“Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness.” Carl Sandburg “Chicago” (Chicago Poems)
As I was reading Sandburg’s poem, this sentence caught my attention. Each clause begins with a very powerful adjective (fierce and cunning) that tend to change the tone of the poem. The words fierce and cunning suggest a more hostile environment in which only the strong can survive. Also, the two verbs, found in this phrase, (lapping and pitted) are not your everyday words and serve as an exaggeration for the comparison of the city of Chicago to the dog and the savage. The word lapping creates the effect that the dog is drooling in anxiety waiting to strike at any moment. And, the word pitted produces an unfavorable environment even for the cunning savage.
The reason Sandburg includes this phrase is to connect these two uncommon things to Chicago. The dog and savage serve as a metaphor to help illustrate the persona of the city. Sandburg believes that the people of Chicago are as fierce as the dog and as cunning as the savage. These two comparisons portray the wild, untamed side of the jungle (Chicago).
“Strong as a boxer with fists throbbing for battle, trusting as a friend struggling against unfavorable odds” Nick Curosh
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