POETRY PAPER

ANALYSIS OF POETRY BY GWENDOLYN BROOKS “WE REAL COOL”

SUPPORTING LECTURE :
Dr. Muhammad Fadjri, MA.

Arranged by :

Baiq Husnul Hatimah (E1D11716)

Desti Sulisnawati (E1D117022)
Mardlatillah (E1D117058)
Masita Nurul Azazzilah (E1D117060)
Nida’ (E1D117077)

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF MATARAM
LEARNING YEAR 2019
 PREFACE

First of all, thanks to Allah SWT for Allah's help, the author has finished writing a paper
entitled "Analysis of Poetry by Gwendolyn Brooks (We Real Cool)" in the calculated time. The
purpose of writing this paper is to fulfill the assignment given by Mr. Fadjri as a Poetry major
lecturer.
In compiling this paper the writers really gets a lot of challenges and obstacles but with
the help of many individuals, the barrier can pass. The author also realizes that there are still
many mistakes in the process of writing this paper.
Because of that, the writers say thank you to all individuals who helped in the process of
writing this paper. Hopefully Allah replies all helps and blessed you all. The writers realized that
this paper is still imperfect in arranging and the content. Then the writers hope the criticism from
the readers can help the writer in perfecting the next paper. Last but not the least hopefully this
paper can help the readers to gain more knowledge about major Poetry.

Mataram, October 29th, 2019

Authors
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background

Poetry is a vast subject, as old as history and older, present wherever religion is present,
possibly—under some definitions—the primal and primary form of languages themselves. The
present article means only to describe in as general a way as possible certain properties of poetry
and of poetic thought regarded as in some sense independent modes of the mind. Naturally, not
every tradition nor every local or individual variation can be—or need be—included, but the
article illustrates by examples of poetry ranging between nursery rhyme and epic. This article
considers the difficulty or impossibility of defining poetry; man’s nevertheless familiar
acquaintance with it; the differences between poetry and prose; the idea of form in poetry; poetry
as a mode of thought; and what little may be said in prose of the spirit of poetry.

This poem conveys that young people are proud of everything they do, proud of their
neglect, as if they forget their duties as youth, as we know that one of the tasks of youth is an
agent of change. Youth is a booster of a country, if youth in a country is damaged then that
country is destroyed. In this poem the poet tries to give a moral message and a picture of today's
youth to the young man himself. We Real Cool Theme of Pride. The young pool players seem to
take pride in their aimless behavior, and critics have debated whether they may also take pride in
the prophecy they will "die soon." They live in a culture where even the most talented people
find that economic and social opportunities are scarce.

1. Why do we choose this “We real cool” ?

This poem is interesting that is challenging, so we try and challenge as much as

we can in digesting each verse of the poem "We are so cool", and also because the topic
is cool and describes activities that don't care what we do if we feel cool, that's cool.
 This poem gives a moral message that affects many young people who are in
accordance with the life or lifestyle of today's youth who incidentally does things that are
not important, such as staying out all night, not going to school, drinking (drinking gin),
and do criminal things that they shouldn't have done as youths to succeed in the nation.
As if they would only enjoy the present moment without thinking about life in the future
and also all the rules in social and culture that should be their guidance is only considered
nonsense. They are aware of what they are doing wrong but they don't care and feel that
they are great people with their behavior that is wrong (We real cool).

It's the daring combination of language and rhythm that sets this poem apart. On paper it
looks all too simple but when you go a bit deeper into the syntax and stress this poem has
much to offer.

2. What people and experts said about the poem ?

It was written in 1959 and first published in the 1960 volume The Bean Eaters.
We Real Cool struck a chord and was instantly seen as a ground-breaking classic. It is
still very popular and causes many a debate amongst young people.

