I Hear America Singing: Poems of Democracy, Manhattan and the Future

Develop each topic below into a brief but structured essay of one to several paragraphs. Be sure to address each part of the overall topic. Cite details from both poems over the course of your response.

1. Consider this idea from Poetry Foundation’s biographical article on Sandburg:

“As Richard Crowder notes in Carl Sandburg, the poet ‘Had been the first poet of modern times actually to use the language of the people as his almost total means of expression... Sandburg had entered into the language of the people; he was not looking at it as a scientific phenomenon or a curiosity. ... He was at home with it.’ Sandburg’s own Whitmanesque comment was, ‘I am the people—the mob—the crowd—the mass. […] I’ll probably die propped up in bed trying to write a poem about America.”

In what other ways is Sandburg “Whitmanesque” in his poem? What shared qualities about America or American ideals in general come through over both poems? Contrastingly, how does the speaker’s voice in each poem demonstrate a different vision of America? You may utilize thoughts and examples from your responses on theme and tone along with information you learned through outside sources in the Pre-Reading Prompt and Activities.