Jaws
Jaws - context Summary
Composed at World War I Outbreak
Written in response to the outbreak of World War I and published in 1916, Sandburg's poem frames the early days of August 1914 as a moral crisis. Seven nations stand at the "jaws of death," hear a voice of Christian promise, and answer with a defiant, damned rejection. The poem compresses public mood and irony into a stark image, criticizing collective willingness to embrace violence despite offered salvation.
Read Complete AnalysesSeven nations stood with their hands on the jaws of death. It was the first week in August, Nineteen Hundred Fourteen. I was listening, you were listening, the whole world was listening, And all of us heard a Voice murmuring: "I am the way and the light, He that believeth on me Shall not perish But shall have everlasting life." Seven nations listening heard the Voice and answered: "O Hell!" The jaws of death began clicking and they go on clicking. "O Hell!"
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