James D. Sullivan: On "We Real Cool"

Compare two presentations of "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks: first, the single most
widely accessible edition of the poem, on a page of her 1963 Selected Poems published by
Harper & Row, and second on the 1966 broadside published by Broadside Press. The words, in
a formal linguistic sense, remain the same, but the material presentation does not. Those
physical qualities, as a necessary condition for reading the poem, as an unavoidable part of the
thing read, create a different set of meanings in each artifact.
First consider the book version. . . . [The pool players'] first dramatic line, "We real cool,"
repeats the title, a complete Black English sentence, and it suggests an interpretation of what
follows: these actions are manifestations of coolness. The non-standard grammar of the title and
first line transgresses the normal decorum of English language poetry, showing the social
distance between the pool players and the middle class subjects of much of our poetic canon.
The second sentence, "We / Left school," establishes what I will call the moral relationship
between the players and the literate reader, buyer of poetry books. This reader knows they
shouldn't do that--knows better than they do that this first manifestation of their coolness will
surely harm them, as it eventually does. . . .
The simple, but strong and regular rhythm, reinforced by the jarringly nonstandard grammar,
creates a sense of energy and aggressive physical power. But in the end, rhythm and syntax
contain and finally cut off that vitality. The word "We" begins each short subject-predicate
sentence and ends each line but the last. To maintain the syntactic pattern, the last line ends on
the predicate, "Die soon," omitting the final "We." The predominant rhythm of the poem--two
strong beats, one weak beat--resolves (satisfyingly) on the two strong beats in the last line.
These two patterns, syntactic and rhythmic, converge to eliminate the final "We." The group
dissolves in the last line, "Die soon," the final consequence of coolness, of energetically rejecting
the middle-class respect for education. This satisfying little tragedy confirms the dominance and
the rightness of values foreign to the players themselves. By the end, they are completely
powerless, dead.

The elegance of the typeface and the evenness of the layout in Selected Poems are
products of craftsmanship, so well produced that they are refined out of notice. That particular
grace and craft are from a world outside the pool hall. . . . The speech is first person, but the
studied aesthetics of the type does not emerge from the aesthetic values of the pool-playing
dropouts who are supposedly speaking. . . . The alternative aesthetic of pool hall cool in the
language of the poem thus is reshaped to fit the Procrustean bed of book design. The (aesthetic)
values of the (white) middle class prevail.

Kathryne V. Lindberg: On "We Real Cool"

I would like to bring Helen Vendler's recent mention of Brooks into conversation with Spillers's
earlier tribute. Speaking with the well-earned authority of her position as a major reader of the
Western canon and an influential critic of new poet candidates to that tradition, Vendler writes
about the new national poet laureate in Callaloo, the most important wider-than-academic journal
of black and Third World poetry. She generously praises and candidly corrects (explicitly not in
the sense of "political correctness") the "Identity Markers" Rita Dove marshals to "confront . . .
the enraging fact that the inescapable accusation of blackness becomes, too early for the child to
resist it, a strong element of inner self-definition." At one point, Vendler economically dismisses
Brooks in questioning one of Dove's "relatively unsuccessful historical excursions in a lyric
time-machine." Not to make too much of a few lines, I quote her dismissal in full: "This [Dove's
early 'odyssey' ] may owe something to Gwendolyn Brooks's 'We Real Cool,' but it avoids the
prudishness of Brooks's judgmental monologue, which though it is ostensibly spoken by
adolescetls, barely conceals its adult reproach of their behavior."

3. How you are going to explain the poem ?

This poem is only eight lines long. What isn't included in the text of the poem, however,
is a bit of background framing the lines we read. The poem lists off the thoughts of some
young guys playing pool at a pool house called "The Golden Shovel," that seems pretty
straightforward. But it's actually more complicated than that. In fact, the lines we read are
what an outside observer thinks these boys might be feeling. So this observer, our
speaker, thinks the boys might have dropped out of school, be drinking gin, staying out
late at night, enjoying jazz, and will have short lives.

4. Theme
The main theme of the poem is “youth life”
The poem tell us about the lives of teenagers who live with freedom and without
rules that bind them. There are some subtheme in the poem :

a. Pride. Despite the implication that these young guys are up to no good and should
have better things to do, the poem might remind you of your own mischievous youth
and of bored summers you spent hanging out in video game arcades even when it was
a beautiful day outside. Nonetheless, there is something ominous about these boys
who "lurk" and "strike."
b. Morality. These guys are celebrating the fact that they are sin. They don't have any
moral obligations, and sinning is just fine by them. This poem describes the morale of
youth, to be able to be avoided by other young people going forward.

c. Education. About how young people spend their valuable time wasting time that they
consider "cool" because at that time they feel happy dopamine in the short term.
Education as we know it is a process to humanize humans, and education is important
for the generation.
 CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION

A. Analysis Each Stanza of the poem “We Real Cool”

“WE REAL COOL”

By: Gwendolyn Brooks (1959)

The Pool Players.

