Shel Silverstein

Few authors of the twentieth century build take in intimately the resembling imp impress on the literary society than Sheldon Allan Silverstein. His piece of music encompasses a broad sick of styles, from adult to childrens, comical to unusual. One of his closely common styles was that of fantasy: actions and events that cannot logic all(prenominal) in assistant happen. This style was evident in his snips, the Loser, Thumb Face, Warning, Squishy Touch, and slip of paper down Stealer. Through the description of these incorrect circumstances, Silverstein was able to go for refs of all ages.         In Sely Fridays type to a biography, Shel Silverstein was quoted as saying, . . . I would a great deal rather commit been a practiced baseball player or a hit with the girls. nevertheless I couldnt play ball, I couldnt dance. Luckily, the girls didnt want me; not much I could do about that. So, I started to draw and to write. Beca mathematical f unction of his rejection by well-nigh of his peers, he found his hold hobby: entertain some otherwises. During the 1950s, Silverstein even help adeptselfd as a genus Phallus of the get together States Armed Forces. date in this position, he was employed as a cartoonist to help cheer up the serviceman during the Korean War. In 1956, the writer leaded again as a cartoonist, that this beat for a little-known magazine called Playboy. Despite this good range of literary audiences, Silversteins main declare wizself was to entertain.          devil of his major(ip) battle arrays of plumps of literature are the critically acclaimed Where the pavement Ends and A watery in the Attic. They sop up no cover diachronic significance; they were written to entertain. These cardinal books contain rough of Silversteins most accredited flex. Since the books are childrens literature, not many critics piddle taken the clock to review the works. However , Shel Silverstein phonograph arrangement! Reviews reference to a review of Silversteins A nimbleness in the Attic said, Despite such moments of banality, and there arent many, Mr. Silversteins work remains a must for lovers of good rhyme for children. kind of like nobody else, he is still a ascertain of delectable outrage and the proprietor of a amazingly finely tuned sensibility. In other words, there were some routine verses in this book, that for the most part, Silverstein reaffirmed his status as an spl ratiocinationid writer for children with the use of both absurdity and deep feeling.         Silversteins the Loser, evinceed in Where the paving Ends, tells the bosh of a someone who missed his/her principal sum sequence playing with his/her cousin. The problem occurs in the story when the individual cannot find the head because almost all sensory perceptual experience went along with the head. In the end, the individual says, . . . I guess Ill sit down / On this rock / And res t for unsloped a minute . . . . (p. 25). The rock, as the picture ensuant the verse form shows, turns out to be the persons lost head. This story is obviously out of the question considering the biological fact that when a person is decapitated, his/her life ceases. However, with the use of simple end rhyme and an diverting story, Silverstein is able to present a light-hearted view of what could have been a tragedy.         Thumb Face, include in A Light in the Attic, is another(prenominal) example of Silversteins use of fantasy. The commencement ceremony stemma of the numbers fundamentally says it all: in that respect is a brass operator upon my thumb . . .. (p. 55). For all practical purposes, this is an absurd role. The speaker goes on to describe the attemptures of the small reflection on his/her thumb. Certain descriptions of the pose imply a sense of minuteness and leave the proofreader feeling com cultate for it because of its size. For example, Silverstein wrote, It has a little twisty mo! uth, / And chicken teethies, too. Again, Silverstein uses end rhyme in the pattern of a b c b, which helps move the story along in a definite rhythm. opus the subject matter is irrational, Silverstein uses vivid descriptions and a straightforward picture to entertain his readers.         Included in the allurement of poems within Where the sidewalk Ends is a poem authorize Warning. This poem is exactly what the title says it is. Once much, the main idea is in the offshoot two lines, saying, Inside e reallybodys nest / There lives a sharp-toothed snail. (p. 75). Silverstein goes on to describe the consequences of putting ones finger in ones nose. This situation is at once again biologically impossible. However, seeing that a large region of Silversteins readers are children, this poem could have a purpose other than entertainment; it could be a warning for children to snap pic magnate their noses. small-arm this topic is unusual, Silverstein makes a n smooth attempt at dissuading children from continuing a bad habit, while at the alike time preposterous his readers.         During the 1960s, Silverstein was living close to Chicagos Gate of snout and New Yorks Bitterend, writing and execute home music. Although that road did exsert to some success in that some(prenominal) major recording artists used his work, he decided to make writing his focal point. In Sely Fridays biography reference, Silverstein said, By the time I got to where I was attracting girls, I was already into work, and it was more than crucial to me. not that I wouldnt rather make love, scarcely the work has function a habit. In other words, his writing had pay off one of the most important things in his life by that time and he had gotten into an area of writing that would supply him with historic period and days of marvelous work: childrens literature.         In his poem entitled Squishy Touch, he presents anot her unlogical situation and uses several(prenominal) ! literary devices while doing so. This poem from A Light in the Attic tells the story of a person that off anything he/she affected into raspberry Jell-O. Following this is a list of all the things the person had touched recently that had turned to Jell-O. This is yet another impossible occurrence Silverstein uses to entertain his readers. While this poem contains interest subject matter, it also has significant literary value. The first two lines say, E very(prenominal)thing King Midas touched / Turned to gold, the gilt fellow. (p. 53).

This is an allusion to a Hellenic myth about a king who wished that everyt hing he touched would turn to gold. Also important is Silversteins use of onomatopoeia. non only does he use words that act as sounds, but he also makes them rhyme. This is an incredible feat and shows his gallantry as a poet. Although he used several literary devices, he was still able to satisfy his readers passion for japery by using a bizarre circumstance.         Silversteins grate Stealer, from A Light in the Attic, presents an interesting tale of a being called a coo-coo that steals the speakers skin and head. From the first two lines, the reader can conclude that the story is instead improbable, reading, This evening I unzipped my skin / And care seriousy unscrewed my head . . . (p. 147). after on, the reader is warned to not take offense to the actions the speaker is reservation because it is actually the coo-coo, wearing the speakers skin and head, that is perform these actions. The use of end rhyme and the vivid picture ensuant the poem hel p give the poem overall appeal.        !  I personally believe Shel Silverstein is an excellent poet. I consider myself to have a fairly simple mind, and therefore his poems make sense. While they do present some completely impossible situations, they parcel out their original purpose, which is to entertain. Not only the five poems I selected, but also the entire books are easy to read and very sweet. With the use of simple end rhyme and several other occasional literary devices, Silversteins poems come across as very appealing to me.         Shel Silverstein was one of the few poets of the 1900s that make an impact on both children and adults. Through his work in the Army and with Playboy, he was able to touch the lives of many adults. However, more noticeably, his work affected the lives of countless children through his two collections of poetry, Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic. Of the broad range of styles his work consisted, one of the most notable was the use of fantasy. In to all(prenominal) one of his poems, the Loser, Thumb Face, Warning, Squishy Touch, and Skin Stealer, Silverstein presented an illogical situation, but do it entertaining to the reader by using end rhyme, creating an amusing story, and including a vivid picture. His writing ability made his poems enjoyable for both children and adults and will continue to delight his readers for years to come. flora Cited Friday, Sely. Biography. Shel Silverstein Collected Information. 1999. hypertext transfer protocol://195.114.233.19/Silverstein/bio.html (25 Oct. 1999). (Author unknown). Shel Silverstein Book Reviews. Shel Silversteins Adult Works. 1999. http://www.banned-width.com/shel/misc/breviews.html (25 Oct. 1999). Silverstein, Shel (1974). Where the Sidewalk Ends. New York: Harper and Row. Silverstein, Shel (1981). A Light in the Attic. New York: Harper and Row. If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: BestEssayCheap.com
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