Essay On Jazz Poetry

947 Words2 Pages

In the 1900s, the Jazz Music outbreak was in full swing. There were many Jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, and King Oliver who gave the world their soulful tunes by using musical instruments. A few years later, in 1920, the Jazz poetry movement started when several poets began to challenge each other’s rhythm and style. Both poetry and Jazz had many similarities which resulted in merging the two art forms, making jazz poetry. T.S. Eliot, E.E. Cummings, and Ezra Pound were just a handful of the many poets who were involved in this movement. Carl Sandburg was another poet who showed the world his love of jazz music, which he did through poetry. He wrote “Jazz Fantasia” to express that love.
Carl Sandburg was born on January 6, 1978. Carl’s father, August Sandburg, who was a laborer, discouraged his interest in books. His mother, Clara Sandburg, applauded his excitement for education. Carl …show more content…

It can be played on any instrument, but the most commonly known instruments we hear when we listen to jazz are the saxophone, trumpet, trombone, bass, and the guitar. Each jazz musician wants to have their own individual sound when they perform their instrument. The sound that comes out could be raspy, rough, smooth, soulful or even warm or dark. The sound could even be a combination of different sounds, making a recipe for the perfect tune. Jazz sounds can be hard to describe in words, but Carl Sandburg showed us he could do that with his poem “Jazz Fantasia”.
Carl Sandburg uses sound devices, imagery, and personification as he writes “Jazz fantasia”. Sound devices are created throughout this poem. The first stanza says, “Drum on your drums, batter on your banjoes, sob on the long cool winding saxophones”. Sandburg is grasping the reader’s attention by concentrating on the sounds the instruments are making when being played. “Go to it, O jazzmen”, the reader can imagine him cheering the jazz men on while they

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