“We die soon”; that is the ending line in the poem “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks. That line brings a question why would anyone say, we die soon? Discovering the poetic elements in this helped me understand why these sentences and techniques were used.

The identification of these elements gave me the power of its message. I perceived this message as a warning. A warning to the young reader about not ending up like the seven at the golden shovel. Now I know what not to do.

There were three main literary devices used in the poem. This includes repetition, alliteration, and assonance. Repetition was used through the entire poem. Every sentence had “We” in the beginning. An example is ” We real cool/We left school”. Using the word “we” before every line gives the poem a steady rhythm.

Another contribution to the rhythm was assonance. Assonance, very similar to rhyming, was incorporated throughout the writing. “We real cool/We left school”; cool and school have repeating vowel sounds. The same with “late and straight”. Assonance in many of the lines evens out the pace of the poem and makes it catchy.

The third and final element was alliteration. In my opinion, it was the least helpful element in the poem. It was there, but not everywhere. “Lurk late…strike straight” didn’t add to much of anything except more catchiness. This might have been different if alliteration was in the whole poem.

Gwendolyn Brooks, the writer of the poem must have had some inspiration. I assume that because she focuses on such specific things, they aren’t general ideas. I can infer that she got her inspiration from some people she must have seen out of school. They must have showed her all she needed for her poem throughout their body languages and faces. They must have had the look saying “we are soooo cool”. Thinking about these ideas has helped me understand the poem and its message. I can now enjoy the poem now that I understand.

Understanding the poetic elements got me to understand the theme and message. Thanks to going over the uncertain parts and themes of the poem, I am enlightened and I have no more questions.