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Yes to the Constitution when a help, No to the Constitution when a hindrance. Yes to man as a struggler amid illusions, Each man fated to answer for himself: Which of the faiths and illusions of mankind. Must I choose for my own sustaining light.
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From ‘The People, Yes’ by Carl Sandburg is a poem on Abraham Lincoln, his leadership, and how he stood firm against the odds of his time. In this piece, Carl Sandburg first gives a brief overview of Abraham Lincoln. The poet doesn’t go into the details of his personal or professional life. Rather, the poet shows readers how he was as a leader and a...
‘From The People, Yes’consists of three sections. In the first long stanza, the poet presents a brief overview of Abraham Lincoln and his attitude while he was running the government. The second stanza is about Lincoln’s rhetoric, and the last stanza containing only two lines gives an impression of extreme hopelessness along with a dying kindle of ...
The poem, ‘from The People, Yes’begins with an interrogation or rhetorical question. Thereafter, using a metaphor, the poet compares Abraham Lincoln with a “mystery”. The poet uses metonymy in reference to the “flags”. The neighboring lines beginning with “Yes” and “No” contain anaphora. There is a personification in the line, “No to personal malic...
Lines 1–6
The text, ‘From The People, Yes’begins with an interrogation. As if someone has asked the poetic persona about Abraham Lincoln. For this reason, the speaker clarifies what he thinks about him. However, the poet says Lincoln’s character was mysterious. He was like the age he belonged. It was a time filled with “smoke”. Here, the “smoke” means a lack of clarity of thought. Thereafter, “flags” referto different nations. Lincoln accepted the age as it was and said, “yes to the flags”. It means he...
Lines 7–15
In contrast, Lincoln firmly said to the debauchery of those who were working for the collective good of the people. He never let his “personal malice” manipulate his public decisions. So, the poet says, he said no personal malice that was nursed and fed upon one’s hatred towards another. Lincoln always was with the spirit of the Constitution when it was used for the public good. But, when self-motivated officials used it against the good of the people, he firmly said not to the Constitution....
Lines 16–23
The second stanza of the poem, ‘From The People, Yes’written by Carl Sandburg begins with two questions. Here, it seems the speaker is referring to the people of his time who were either unaware of Lincoln or somehow forgot about his ideals. Whatsoever, the poet enquires if Lincoln was a poet and he wrote verses. Then, the poet quotes two famous lines written by Abraham Lincoln. The line, “I have not willingly planted a thorn in any man’s bosom”, is quoted from Lincoln’s November 10, 1864 spe...
‘The People, Yes’ written by Carl Sandburgis an epic prose-poem that was published in 1936. At that time, the Great Depression was at its height. Through this collection of poems, Carl Sandburg lauds the perseverance of the American people in a plainly spoken language. Likewise, in this poem, ‘From The People, Yes’, Carl Sandburg refers to one of t...
The following poems also present similar themes that are present in Carl Sandburg’s from ‘The People, Yes’. 1. Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnightby Vachel Lindsay– This poem explores what Abraham Lincoln would have done if he was alive during World War I. 2. Flagby Owen Sheers– This poem presents the theme of economic instability and the condition o...
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The People, Yes is a book-length poem written by Carl Sandburg and published in 1936. The 300 page work is thoroughly interspersed with references to American culture, phrases, and stories (such as the legend of Paul Bunyan).
- Carl Sandburg
- 1936
Apr 14, 2015 · The People, Yes, an epic prose-poem, is in many ways the culmination of Sandburg’s work as a poet and is believed by Lilian Sandburg to be his favorite work. He crafted it over an eight-year period, fusing the American vernacular with the details of history and contemporary events.
The People, Yes Lyrics. Lincoln? He was a mystery in smoke and flags. Saying yes to the smoke, yes to the flags, Yes to the paradoxes of democracy, Yes to the hopes of government. Of the...
Jun 28, 2021 · The People, Yes, an epic prose-poem, is in many ways the culmination of Sandburg’s work as a poet and is believed by Lilian Sandburg to be his favorite work. He crafted it over an eight-year period, fusing the American vernacular with the details of history and contemporary events.
His many subsequent books of poetry include The People, Yes (1936), Good Morning, America (1928), Slabs of the Sunburnt West (1922), and Smoke and Steel (1920). “Trying to write briefly about Carl Sandburg,” said a friend of the poet, “is like trying to picture the Grand Canyon in one black and white snapshot.”.