Seven at the Golden Shovel.

We real cool. We
Left school. We

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon.

The poem is from the perspective of a group of seven pool players, and it’s about living
fast and dying young. At first, they seem like they are satisfied with the alternative lifestyle that
they outline throughout the poem, but that defiant mood abruptly ends at the last line, when their
death seems to be an effect of all the responsibility they had been putting off over the years.
The Tittle
The title of the poem is “The pool players, seven at the Golden Shovel”. This title shows that the
poem is about a group of seven pool players. The “Golden Shovel” could be the name of a place
they play pool at (like a tavern or casino), or a name for the cue stick. It seems to be symbolism
for the fact that they are burying their problems “with a golden shovel”, but their problems can’t
stay buried forever. It also tips the reader off to the last line of the poem. Shovels are used to dig
graves, and the last line is “we die soon.”
Line 1-2
“We real cool. We
Left school. We”
The first line is the only one with “We” at the beginning and the end. Contrast this with
the last line, which contains no pronoun. Perhaps with the poem’s opening, then, the pool
players’ identity is at its strongest, but wanes until its weakest point— the end. “Real cool” and
“left school” is more sonically dissimilar within each pair than the other paired words of the
poem, such as “thin gin,” except for the last line’s “die soon.” Still, “real cool” and “left school”
does link up with the use of the recurring “l” sound. “Die” and “soon,”. However, have only one
similarity: as is true for all of the words in the poem, they are monosyllabic. With one exception,
the word “We” is enjambed, or placed at the end of the previous line with which it does not
semantically belong, instead of being placed with the line it does belong with, the one that
follows. The technique forces the reader to hesitate after each “We.” Brooks has remarked that
the hesitation, coupled with her choice of a quiet uttering of “We,” signals a weak sense of the
pool players’ identity. In fact, so weak is this identity that these pool players, while almost
always thought to be black males—perhaps because the poet is black and it is boys who usually
hang out in pool parlors— could be white males or even females.
Line 3-4
“Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We”
This shows that the behaviors these kids are partaking in are primarily negative, because
there is really nothing positive I can think of that “lurks” and stays out late. Striking straight is
talking about being good at aiming and striking with pool cues, because they are pool players.
However, another connotation that comes with the word “strike” is violence, whether it’s crime
in the present, or foreshadowing violence in their futures, it makes me think that maybe these
kids could even be dangerous. Also, notice that these are the first lines of the poem where the
author incorporates alliteration; “lurk” and “late” both start with “L”, and “strike” and “straight”
both start with “S”.
Line 5-6
“Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We”
We sing sin basically means that these guys are celebrating the fact that they sin. They
don’t have any moral obligations, and sinning is just fine by them. I wish the poem had specified
what exactly “singing sin” is referring to though, because there are many possibilities. It could
mean casual sex, outright violence, or even just drinking and gambling, because, back when this
poem was written, drinking and gambling were also seen as fairly sinful. “We thin gin” just
means that these kids who are supposed to be in school are diluting alcohol before drinking it.
This shows that they do basically whatever they please, and they probably aren’t receiving
proper guidance.
Line 7-8
“Jazz June. We
Die soon.”
The line 7 can be interpreted many different ways. It can mean that these pool players
live their lives as if every day is summer, like in June, complete with all the fun of the Jazz Age.
Or, if we interpret it with the original meaning of “jazz”, it could mean that the boys make love
to the summertime, because they act like all year is summer. This would also add another facet
of rebellion to the poem, because pre-marital sex was considered uncommon and sinful at the
time the poem was written.
Finally, the poem ends with “We Die soon.” This, as the last line of the poem, harshly
discontinues the lilting alliteration and rhyming schemes. It brings the reader back to the reality
that fun does not last forever. Interestingly, the poet leaves it up to interpretation whether the fact
that their deaths occur early should be seen in a positive or negative light, and there is not even a
trace of judgment in the poet’s voice throughout the poem, or at the end. The pool players could
be okay with the reality that they live short, or they could feel trapped, or maybe they are just
indifferent to it. We will never exactly know because the author does a remarkable job of
keeping emotion out of the last line; even as jovial defiance is obvious throughout the rest of the
poem.

