The People, Yes
The People, Yes - context Summary
Published in 1936
This excerpt comes from Sandburg’s epic poem "The People, Yes," published in 1936. It invokes Abraham Lincoln as an emblem of democratic paradoxes and the common person’s dilemma: affirming constitutional ideals and public hopes while rejecting corruption and malice. The speaker frames Lincoln’s moral steadiness amid national struggle, juxtaposing endings and beginnings—"Death was in the air. So was birth." The passage reflects Sandburg’s long engagement with American identity.
Read Complete AnalysesLincoln? He was a mystery in smoke and flags Saying yes to the smoke, yes to the flags, Yes to the paradoxes of democracy, Yes to the hopes of government Of the people by the people for the people, No to debauchery of the public mind, No to personal malice nursed and fed, Yes to the Constitution when a help, No to the Constitution when a hindrance Yes to man as a struggler amid illusions, Each man fated to answer for himself: Which of the faiths and illusions of mankind Must I choose for my own sustaining light To bring me beyond the present wilderness? Lincoln? Was he a poet? And did he write verses? 'I have not willingly planted a thorn in any man's bosom.' I shall do nothing through malice: what I deal with is too vast for malice.' Death was in the air. So was birth.
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