We Real Cool
By Gwendolyn Brooks
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.
i think the writer is trying to talk about young bloods and their habit. how and what they do to have fun. people like them live in the moment, enjoy their life to the fullest so that even if they die soon they don’t have regrets
I agree with you. “Live life to the fullest because it only happens once”
I feel like the author is trying to show, that even though they are doing things that is looked down upon like leaving school, being out late etc, they are gonna die one day so they might as well have fun with no regrets or worries.
I feel like the author is trying to show, that even though they are doing things that is looked down upon like leaving school, being out late etc, they are gonna die one day so they might as well have fun with no regrets or worries.
so i have a question for this topic…
is this poem that is meant to be understood as if each sentence is a different year?
or is it just a group of kids that are talking about a day… after they are playing hooky??
I agree with my classmates, young people have different attitudes toward life. so they are gonna die one day so they might as well have fun with no regrets or worries.
I think the author expresses his inner emotions through lyrics, telling young people that life should be full of passion, and there must be enthusiasm and positive optimism to face life
I read this poem before! I think it’s interesting and different, it reminds me of a transition. Talking about ditching school to drinking liquor, to dying. I would say it’s sort of the second half of coming-of-age. Going-of-age maybe? I found it really interesting how they didn’t start a new stanza at the end of the sentence but after the “We”. Almost as if the author is emphasizing the we… this poem is about us.
I definitely think it can depict the attitudes of young people. More of a “life fast die young” Mindset. Surely with the intentions of being careful, but also not being too scared to get out and explore.
I am always proud of the ingenuity of ancient Chinese poems, but this English poem is not inferior to it. There are only 3 words in each sentence.
I think the author missed the days of rebellion as a student in school. Even if they risk dying, they had to celebrate after school. It ’s such a happy day and they would never regret it.
Interesting how you pointed that out. There are three words in each sentence but somehow the author put it together to get a story.
i also just now noticed how it was mapped out as 3 words per line… (thank you for pointing that out)
she explains the different meanings that people have understanding her poem.
(she starts actually reading it at – 1:55)
I think the author is saying, “lets do whatever we want because we are going to die anyway.”
The author is trying to prove that life is short, having fun can be limited and we should make the most of it.
There are a lot of ways to read this poem. For me, it’s a warning that the tough lifestyle leads to early death.
Gwendolyn Brooks wrote his poem “We Real Cool” from the perspective of a group of young pool players. The first line of the poem shows us that the group of young people decided to leave school. The next lines are “we lurk late. we strike straight” which makes me think of violence and these young people can be dangerous. The lines after that are “we sing sin. we thin gin.” that sounds that they are involved in crime and they are celebrating their sin. Finally the last line “we die soon” explains a lot about the reality that the group of pool players will not be remembered by the society in future.
Yes, to your last line. Brooks uses “die” in a number of ways; she means it quite literally but, as you say, as a metaphor for their lack of impact.
Yes, to your last line. Brooks uses “die” in a number of ways; she means it quite literally but, as you say, as a metaphor for their lack of impact.
people can enjoy themselves and have fun without acting “cool” or “tough”. seems to me in this day and age people tend to show off too much which either leaves them in a world of trouble or crime.
Yeah, it is about showing off, isn’t it?
yea, I believe so. People tend to set their own pride aside just to have the spotlight on them