1+Example+Poet's+Page



Shel Silverstein __ //Biography// __

Sheldon Alan Silverstein, more commonly known as Shel, was born in Chicago on September 25, 1930. Growing up, he found that he was not talented in the area of sports of girl chasing, but was able to draw and write. Shel developed his own unique style that was not meant to imitate anyone else. He used these talents in the 1950’s when he was a G.I. in Japan and Korea to draw cartoons for a magazine. He wrote his first book, __The Giving Tree,__ in 1964 and has since sold over five and a half million copies. __Where the Sidewalk Ends__, his first collection of poems, was published in 1974. His works have dominated best seller lists ever since. He also enjoyed a long and successful career as a songwriter. Shel Silverstein died in May 1999. His legacy will continue to touch many young lives as his most famous works continue to be widely read today.

__ //Writer's Style// __

Shel Siverstein has a very unique style. Most of his work is written with children in mind as the intended audience. Therefore, his poems are often humorous and tend to focus on everyday situations with a silly tone. He writes using a lot of imagery and even illustrates most of his poems. Rhyme is commonly found in his poetry, but not in every case. His form of choice is most often free verse. His point of view and subject matter is often creative, hyperbolic, and outlandish. His unique and creative style makes him a favorite among audiences both young and old.

__ //Favorite Poem// __

Sick

'I cannot go to school today, ' Said little Peggy Ann McKay. ' I have the measles and the mumps, A gash, a rash and purple bumps. My mouth is wet, my throat is dry, I'm going blind in my right eye. My tonsils are as big as rocks, I've counted sixteen chicken pox And there's one more-that's seventeen, And don't you think my face looks green? My leg is cut-my eyes are blue- It might be instamatic flu. I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke, I'm sure that my left leg is broke- My hip hurts when I move my chin, My belly button's caving in, My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained, My 'pendix pains each time it rains. My nose is cold, my toes are numb. I have a sliver in my thumb. My neck is stiff, my voice is weak, I hardly whisper when I speak. My tongue is filling up my mouth, I think my hair is falling out. My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight, My temperature is one-o-eight. My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear, There is a hole inside my ear. I have a hangnail, and my heart is-what? What's that? What's that you say? You say today is...Saturday? G'bye, I'm going out to play! '

//"Sick" is my favorite poem by Shel Silverstein because I enjoy the narrative, rhyme scheme, and imagery. Silverstein tells a funny story about a kid who would do anything to stay home from school in this narrative poem. He uses hyperbole to show that the narrator is desperately trying to convince his audience, most likely his/her parents, that their "disease" is simply too bad to attend school. I also enjoy the rhythm that is created by the rhyme scheme. Silverstein always impresses me with his ability to select words that fit in context while still achieving the rhyme. The continuous end rhyme also helps to achieve dramatic effect when the speaker abruptly changes his tone at the end. The interruption of the rhyme scheme signals this change to the reader. Additionally, Silverstein's descriptive language gives the reader a mental image of exactly what the speaker is trying to portray. For example, he rattles on and on about almost every part of the speaker's body, indicating that he is clearly making up a story to try and get out of his daily academic duty. Although I enjoy almost all of Silverstein's poetry, "Sick" is by far my favorite.//

//__ Poem Analysis __//

Messy Room

** Whosever room this is should be ashamed! ** ** His underwear is hanging on the lamp. ** ** His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair, ** ** And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp. ** ** His workbook is wedged in the window, ** ** His sweater's been thrown on the floor. ** ** His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV, ** ** And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door. ** ** His books are all jammed in the closet, ** ** His vest has been left in the hall. ** ** A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed, ** ** And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall. ** ** Whosever room this is should be ashamed! ** ** Donald or Robert or Willie or-- ** ** Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear, ** ** I knew it looked familiar! ** //In the poem, "Messy Room", Shel Silverstein uses a variety of the poetic techniques that we've studied in this collection. His word choices seem to be selected to create imagery for the reader; for example, he uses the words "jammed" and "wedged" instead of "put". This helps the reader picture the degree of carelessness and chaos in the room. Silverstein also uses alliteration in several parts of the poem, like when he says "his workbook is wedged in the window" and "his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall". This alliteration and his use of rhyme combine to make a rhythmic pattern in the piece. Silverstein uses both internal ("Ed" and "bed") and end rhyme ("lamp" and "damp"). The juvenile narrator seems to be innocently describing the room to his audience, who the reader could be lead to believe is his/her parents perhaps during a battle over chores. Clearly, Shel Silverstein has once again used his unique style to bring humor to a commonplace situation.//