 
in part 1 of this unit on poetry we learned how, over the years, various 
poets have used the elements of their craft, rhythm, rhyme, imagery, and 
figures of speech such as metaphor and simile, to achieve, all in their own 
ways, a variety of poetic effects as they expressed themselves on a variety of 
subjects. 
now, in part 2 of this unit, we shall use our new understanding of the 
poet's craft as we take a close look at the work of five well-known poets. 
and, since an understanding of writers" lives does a great deal to aid our 
understanding of their work, we shall take a closer look at the lives of these 
poets as well as at the background of the times in which they wrote their 
poems. 
the first of these five poets is carl sandburg, the well-known, 
twentieth-century american who is as well known for his monumental biography 
of abraham lincoln as for his poetry. 
from sandburg we shall turn to rudyard kipling, an englishman who lived in 
many parts of the world, india, south africa, and the united states, and whose 
poetry and stories made him the spokesman of his country and his age. 
turning back to the eighteenth century, we shall then come to "bobby" 
burns, whom scotland claims as her national poet and whose verse has for two 
hundred years delighted scots and non-scots alike. 
edna st.[vincent millay, the fourth poet at whom we shall have a close 
look, we have already encountered in part 1 (page 180). 
this twentieth-century american, who wrote stories and verse plays as well 
as poetry, is remembered chiefly for her intense and imaginative lyric poems. 
