Modern Day Carrollism: A Look at the Poetry of Shel Silverstein

For many years, writers have carved a comfortable niche for themselves in the hearts of children using lighthearted wordplay and rhyme. Few, however, have captured the admiration of audiences young and old, a feat accomplished only by legendary figures such as Lewis Carroll and Dr. Seuss. Throughout childhood, I admired these writers, wishing fervently the tales they told could be more than fiction, and although each line of poetry inevitably brought me to giggles, there was still another brilliant author I had yet to discover. In the fall of 1992, my elementary teacher began reading aloud in class from “Falling Up: Poems and Drawings,” and continued onto “Where the Sidewalk Ends” and “A Light in the Attic.” These collections, written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein, seemed merely another form of magic, only revealing their double-sided humor I perused his work in later years. Upon further research, I discovered Silverstein’s achievements prior to children’s poetry, which included several years spent writing for adults and collaborating with other artists.

Silverstein discovered his talent for words and cartoons as a young boy, steadily developing his own brand of humor until, in 1950, he enlisted in the armed forces and began working as a cartoonist for a military publication known as “Pacific Stars and Stripes.” After six years of service, he relocated, taking a job as a writer and cartoonist for Playboy magazine. Over the years, he published numerous poems with Playboy and created the bestselling “Playboy’s Teevee Jeebies” series. In the early sixties, though he showed an interest in folk music (which later led to the release of an album and collaborations with various musicians), Silverstein was introduced to Ursula Nordstrom, who convinced him to begin a career writing for children. This leap of imagination truly launched Silverstein’s career, bringing him the adoration of families worldwide. Beginning with “The Giving Tree,” and proceeding on with “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” “The Missing Piece,” “A Light in the Attic,” and several more, Silverstein entrances children with silly wordplay and invites adults to look back on those sunny childhood memories and chuckle. Several poems, though created for children, seem to poke fun at more serious issues such as politics, morals, and war. The following poems have been selected and analyzed in order to demonstrate the skillful fashion in which Shel Silverstein seizes the imaginations of most readers.

Forgotten LanguageWhere the Sidewalk Ends (1974)

Once I spoke the language of the flowers,

Once I understood each word the caterpillar said,

Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings,

And shared a conversation with the housefly in my bed.

Once I heard and answered all the questions of the crickets,

And joined the crying of each falling dying flake of snow,

Once I spoke the language of the flowers….

How did it go? How did it go?

In this particular poem, Shel Silverstein appeals to an audience of children, pondering the common fancy that they can speak to and understand nature. Almost every child, at some point, has imagined, and maybe truly believed, that they can carry on a conversation with the dog or hear the whispers of leaves calling them to play. Yet he also draws in an older audience by alluding to the lost fantasies of childhood, possibly gaining inspiration from Lewis Carroll’s garden of talking flowers and hookah-smoking caterpillar.

The VoiceFalling Up” Poems and Drawings (1996)

There is a voice inside of you

That whispers all day long,

“I feel that this is right for me,

I know that this is wrong.”

No teacher, preacher, parent, friend

Or wise man can decide

What’s right for you – just listen to

The voice that speaks inside.

Though this poem seems straight-forward, it speaks to a range of readers effectively of morals and memories. The simple rhyme and reason of “The Voice” reminds children of a basic value, to be true to yourself and your dreams. Others, however, are reminded of lessons learned in childhood and impressed again with the idea that “the voice” inside must be listened to closely in order to enjoy a full and happy life. No doubt, Silverstein’s work will provide laughs for hundreds of years to come.

Sources

Shelsilverstein.com, “About Shel,” Kim Llewellyn

Stripes.com, “Shel Silverstein at Stripes,” Stars and Stripes

Nytimes.com, “Confessions of a Former Child,” Rebecca Pepper Sinkler


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