one is enjambed. Enjambment is a poetic device when a sentence does not end in one line and continues across other lines. This poetic device creates a feeling of disturbance of the usual rhythm of poetry, making the poem unusual, memorable, and draws attention. This literal device is in tune with the theme of rebellion. In contrast, in “Malcolm X,” the reader can hear the rhythm in its conventional sense.
Concerning the “Malcolm X” poem, Brooks avoids enjambment but uses end-stopped lines. End-stopped lines refer to the case when a phrase is concluded by the end of the line. Brooks uses end-stopped lines in order to highlight and give weight to a significant topic – X’s assassination. Furthermore, she employs this literary device to demonstrate her certainty and precise position. Besides, Brooks chose end-stopped lines for reasons of melodic rhythm. Overall, it should be mentioned that the author uses short sentences in both “We real cool” and “Malcolm X.” However, Brooks uses different poetic devices to make the sentences short. In the case of the first poem, she employs enjambment, whereas, in the other one, she chose end-stopped lines. Various means of expression allow her to give lyrics to different meanings.
The Use of ‘We’ in “We Real Cool” and “Malcolm X”
In “We real cool” poem, Brooks uses the pronoun ‘we’ in seven lines out of eight. In the poem, ‘we’ is the most important word, without which the overall meaning of the work would be lost. The pronoun is placed at the end of the line, and the phrase is interrupted (Brooks employs enjambment) because the verb (the action itself) is mentioned only in the following line. The author uses the poetic device in order to make a pause, which intrigues the reader and create a dramatic situation. Moreover, Brooks chooses to employ paratactic sentences: they do not consist of connection words, as “because” and “therefore.” The use of the device appears to be reasonable, as the author highlights the young people’s rebelliousness.
Another situation with the pronoun ‘we’ can be observed in “Malcolm X.’ Brooks uses ‘we’ only twice in the poem, and the pronoun is not central for the structure and the overall meaning. However, it should be mentioned that ‘we’ still plays a specific role: it allows the author to shorten sentences, which is crucial for the meaning. Thus, it can be said that in “We real cool,” the pronoun ‘we’ is of the highest importance, whereas in the poem “Malcolm X,” it is different.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be highlighted that “We real cool” and “Malcolm X” are some of the greatest poems written by Gwendolyn Brooks. In these works, the author employs short sentences and other literary devices as means of expression. However, it is vital to mention that Brooks chooses different poetic devices to make the sentences short. In the “we real cool” poem, she employs enjambment, whereas in “Malcolm X,” she uses end-stopped lines. These different means of expression allows Brooks to highlight the other meaning of the poems.
Work Cited
“Malcolm X.” Poetry.Princeton.edu, n. d.