B. Figurative Language

Figurative Language

1. Terms "jazz" are older, but Brooks cites that many sources associate this term with sex.

2. Brooks got the idea for the poem from personal experience. She saw students on a
school day playing pool, and wondered "how do they feel?"

3. "June" represents the establishment/ the authority

Sounds Devices

World of the poem

This poem is free verse poem.

There is a rhyme scheme: every couplet shares internal ryhme.

 This poem is a lyric poem. This poem is lyric because it expresses the emotions of young
rebellious people rejecting the establishment.

C. Symbol

Symbol Analysis
Despite the implication that these young guys are up to no good and should have better things to
do, the poem might remind you of your own mischievous youth and of bored summers you spent
hanging out in video game arcades even when it was a beautiful day outside. Nonetheless, there
is something ominous about these boys who "lurk" and "strike."

 Subtitle: The word "golden" is symbolic of summer, youth, and daytime. This is an ironic
name for the pool hall, because the aimless lives of the pool players seem anything but
golden.
 Line 7: Brooks has said that the month of June is "fragrant" and "non-controversial." It
represents polite society and authority figures. The boys rebel against June by "jazzing" it
up.

D. The Message of Gwendolyn Brooks' "We Real Cool"

"We Real Cool" is a short, yet powerful poem by Gwendolyn Brooks that sends a
life learning message to its reader. The message Brooks is trying to send is that dropping
out of school and roaming the streets is in fact not "cool" but in actuality a dead end
street.

Brooks conveys her message in an ironic manner, which is presented in the title of
the poem. Before actually reading the 10 line poem the first thing that grabs the reader's
attention is the title. After reading the title "We Real Cool" one would assume that the
intent of the poem is going to be about a group of people who are fortunate and live a
flamboyant lifestyle. This is not the case for the "seven players" in Brooks's …show more
content…
 The language used coincides with the player's lack of education. This is evident in
the poem when we are told they "left school." We later learn that instead of attending
school the players go to a pool hall. The name of the pool hall, "Golden Shovel"
contributes to the theme of the poem. The golden shovel has a deeper meaning and serves
as a symbol. The so called "Golden" lifestyle of the players will eventually cost them
their lives. In return they will eventually be ["shoveled"] in their grave. Several of the
lines in Brooks's poem begin with words that start with the same consonant letter; this is
an example of alliteration. The [l] sound in lurk-late, the [str] sound in strike-straight, and
the [j] sound in jazz-June. The alliteration used allows the poem to flow smoothly.
 CHAPTER III
CLOSING

The poem has a two line subtitle which creates a setting and shows us who the "we" in
the poem is and what are they doing: the "we" is the seven youngsters playing pool at a place
called The Golden Showel. The reason we know that the poem is about young people is because
of the second line: they are feeling cool, they left school. The youngsters also lurk late and strike
straight; they strike straight, they don't look around, meaning they do not think about the
consequences, only see in front of themselves.

The third stanza is about these youngsters indulging in alcohol and sinful behavior. And
finally, the last stanza is a consequential conclusion, a circle coming to an end: the youngsters'
behavior is of that sort that most likely leads to an early death.
 REFERENCES

https://www.gradesaver.com/we-real-cool/study-guide/summary

https://medium.com/@WanderingThoughts/we-real-cool-analysis-55e541cc4826

https://poemanalysis.com/we-real-cool-by-gwendolyn-brooks-poem-analysis/

https://www.modernamericanpoetry.org/criticism/kathryne-v-lindberg-we-real-
cool

https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/we-real-cool
https://literaryterms.net/setting/
https://study.com/academy/lesson/character-in-literature-definition-types-development.html
https://literarydevices.net/plot/

https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-external-conflict-in-literature-definition-types-
examples.html

https://davehood59.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/the-theme-of-a-short-story/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anton-Chekhov