Question

The questions below refer to the selection “Jazz Fantasia.” Describe how diction, or word choice, conveys tone and meaning in “Jazz Fantasia.” Use details from the poem to support your answer.

Answer 1

The poem "Jazz Fantasia" was written by Carl August Sandburg and published in 1920. It expresses the feeling of listening to a at the time recent style of music.

The tone set for the poem is very colorful and rich in its word choice and conveys a sense of rhythm, almost like a song. This feeling is made clear by the usage of metaphors which represent sound, like "Moan like an autumn wind high in the lonesome treetops" and is also made musical and vibrant by constant use of onomatopoeia, which translate sounds into words, like " bang-bang" and "husha- husha-hush".