Emergency IT Lesson 1: Figurative Language

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein


There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.


Hyperbole – The sentence “To the place where the side walk ends.” is repeated many times in this poem. The poet might have wanted to express his great desire to go to the place where the sidewalk ended by repeating the sentence many times.
Personfication – In this poem, the “chalk-white arrows” are assuming human actions by leading the poet “To the place where the side walk ends.” The poet might have chosen to include this in his poem to make it more interesting.
Metaphor – “a walk that is measured slow” is a metaphor for life. The poet might not have wanted to simply write the word “life” but let his readers guess the meaning of “a walk that is measured slow”.
Simile – There is no simile in this poem.
Symbolism – The first paragraph represents good times while the second paragraph represents bad times. The writer used different things to show the difference between good times and bad times.

This poem is very expressive. The sentence “To the place where the side walk ends.” is firmly stuck in my mind after I have read this poem. I like the face that the poet used the grass, sun and birds to represent good times while black smoke and dark streets were used to represent bad times. This is a very unique way of showing the contrast. Silverstein has written an excellent poem.