Iron
Iron - meaning Summary
Weapons and Labor as Kin
Sandburg contrasts the glamorous image of long, shining guns manned by jaunty sailors with the blunt, earth-moving shovels that dig graves. The poem links instruments of combat and instruments of burial, collapsing any neat separation between battlefield heroics and the grim labor that follows. Its final plea, "I ask you to witness," stresses moral responsibility and forces readers to see the shovel as kin to the gun.
Read Complete AnalysesGuns, Long, steel guns, Pointed from the war ships In the name of the war god. Straight, shining, polished guns, Clambered over with jackies in white blouses, Glory of tan faces, tousled hair, white teeth, Laughing lithe jackies in white blouses, Sitting on the guns singing war songs, war chanties. Shovels, Broad, iron shovels, Scooping out oblong vaults, Loosening turf and leveling sod. I ask you To witness-- The shovel is brother to the gun.
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