The document analyzes two early 20th century poems: "Fog" by Carl Sandburg and "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams. It summarizes that Sandburg's poem uses symbolism to depict fog behaving like a cat, reflecting his background and connection with the working class. It also summarizes that Williams' poem captures everyday life for common men in the early 20th century through the simplistic symbolism of a red wheelbarrow, representative of the Imagist poetry movement becoming popular at the time. Both poets utilized simple language and imagery that everyday working people could relate to in their era of inventions, mass production, and social change.

1. ANALYZING 20TH CENTURY POETRY
Analysis of Two Early 20th Century Poems influenced by
the events of the Day

2. “Fog” by Carl Sandberg (1916)

3. Analysis
The symbolism used in the poem “Fog” by Carl Sandburg lets the reader paint a picture in the
mind’s eye of the movements of a cat. By the end of the piece, the reader “sees” the fog
behaving like a cat. The silent predator sneaks in when least expected, and waits motionlessly
for its prey. Fog comes slowly, creeping in and nestles between the hills and brush just as a cat
crouches in the weeds, waiting patiently. In the end, the cat leaves quickly but silently. Much
the same way fog blows off with the wind.
Carl Sandburg, a Swedish immigrant’s child, grew up in a working class family near Chicago in
the late 1800’s. A product of his environment, Sandburg’s prose style imparted more imagery
and symbolism than high-end words. America was coming out of the slumber of the Victorian
age into the fast paced industrial age of the 20th
century. Inventions no longer included such
mundane things as a cash register (1883) or an electrical generator (1844) or a typewriter (1868)
or even the telephone (1876). The list of early 20th
Century inventions is staggering and
includes air conditioning, vacuum cleaner, EEG machine, radio broadcasting, electric washing
machine, water cooler, paper cups, assembly line production, neon lamps, bras, zippers, and
sonar. Henry Ford revolutionized mass production of automobiles in 1913, while doubling the
wages for workers at his factories. Factories to produce new inventions sprang up everywhere.
Word of American job opportunities spread quickly across the world and immigrant workers
poured into America to find a better life. Sandburg revolutionized poetry inasmuch as he wrote
for the simple, middle, working class audience. He experienced the hard life of empty jobs, long
hours, and short pay just as many other struggling immigrants. Sandburg connected with the
working class man of the early 20th Century which greatly influenced his writings. He utilized
simplistic words set to a rhythm felt by many of his peers. In particular, Sandburg stood out as a
painter of pictures with words. Sandburg’s popularity grew over the years, and two Pulitzer
prizes later, it is obvious the early 20th Century working class also connected with Sandburg.

4. A FOGGY CAT
Do you see the cat?

5. “The Red Wheelbarrow" by
William Carlos Williams (1923)

6. ANALYSIS
William Carlos Williams’ poem, “The Red Wheelbarrow” captures the essence of a scene of
everyday life for the common man in the early 20th
Century. Chinese pictorial rock carvings
indicate they may have used wheelbarrows as early as 200 BC. Anyone who moves heavy loads,
tends to gardens, or performs farm chores knows the importance of a wheelbarrow. Williams’
inspiration for this poem came from a scene he viewed in the yard of a Negro man living in his
neighborhood. Williams could not but resist painting his own picture of the scene with his words
in this poem.
The simplistic symbolism presented in the William Carlos Williams’ poem “The Red
Wheelbarrow” is representative of a new style of poetry, known as the imagist movement,
popularized in the early 20th
Century. Williams graduated from medical school and worked as a
doctor for forty years even though his first love was writing. Over the years, his practice
flourished and so did the popularity of his writing. The author rejected the strict European
poetry format of four line stanza with rhyming meter. Just as Ezra Pound before him, Williams
preferred to stir the emotions of the common man in a pictorial presentation constructed with few
words. Williams inspired future poets both with his writings and with his personal guidance.
People of the 20th
Century widely accepted the doctor’s offerings, as they often reflected
situations the common man could understand. Imagist’s works were fashioned after the
simplistic form of the Japanese poetry known as haiku.

7. Early Use of the Wheelbarrow Depicted
in China
Interestingly, one of
the fist use s of the
wheelbarrow in China
was that of a mode of
transportation for
people!

8. Gratuitous Chicken Picture
Buc Buc Buc Buc Baa
Gak!