Read the free verse poem “Theme in Yellow” by Carl Sandburg and compare it with Claude McKay’s sonnet “America.” How does the fr
ee verse structure of Sandburg's poem affect its reading? Which poem reads faster to you? Why? Free verse
Theme in Yellow
by Carl Sandburg
I spot the hills
With yellow balls in autumn.
I light the prairie cornfields
Orange and tawny gold clusters
And I am called pumpkins.
On the last of October
When dusk is fallen
Children join hands
And circle round me
Singing ghost songs
And love to the harvest moon;
I am a jack-o'-lantern
With terrible teeth
And the children know
I am fooling.
Set Verse
America
by Claude McKay
Although she feeds me bread of bitterness,
And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth,
Stealing my breath of life, I will confess
I love this cultured hell that tests my youth.
Her vigor flows like tides into my blood,
Giving me strength erect against her hate,
Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood.
Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state,
I stand within her walls with not a shred
Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.
Darkly I gaze into the days ahead,
And see her might and granite wonders there,
Beneath the touch of Time’s unerring hand,
Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.
Answer: The free verse in the poem “Theme in Yellow” forces readers to pause and consider each line of the poem. The poem also sounds more chaotic because of its form.
On the other hand, in a sonnet such as “America,” the reader is likely to read the whole poem quickly. “America” also seems more harmonious. Because of its ababcdcdefefgg rhyme scheme, it has a more lyrical quality, and it is more predictable in form, so the reader can read the poem fluidly and rhythmically.
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