What Shall He Tell His Son Literary Devices

Metaphors are found in the poem “What Shall He Tell His Son,” written by Carl Sandburg. The poem is written as life lessons that the speaker of the poem collects over time to prepare his own son for growing up. The poem is very emotional, as the speaker reflects on his own life and the lessons he has learned the hard way. Metaphors in the poem are used to evoke emotion in the reader, to take each lesson that is told in their own way. “The growth of a fail flower in a path up / has sometimes shattered and split a rock,” the reader can take that metaphor in their own way. The ones who are perceived as weak could end up being the toughest, or that some things aren’t always what they seem. The metaphor is translated differently for each reader.
On the other hand, the line, ‘”Life is hard; be steel; be a rock,” uses metaphors of “rock” and “steel” to imply that toughness is needed in the real world if you want to live a fulfilled life; conversely, ‘“Life is soft loam; be gentle; go easy,’” compares life to being a soft loam, which contradicts the speakers statement earlier of needing to be tough. The poem “What Shall He Tell His Son?” is a conflict that the speaker of the poem experiences, the speaker is drawing from his own life to figure out what to tell his own son when he grows up. The author, Carl Sandburg, uses metaphors to draw emotion from the reader and from the speaker of the poem.