Poetry Analysis

W E R EA L C O O L
B Y G W EN D O LY N B R O O K S
Poem :
THE POOL PLAYERS.
SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL.

We real cool. We
Left school. We

Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We
Die soon. [1960]
Audio
 Background ofthe author...
1917-2000
1st African American to receive Pulitzer
Prize for poetry. (1950)
Early years
Grew up poor
Spurned by others for loving to read and
write
 Professional career
Worked for NAACP
Poems discussed racism, struggle, day to
day life
Notably inter racial discrimination
Changed from structured poetry
to free verse
 Later years
Promoted poetry within inner
city schools and even bars
Chicago State University: Gwendolyn
Brooks Centre
Known for chronicling the lives and
struggles of African Americans before,
during and after the civil rights
movement.
W e RealCool

Poem is a commentary on the

defiance of youth (embracing non-
conformity) and their recognition of
the end result of such a life.

A song that defines who they are at

they very moment they exist. No
unnecessary words needed to define
them their lives are simple so the
poem must be simple.
W e RealCool

The Pool Players at the Golden Shovel

Players actors in their own play (short /
end)
Seven luck
Golden wealth of youth
Shovel work / death / burial

Overall, before the poem begins it sets the

stage for how these boys see their lives
through analysis of subtext.
W e RealCool

We
Stop after We verbal/mental pause,
symbolizes their validity of presence
Signifies Value loud: bold / soft:
uncertain
W e RealCool

Acts of defiance/non-conformity that

symbolizes their existence (coolness)
Left School (school isnt for them)
Lurk Late (stay out when they want)
Strike Straight (blunt and aggressive
towards their desires)
Sing Sin (say what they want)
Thin Gin (drink what they want)
Jazz June (sexual power)
Die soon (they determine their exit)
W e RealCool
Brooks stated that the form is determined by
the boys in the poem, not the rhythm itself.

Rhythm does play a factor however:

The boys in the poem have limitations they
must adhere to a structure but they can alter
the limitations to suit them.
This is why the poem has a rhyme scheme that
sounds simplistic but relevant to their social
conditions.
Repetition daily routine
Alliteration recognize value of pattern (Lurk
Late, Strike Straight, Sing Sin) and makes it
[them] memorable
W e RealCool

Dropouts (which could effectively mean many

things) who through the poem value each other
instead of the social and educational fabric that
they existed in.

Their freedom to live in the poem inevitably

ensures that their freedom to die will be followed
in the same fashion.
Blessing or curse?
Brooks commentary on the social condition of the
civil rights movement is clear through this poem.
W e RealCool

We is a collective term for a

generation that Brooks sees in her
culture.
We are a group in the 1950s & 60s
who suddenly didnt understand why
they have trying to conform to a
society which didnt want to
recognize them anyway.