Criticism > Poetry > Sandburg, Carl - Thomas King Whipple (essay date 1928)

Sandburg, Carl - Thomas King Whipple (essay date 1928)

Thomas King Whipple (essay date 1928)

SOURCE: Whipple, Thomas King. “Carl Sandburg.” In Spokesmen: Modern Writers and American Life, pp. 161-83. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1928.

[In the following essay, Whipple surveys Sandburg's poetic sensibility and vision, arguing that while his talents and significance are considerable, Sandburg's poetry is sometimes poorly realized.]

The final impression left by Sandburg's four volumes of poetry is one of much power ill controlled. Not only has his work variety, ranging from a harsh strident realism through a romantic, tender feeling for natural beauty to a dim evocation of hinted mystery; it is not only varied, but variable—that is, uneven and uncertain. It is a medley of high poetry, flat prose, and showy counterfeit. Such unsureness is a sign that Sandburg is quite uncritical, that his taste is lax and undisciplined. His is an extraordinary aptitude for poetic utterance, ruled by...

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