Mr. Grumpledump's Song

“Mr. Grumpledump’s Song” was written by American author and illustrator, Shel Silverstein. The poem was published in the 30th-anniversary special edition of Where the Sidewalk Ends (2004), a collection of poems and drawings that was originally printed in 1974. “Mr. Grumpledump’s Song” is a pessimistic poem, expressing the speaker’s dissatisfaction with the world through a series of quick-paced complaints.

Silverstein is best known for his work within the genre of children’s literature. However, his unique imagination and daring sense of humor make his work relatable to both adult and juvenile audiences, coaxing readers to imagine the impossible no matter their age. Silverstein’s diction is plain but playful. The topics of his poems vary in degrees of abstraction, imagining a world of diamond gardens and flying shoes alongside the very real emotions children experience during their formative years.

Silverstein is compared to poets such as E.B. White, A.A. Milne, and Dr. Seuss. His whimsical made-up language, line drawings, and keen sense of meter and rhyme marry the playful and profound. Silverstein’s poetry validates the complex experience of growing up, showing young readers that the feelings of despair in “Mr. Grumpledump’s Song,” are just as important to acknowledge as those of immense joy.

Poet Biography

Shel Silverstein was an American cartoonist, children’s author, poet, and songwriter best known for his books of poetry and prose for young readers. Shel, or Sheldon Allan Silverstein, was born on September 25, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in the Logan Square neighborhood of the city and was raised by Jewish immigrant parents, Helen and Nathan. Silverstein started writing and drawing at a very young age, favoring creativity over his traditional academic studies.

Silverstein began his collegiate studies at the University of Illinois in the fall of 1948; however, by the summer of 1949, he was expelled from the institution due to his poor grades. Soon after, Silverstein went on to study at The Art Institute of Chicago (formerly known as the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts), and later transferred to Roosevelt University. Silverstein’s writing was first published in the Roosevelt Torch, a student newspaper at his final academic institution.

Silverstein joined the United States Army in September 1953, dropping out of Roosevelt University to serve overseas in Japan and Korea. During his military service Silverstein continued to write and draw, publishing cartoons in the Pacific Stars and Stripes magazine. Silverstein continued publishing his cartoons in magazines such as Look and Sports Illustrated upon returning home from the service and was even a contributing artist and author for Playboy.

Silverstein entered the world of children’s literature in 1963. His first book, Uncle Shelby's Story of Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back, gained Silverstein mild success. However, it was Silverstein’s second book, The Giving Tree (1964), that brought him instant fame and recognition within the literary community.

Both Silverstein’s works of prose and poetry have an ironic and witty slant, skillfully combining the silly and serious, the playful and the profound. His works, now lauded as modern classics, include Where the Sidewalk Ends (1974), A Light in the Attic (1981), and Runny Babbit (2005): a collection of poems published posthumously that Silverstein completed before his death.

Silverstein’s work is genre defying, skating the line between juvenile and adult due to his unique brand of humor and imaginative content. Silverstein’s poetry, in particular, blends all of his artistic talents together, showcasing his adroit understanding of rhyme and meter like that of a song, as well as his penchant for visual art, bringing his words to life with complimentary drawings.

Silverstein continued to create art in his own whimsical and unique way until he died from a heart attack at his home in Key West, Florida on May 9, 1999.

Poem Text

Silverstein, Shel. “Mr. Grumpledump’s Song.” 2004. Poets.org.

Summary

The speaker of Shel Silverstein’s poem, “Mr. Grumpledump’s Song,” voices a series of complaints about the aspects of everyday life. The titular Mr. Grumpledump asserts that “everything’s wrong,” from the onset of the poem, establishing a tone of frustration and annoyance that continues throughout the rest of the piece (Line 1).

The speaker gripes about the weather, the cleanliness of their home, and even items as specific as the happiness of other people living in the world. The speaker constantly contradicts previously stated opinions, like saying the “sunshine’s too hot,” while the clouds that provide shade from that heat are, at the same time, “too fluffy” (see: Poem Analysis) (Lines 3, 5).

“Mr. Grumpledump’s Song” is formatted as a singular, 20-line stanza (see: Literary Devices “Form and Meter”), overwhelming readers with a flood of complaints without pause. Silverstein favors circularity, ending the poem in the same way it began as the speaker concludes that everything is still wrong (Line 20)