We real cool Essay Example for Free

We real cool Essay In analyzing the prosody used by Gwendolyn Brooks in her poem We Real Cool, it is first useful to analyze the meaning of the poem. The poem tells about the story of the life of many people who are attracted by the fun and the vices of life. These people do things health professionals advise against such as staying up late, drinking and spending much time for night life. However, life is not forever, and all these vices make the end of life nearer. The rhythm of the poem is uniform and regular all throughout. Except for the first line where there is need to add an additional syllable to complete the sentence and set the pattern of the succeeding lines and the last line, all others follow dactylic monometer as a metrical pattern. Basically, there are only four stanzas, and each stanza has four lines. Each line, except for the first and last, has three monosyllabic words, and every stanza ends with a pair of rhyming words. This pattern is too simple and too short that it sounds monotonous. While other poets may use many devices to avoid sounding monotonous, Brooks took advantage of this monotony to emphasize her message. Going back to the message of her poem, too many vices lead to an early death. The monotony and simplicity of the meter used is transmitted to the message of the poem and make the reader understand that the cause and effect relationship between vices and death is a simple fact of life. It is not a complex series affected by many factors. The monotony and abruptness of each line added a certain note of boredom, which tells the readers that the said cause and effect relationship between abuse of ones body and death at an earlier age is something that is not subject to an exciting debate, because most people will agree that it is true. This type of rhythm and meter would not have worked had the poem been long. This is because the element of boredom will cease to be a tool for effectiveness and will rather cause the readers to loose interest in the poem. Considered with the very simple meter, the very short length of the poem adds to the message. Like the poem, the path from vice to death is short and straightforward. There are no detours, right and left.