We real cool. We
Left School. We
Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We
Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We
Jazz June. We
Die soon.
We real cool. We
Left School. We
Lurk late. We
Strike straight. We
Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We
Jazz June. We
Die soon.
Do you have any comments, criticism, paraphrasis or analysis of this poem that you feel would assist other visitors in understanding the meaning or the theme of this poem by Gwendolyn Brooks better? If accepted, your analysis will be added to this page of American Poems. Together we can build a wealth of information, but it will take some discipline and determination.
WE REAL COOL SEEMS TO DEPICT THE MIND STATE OF LOST YOUTH THAT THINK ITS COOL TO RUN THE STREETS AND SKIP SCHOOL. BUT IT ALSO CAN HAVE ANOTHER MEANING SUCH AS GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL AND CELEBRATING. HOW WE INTERPRET THE POEM CAN BE OF A GREAT VALUE.
While attending an “English Workshop” at Amherst College in the 70’s, Miss Brooks just happened to be visiting the campus one day. She was encouraged to visit our group. One of our group volunteered to “read” this poem. He started off by reading the lines “We real cool. We left school. We lurk late”, etc. When he was finished, Miss Brooks asked, “What makes you think I meant to have the poem read in that fashion?”
She then proceeded to read it as she had intended it to be read:
We real cool. We (emphasis on We)
Left school. We (emphasis). The remainder of the poem followed this pattern. Read in this manner truly reveals the underlying intent of the author which was not apparent to the casual reader.
Comment No. 4 alludes to the use of “We” as having special meaning.
Your poem is very inspiring and wonderful. THanks
I think this is a great poem to share with students who also think they are “real cool.” It sends a message that is relatable and realistic. It’s a deep poem in few words, which many students think can’t happen. My students are going to read this and then write their own “We Real…” poem, imitating Brooks’s style and simplicity.
I don’t think this poem is as preachy to “street kids” as previous posts have make it seem to be. I think this poem is about youthful rebellion, when youth bend the rules because it’s “cool” that almost every kid of every race and origin experiences. When Brooks ends with “we die soon”, she means that soon they will grow out of their rebellious nature and discover their identities. Adolescence is all about identity, and rebellion is one way of discovering it ^_^
Coming across this site and the name Gwendolyn Brooks awakened in me the fondest memories of her. My contact with her was short, just a few weeks’ course in poetry at Northeastern Illinois in the 1960s, but my memory of them is incandescent. She was warm, welcoming, nurturing, understanding, sensitive to her students, truly interested in our efforts and always willing to give generously of her time outside the classroom; she took seriously my poetic attempts and encouraged me to do more; she was in that regard a mother to me, then a rather lost young man, and she nourished my soul. I loved then and still love her unique voice as I loved and love her human warmth. It was many years before I realized what she meant in my life, and I never had the chance to tell her or to thank her for the way and the extent to which she influenced and broadened my spirit, and too soon she was gone. This is an inadequate attempt to make amends. So, thank you, my Miss Brooks, for those unforgettable weeks of spiritual awakening, with their lifelong consequences, and for the permanent and invaluable gift of your poems.
Awesome. It’s so direct and powerful. Just Amazing.
I got to a drop-out school and there are so many kids who I would like to share this with. Kids who are runnin the streets, chasing the Hood dreams, Tryin’ to be “gagstas”. If they could only read this and understand that it ain’t so cool, that they have to get educated in order to truly free themselves from the shackles of poverty. If they could really read this poem and truly unerstand it, then they could see how foolish it is to play up to what the world expects us to be. Stupid.
Where i’m from there are many teenagers who have dropped out of school. If they were to read this poem they would know you need an education to live. With out smarts you won’t make it. This poem can also be an inspiration to those who are in school now. It let’s them know stay in school nothing is in the streets.
This poem “We Real Cool” is absolutely wonderful. I believe this because the meaning of this poem is expressed with very few words. This poem describes the essence of ghetto life. It describes the desperate; those who are in an extreme need of things other than money. Without really telling you anything about these seven young men Gwendolyn Brooks tells us all about them. This poem tells of their fears, their ambitions, and who they think they are versus who they really are.
The poem begins with the word “We” which is the only line in the poem that begins in this such manor, despite the fact that the word we is repeated six more times, throughout the entirety of this poem. The “we” that I believe is represented at the beginning is the unity that comes from being with friends. There is no individuality. They are all in the same position. They are all, “real cool.” However, as the poem progresses the repeated “We” is seen not at the beginning but, at the end of each line. This simultaneously displays a certain aspect that was not seen in the first line. It shows a certain bluster and a distinct uncertainty about the groups identity or even, as an example of protesting too much, whether there’s a group identity at all. Who is this “We” that they are so insistent about? Repeated as it is, the “We” gets smaller and smaller–the poet has in fact said that the “we” is supposed to be read in a small and uncertain way, thus the reason for the unpunctuated “we” at the end of each line. That word becomes sort of a question as well as a refrain. The unity that was seen in the beginning becomes less and less apparent as the poem continues.
Brooks continues the poem, saying, “We / Left school.” Making even more apparent the hopelessness of this scenario. Brooks not only arranges the wording in this poem to show a desperate need, but she speaks of one as well. The fact that these seven young men have no education shows exactly how bleak their future is or is going to be. It is also here that the unity of this group begins to fade. As the poem closes Brooks writes, “We / Die soon.” I believe this is the perfect closing to a poem about having a false since of unity, about the wrong path, and ghetto life in general. You come into the world alone and you are sure to die alone.
this is a nice poem its very simple
this poem really speaks to me… it is quite short, but it makes up for that through depth…
My daughter, a seventh-grader, needed me to print a poem for a class assignment, and I remembered this one, long a favorite of mine. It’s short, but succinct. The imagery speaks of youth, posturing and belligerent, yet fatalistic about the ultimate outcome. The use of alliteration allows a quick build to the climax. Powerful poem, standing with few in it’s brevity.