Crybaby Rhetorical Devices

Ace Bosquez

Mrs. Stubbs

English 10

21 March 2023

Melanie Martinez

"Eventually I realized that Cry Baby was a character that was based off of me, and that we had a lot of similarities" (Martinez, Melanie. Inspiring Quotes.us). Martinez is a lyricist that incorporates a dark theme into a song using childlike items to cover the true meaning. Crybaby is a reflection of her thoughts and emotions in her music videos, and songs, which are from Crybaby’s point of view. Her lyrics are written with school-related or child-like concepts interwoven into them, like nursery rhymes, pacifiers, detention, lunch, or recess. These things are woven into the songs that typically portray dark and sensitive topics. Melanie Martinez is an ardent writer because

The speaker in the song is Crybaby, who is a kidnapping incident victim. The fictional situation contains Crybaby being chased by a kidnapper, which is covered up with the false hint that she is only playing tag. This song is targeted at society in general. The purpose is to draw attention and awareness to all the kidnappings that everyone turns a blind eye towards. The theme is that it’s unsafe for girls to be out at night by themselves in today's world. The story is that she’s out in a store parking lot, and the "big bad wolf" comes in to lure her in, as shown in the music video. Martinez, Melanie. "Tag, You're It/Milk and Cookies Double Feature."). "Running through the parking lot, he chased me and he wouldn’t stop," (Martinez, Melanie. "Tag, You're It/Milk and Cookies Double Feature."). The theme is shown in the words, as she said she was running and being chased. She also says he wouldn’t stop, meaning she has to keep trying to run, hoping he doesn’t catch up to her. The adrenaline in her tone causes a sense of anxiety for the audience. The tone and mood are typical of the event taking place in the song. Most of the Crybaby album songs contain insecurity and anxiety hidden behind childish metaphors, and this song is no exception. "Can anybody hear me? I’m hidden underground. Can anybody hear me? Am I talking to myself? or saying, ‘Tag,

Like the previous songs, Crybaby is the speaker. The fictional story is that CryBaby’s mother murders her father and tries to make it seem less severe. The audience for this is unspecific, just society as a whole. The purpose is to explain how you can’t cover up a mistake and ignore the severity of it. Crybaby is talking back to her mom because her mom is trying to make it seem like murdering her husband for cheating is justified. "He’s still dead when you’re done with the bottle." (Martinez, Melanie. "Melanie Martinez - Sippy Cup (Official Music Video). The bottle refers to alcohol, touching on the societal topic of trying to drink away your problems. The theme is that you can’t ignore your problems and brush them off. The tone and mood of the song "Sippy Cup'' are a mixture of anger, pity, and sadness. Crybaby’s mother is having a hard time trying to understand why her husband cheated and thinks it’s because of her looks. "All the makeup in the world won’t make you less insecure. You got weights in your pockets. When you go to the doctor's. Your favorite candy’s cotton. That’s why all your teeth are rotten." (Martinez, Melanie. "AZLyrics: Request for Access." AZLyrics.com, www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/melaniemartinez/sippycup.html.) Martinez uses alliteration, internal rhyme, and rhythm to set the mood. She talks in a tone as if she were in an argument with a narcissistic and manipulative person. She is telling her mother