Jaws
Seven nations stood with their hands on the jaws of death. It was the first week in August, Nineteen Hundred Fourteen. I was listening, you were listening, the whole world was listening, And all of us heard a Voice murmuring: "I am the way and the light, He that believeth on me Shall not perish But shall have everlasting life." Seven nations listening heard the Voice and answered: "O Hell!" The jaws of death began clicking and they go on clicking. "O Hell!"
Jaws - context Summary
Composed at World War I Outbreak
Written in response to the outbreak of World War I and published in 1916, Sandburg's poem frames the early days of August 1914 as a moral crisis. Seven nations stand at the "jaws of death," hear a voice of Christian promise, and answer with a defiant, damned rejection. The poem compresses public mood and irony into a stark image, criticizing collective willingness to embrace violence despite offered salvation.
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