Sandburg's+Chicago

Carl Sandburg's "Chicago," 1916: [|"Chicago"] (click the link to see the text; play the video to see //and// hear it)

Notice that while it's not a standard form, there is some form in lines one through five. It can represent a city skyline, and looks like this: 6, 7, 12, 6, 7.

Also, notice that lines six through 11 each contain about 30 syllables.

This piece demonstrates the difference in form between Romantic and Modernist poetry, with the former's emphasis on form and the latter's, while still containing some form, emphasis on function, or that of the achieved or desired effect of the poem. Its lines contain imagery about some of the many perils of city life, including an allusion to the crime that led to such incidents as the Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929. And while it seemingly contains some personification in its first five lines, Sandburg is clearly describing the people that make the city what is was for Sandburg. media type="youtube" key="qRBFULxLwJE?fs=1" height="204" width="337" align="center"