Carl Sandburg's Buttons

“Buttons - red and yellow buttons - blue and black buttons - are shoved back/ and forth across the map./” (3-4). Buttons by Carl Sandburg takes place during the time of World War 1. The poem contains several poetic elements which supports how the speaker feels about the behavior of people during World War I. The poetic elements in Buttons include setting, symbolism, tone, and irony. The first step to understanding Buttons is understanding the importance of the setting. Carl Sandburg wrote the poem in 1915, which took place during World War 1. Knowing the date of the poem is significant because the date allows readers to have a better understanding on why the young man who is laughing while moving the buttons frustrates the speaker. The speaker conveys “(Ten thousand men and boys twist on their bodies in a red soak along a river/ edge,/” (9-10). The speaker is describing the events of war and what happens to the soldiers in the war. While fighting, some of the soldiers end up dying or severely injured. The setting allows those reading the poem to contain a better understanding over the poem.
“Fixes a yellow button one inch west/ And follows the yellow button with a black button one inch west./” (7-8) The buttons have a significant meaning for the poem. The buttons represent the different countries fighting during World War 1 and where the troops are located. Moving the buttons also represent where the different troops and countries current location. The yellow button represents one country and the black button represents another.The speaker illustrates the countries as buttons on a map instead of actual countries because by doing so, the speaker creates