Essay Example on Dr. Seuss & Shel Silverstein: Poetry for Children

As opposed to prose, poetry is a form of literature that uses word interplay and rhymes to pass some information with humor. Both Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein were great poets who created numerous works for the consumption of young children (Nemati and Eham, 195). Both poets employed various unique styles and techniques to pass information to children. It is imperative to note that the two icons used visual techniques like cartoons, music, and screenplays to impress their target audience. However, I find the works of Dr. Seuss to be more popular because of his dedication to family values and morals, natural resources, and education.

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Young children love cartoons as the most effective way of passing information. Comics give more appealing messages to kids than any other form of communication. Dr. Seuss was extremely strategic in his visual works as he targeted educating young children on family morals and value. Through effective use of cartoons, Dr. Seuss taught children how to be wary of strangers and reject gifts from them. Kids regard this particular message in high esteem as it teaches them how to be responsible people and embrace teamwork. In all his poems, Seuss emphasized the use of children staying together as one another's keepers. That brought home the essence of sticking together as a family and minding the welfare of other family members.

The use of funny sounds and rhymes in his poems equally made children to love his work. Dr. Seuss got the nickname "The Nonsense Poet" because of his use of funny natural resources such as animals and plants. Since kids love animals and plants, he used the idea of teaching kids the importance of protecting nature (Prescott 23). Like his popular work "The Cat in The Hat," Dr. Seuss demonstrates how humans have a responsibility to protect animals and other God's creations. The use of natural plantations in his work also inspired children on the agricultural values of hard work and perseverance. Shel Silverstein also employed the use of humor in most of his works. However, Dr. Seuss became more elaborate in his ultimate role of educating children from his poems.

Taking into consideration that Dr. Seuss was not a musician himself, he was a lyricist who did many musical works to be sung by different artists. The artistic aspect of his work also made him to kids. I take a keen observation on the fact that Shel Silverstein was a composer and a musician himself. Most of Dr. Seuss's works were concentrating on the values of tolerance, self-expression, and tolerance among others. As a family teacher, Seuss used most of his lyrics and books to educate children about the importance of being tolerant of the adverse situations of life. Seuss also did a songbook comprising of numerous bedtime and nonsense songs for children.

Talking about the values of tolerance, Seuss was a great poet who crafted cartoons and diagrams of hardship situations in life. He demonstrates how tolerant a family can be in the face of socioeconomic hardships and remains focused in life. Through the help of friends, he illustrates how a family gets help and manages to put a smile on their faces. The theme of hard work and tolerance teaches kids valuable lessons of remaining focused regardless of how tough the situation gets. Through such hard circumstances, he equally educates children on how to be self-reliant in life. Other people only come to our rescue at their wish, but we should always do our part.

Apart from the use of cartoons and musical techniques, Dr. Seuss also emphasizes diagrams, colors, and shapes to pass information to kids (Prescott 21). He as well employed the idea of simple and understandable language for kids. For example, he was declared the master of language after his publisher challenged him to write a book in no more than fifty words. His use of simple language, diagrams, and various colors made him influence many people around the world. He also created imaginative storytelling literature to bring both moral and political messages home. These creative works reached many people around the world as some of them were on televisions and other broadcasting stations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both Dr. Theodore Seuss Geisel and Shel Silverstein were instrumental poets in the world of children (Nemati and Elham 195). As observed from their great works, they employed creative techniques to portray essential themes and lessons in real-life situations. Visuals, music, and nature were some of the most excellent ideas they explored to help their audience understand life. However, I am of the opinion that Dr. Seuss utilized his skills to appeal to more people in the global arena than his colleague. His talents went beyond entertainment to teaching real family values of togetherness, tolerance, and self-expression in life. He equally taught children the essence of protecting and conserving nature to be responsible people in the future. I feel that the world needs more characters like Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss to pass more information to the younger generations.

Works Cited

Nemati, Azadeh, and Elham Afzalifard. "An Investigation into Farsi Translation of Children's Poetry of Shel Silverstein According to Nida's Theory." Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research 4.1 (2017): 190-198. http://jallr.com/index.php/JALLR/article/view/506

Prescott, Georgia. "The important thing is... using poetry to get to the heart of things in RE." RE Today 36.1 (2018): 20-21. http://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/4184/