Your Name ____Max Alligood_______________________

Genre: ______Poetry_____________

Date ____11/6/14_________

Literary Analysis
Bibliographic :
Silverstein, S. (1974). Where the sidewalk ends: The poems & drawings of Shel Silverstein. New York: Harper and
Row.

Plot: N/A
Setting: N/A
Theme:
Does it have a theme?: This collection of poems does in fact have a theme. The title poem
Where the sidewalk ends is a metaphor for the imagination. This is a something that is seen in
all of the poems. They lead the reader to use their imagination, and to be a, dreamer.
Worth Imparting?: The theme is definitely worth imparting to children. Sometimes nowadays,
a childs imagination is underdeveloped. A childs imagination can be an amazing tool for them
though, and its something not to take for granted.
Characterization: N/A
Style:
Mood: The mood Shel Silverstein creates with his poems in Where the Sidewalk Ends is one of
Acceptance, optimism, and hope. The effect that the mood has on the reader is that it helps you
use your imagination to understand the poems and they often make you feel like youve been on
a journey.
Appropriate writing: The writing in the poems in Where the Sidewalk Ends is appropriate to
what Shel Silverstein wanted to do with this work.
Point of View: N/A
Describe Characteristics of this text specific to the genre:
Tone: The tone of the poems in Where the Sidewalk Ends sees Childhood as a time to imagine
endless possibilities.
Sensory Images: With its descriptive languages the poems create a sense of sight and sound
often.

This is an example of Shels writing. From the poem, Jimmy Jet and his TV Set.
Emotional Intensity: The writing Shel uses sometimes creates very emotional poems. While
some of the poems in the anthology are short, simple, cheery, silly. There are ones like the title
poem, Where the Sidewalk Ends that has a much deeper, emotional meaning.

Reflections: (What are your impressions? Connections to past or future plans? Insights?, etc.)
Where the Sidewalk Ends is a really important book to me. The poems have always appealed to
me. They help young readers especially really use their imagination and it allows them an escape
from reality. Sometimes this escape is really important to a child. This anthology was the first
thing I read where I really got that, different world, feeling.
It pulled me in, and thats what I feel it would do with my students. This book is a must have in
my classroom. Just having it available for the students to read at their leisure as well as giving
them a few specific poems to read and see what they get out of them are two specific things I
will be doing.