We Real Cool
By Gwendolyn Brooks
Theme:
Theme: The actions of these boys
who chose to miss school would
not influence the status quo, but
could lead to grave consequences.
THE POOL PLAYERS.
SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL.
Syntactical
We real cool. We
Repetition:
Left school
ool.
ool We
Epistrophe
Lurk late.
ate We
Strike
straight
Str
straight.
aight We
Sing sin.
in We
Thin
in gin
in.
in We
Jazz June.
une We
Die soon.
Enjambment
Internal Rhyme:
Rhyme:
Cool,
ool, school
school
Alliteration
Late,
ate, straight
straight
Sin,
in, thin
thin,
in, gin
Symbolism:
Symbolism:
June,
une, soon
soon
June
A
couple of decades ago, I first read “We Real Cool” in the context of my Voices in AfricanAmerican Literature class. My professor, Irene, was the first instructor I’ve had who stirred up
my interest in reading poetry. Before that, my school experiences turned me off to the genre
because former teachers expected the indisputable interpretation of each poem rather than personal
reactions supported by textual evidence..
Just the other day, I heard Gwendolyn Brooks discuss and recite “We Real Cool” in a recorded
interview I ran across online. After hearing the poem in her voice, I'm even more charged by it! From
the moment I first read it, I was moved by the way Brooks captured
a snapshot of AfricanAfrican-
American experience in few, yet penetrating words.
words I chose to analyze “We Real
Cool” at this time because by listening to Brooks’ voice, I can more clearly see what she saw that day
and perceive more fully where she was coming from when she wrote it in 1959.
Audio interview at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15433
In the interview, Gwendolyn Brooks explained that this poem is the most commonly known to young
people since it’s included in many anthologies. She further explained that although she doesn’t dislike
the poem, she wishes that publishers would include a greater variety of her repertoire in texts for
students. I felt a twinge of guilt as I listened because “We Real Cool” has been the poem that I
associate with Brooks, yet hearing this has already inspired me to read—and appreciate—more of her
poetry.
Thoughts linger in my mind from Brooks’ interview regarding her drive for writing “We Real Cool”:
she wasn’t concerned that these boys weren’t in school; rather, she wondered what they felt about
themselves that caused them to skip school. I hadn’t realized that June represented “the
establishment” in her poem, nor had I considered that Jazz had been interpreted as a sexual reference,
which was NOT Brooks’ intention. Her assertion that she was okay with that inference—if it worked
for the reader—further reinforced my opinion that poetry is meant to be savored and to provoke
original thought as EACH reader INTERACTS with a poem!
The sound and rhythm devices applied by Brooks enhanced this poignant poem. Her use of
internal
rhyme worked for her serious topic. Had she rhymed at the end of each line, it would have sounded
more whimsical, like a Dr. Seuss book. As she illuminated costs of oppression, her use of internal rhyme
was more suitable. I appreciated the rhythm and flow of rhyme, such as “real cool” with “left school.”
Moreover, Brooks’ use of alliteration impacted the poem by adding emphasis to the actions of
the boys she observed that day: Lurk late; Strike straight;
Sing sin; Jazz June!
str
Brooks combined
epistrophe with enjambment
to zero in on the boys she saw in the pool hall,
the “we” in her poem. She whispered “we,” underemphasizing it just as the young men she saw
were disregarded by the establishment. The soft repetition of
we, particularly preceding each active
verb, added to the theme that the
actions of these boys who chose to miss school
would not influence the status quo, but could lead to grave consequences.
consequences
Brook’s tone is forthright. She told it like she saw it: she observed these youths that skipped
school, described what they were up to and ended with concern that their attempt to rock the boat
could, ultimately, end in premature death. Then again, attending school could empower these same
boys to, indeed, transform the status quo.
Brooks’ symbolic use of the word, June, to represent the establishment illustrates how she adeptly
compressed her statement. The oppressors of the time were palpably in the faces of the young men she
saw at the pool hall, and the oppressors’ overwhelming preference for pleasantness rather than for
equality in society weighed heavily on the shoulders of these young men. “We Real Cool” is an
effective poem because Brooks captivates readers with her thought-provoking depiction of adolescents
she observed. I’m left pondering how the youths of today view our present reality.
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