John Brown's Body (epic poem) facts for kids

John Brown's Body is a very long and famous poem by an American writer named Stephen Vincent Benét. It tells a big story, almost like a movie in words!

The Story Behind "John Brown's Body"

In 1925, Stephen Vincent Benét decided to write a really long poem. He asked the Guggenheim Foundation for help. This foundation gives money to artists and writers for their projects. Benét asked for $2,500, and he got it!

He then traveled to France and settled in Paris. There, he began to write his epic poem. The poem was finished and published in 1928.

A Huge Success

"John Brown's Body" became popular very quickly. No other American poem had ever been so widely read before. Even the famous works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow weren't as popular.

Within just two years, 130,000 copies of the book were sold. For this amazing poem, Stephen Vincent Benét won the Pulitzer Prize in 1929. This is a very important award for writers in America. Years later, he won a second Pulitzer Prize for another poem called Western Star.

How the Poem is Written

This poem is written in many different ways. The poet uses various styles of writing, like different kinds of music.

Different Ways of Writing

Sometimes, Benét uses a style called blank verse. This is poetry that doesn't rhyme but still has a rhythm. Other times, he uses free verse, which doesn't have a strict rhythm or rhyme. He also uses different stanzas, which are like paragraphs in poetry.

Here is an example of classical blank verse from the poem:

Jack Ellyat had been out all day alone,

Except for his new gun and Ned, the setter,

The old wise dog with Autumn in his eyes,

Who stepped the fallen leaves so delicately

They barely rustled. Ellyat trampled them down

Crackling, like cast-off skins of fairy snakes.

He'd meant to hunt, but he had let the gun

Rest on his shoulder.

Playing with Sounds: Alliteration

The poet also uses a fun technique called alliteration. This is when words close together start with the same sound. It makes the poem sound more musical.

Here's an example where many words start with the "s" sound:

Where the skyscrapers lift their foggy plumes

Of stranded smoke out of a stony mouth

You are that high stone and its arrogant fumes,

And you are ruined gardens in the 'South

What the Poem is About

"John Brown's Body" tells a story about the American Civil War. This was a very important time in American history. The poem starts with the actions of a person named John Brown. It ends with General Lee giving up at Appomattox, which marked the end of the war.

The poem mixes real people from history with characters that the poet made up. In 1953, a famous actor named Charles Laughton turned the poem into a play. This play was performed in many theaters across America.