Poem Analysis: Songs Equal To Poetry

Naomi Shihab Nye is an American novelist and poet born in 1952. She is mostly known for her poetic works that looks at ordinary events in life from a different and interesting perspective. Her approach has been the use of events, people and objects to pass her messages. In this paper, the main focus is on her poem ‘Trying to Name What Doesn’t Change’ which was written and published in 1995. The main analysis is in terms of the images the poet presents and how the objects in the poem enhance meaning.

In her short story, “The Song of Songs,” Ellen Gilchrist explores the concepts of materialism and human relationships and their effects on a person’s sense of purpose. Barrett Clare, who was given up for adoption as a child, suffers from manic depression. She continually attempts to alleviate her depression in ways typically idealized in America such as owning a beautiful home and having a happy family. Intermittently in the story are glimpses of Barrett’s internal thoughts which reveal the extent of her depression as well as its presumed cause – the feelings of abandonment by her mother. Through the course of the story, Gilchrist juxtaposes materialism – a private jet, a Rolex watch, a mansion, marrying for money – with interjections of Barrett’s intensely depressed internal dialogue to show that materialism only worsens depression. In doing so, Gilchrist wants us to see that being abandoned by one’s mother can have devastating effects on one’s sense of purpose, a damage that cannot be alleviated through the pursuit of the American Dream.

Frank Ocean once said, “When you 're happy, you enjoy the music. But when you 're sad, you understand the lyrics.” Why does one have to be sad to “understand the lyrics”? Evaluating a song and being given the ability to relate enhances one’s respect for the composer. For example, when one first listens to “Danny’s Song” by Kenny Loggins, they probably believe the song is about love, however, once a person analyzes the lyrics the realize that the song is actually a story of a couple who are having a baby boy. Their story shows how in times of financial problems, family and love stands strong. Kenny Loggins wrote this song as a gift to his brother, Danny.

Many people have goals and dreams they want to achieve, but most of them either fall short or give up on achieving that goal they have. “If Only We Have Taller Been” by Ray Bradbury, is a poem that talks about how the success was usually out of reach, but at the end, the success was reached. In “All Summer in a Day” also by Ray Bradbury, the characters, who are children, try to get more of something they don’t have, which was the sun. Both of these stories suggest a theme throughout imagery to send the message of reaching for something you don’t have.

Sandra Cisneros is a famous poet from the late twentieth century. Most of her work is popular due to her profound thinking. Her work was very unique and incorporated an extraordinary type of dreamy abstraction. Most observers of her work can agree on this. My Wicked Ways, proved her talent to be “extremely electrifying”, according to the The New York Times Book Review. A poem written almost 3 decades ago, can be assumed to symbolize the childhood of the speaker. My Wicked Ways radiates an unsatisfied tone from the speaker, has a unique rhythm and meter of poem, and attributes different sound and consonants to help the poem flow better.

Song lyrics are equal in poetic value and have evolved with the use of poetic devices and storylines. Many may argue that poetry may offer more of an insight artistically, but songs can be equal, if not more artistic than some poetry. In comparison to one another, their writing styles are often very similar between the lyrics and words developed. The song Losin’ Control by Russ and the poem Trust Issues by Undefined are equal in artistic and poetic value because they both have profuse uses of similes, rhyme, and narrative.

Poetry is a type of literary work where authors can express their views on feelings, life or something they feel strongly about. Mark Strand and Larry Levis used poems to express their views on poetry. Emotions can be portrayed in a positive way, such as the happiness that is expressed in “Eating Poetry” by Strand, or in a negative way, such as the sad and depressing tone that is conveyed in “The Poem You Asked For” by Levis. Through characterization, imagery and point of view, the authors of these poems made the readers see poetry from different perspectives and emotions.

To convey the brutality and animosity of “The Troubles”, Seamus Heaney expressed his thought-provoking opinions in the form of poetry. His collection of poems called “North” specifically portray the violent and hatred of The Troubles during 1968 to 1998. The Troubles refer to the sectarian warfare and division between the United Kingdom and Ireland. During this time period, political infighting occurred and caused conflicts that eventually lead to a bloody and brutal war. The North collection utilises various historical context while also stylistically allude to the bygone era of the Vikings and the discovery of the bog bodies of the Northern Europe in order to emphasise the endless occurrence of brutality and violent events. “The Grauballe Man” is an allegorical poem that conveys the political crisis and regional warfare happened in Northern Ireland. During this time period known as “The Troubles”, violent and animosity erupted and spilled over like an active volcano. Noticing the brutality and adversary, Seamus Heaney figuratively utilises the context of The Troubles and elicits his message towards the act of brutality. The context of the atrocious event inspired the poet to voice his opinions and utilise poetry skills to convey his message. The poet employs multiple literary devices as well as alludes to certain historical events in order to emphasise his understanding and his vision towards the society.

Poetry is a piece of literature where the author shares his ideas of a subject or person. He is attempting to allow the reader an understanding of his feelings regarding this subject. Most of the time poetry can be very pleasing to the ear; however, at times it can be written in a manner that is odd. Some poetry is written in a way that the reader can “hear”, “feel”, “see” or “taste” elements in the poem. Some poems may rhyme while others may not need to in order to convey the message. Some poems may have a strict structural form while others may not. The writer can incorporate one of many poetic devices into his work to relay his message to the reader. Examples analyzed today include poetic sound, onomatopoeia, alliteration, rhyme, meter, and verse.

The song “Five Years” is a dramatic story told by Bowie. The song tells us about earth beginning to die, and in five years time, it will be gone. The song goes on to then tell us about all the things that happen in the world when the news is broken to them by the newsman on the tv. The stylistic choices used by speakers and songwriters help give the song/poem depth, purpose and add emotion. David Bowie uses stylistic choices in the song “Five Years” to add meaning to the song and add to the overall structure by telling a story of earth dying and reactions of people after hearing the tragic news. He uses mood, tone, imagery, and rhyme scheme to convey a story to entertain, create emotion, and evoke questions within the listener.

Conflict is a big theme and many poems and texts have been written on this topic, but two of the most well done and most expressive poems about this topics are “Out of the Blue” and “The Charge of the Light Brigade”. Even though the topic is the same the two authors, Simon Armitage and Alfred, Lord Tennyson, present the theme with different approaches, one about the innocent, one about the ones that chose to get involved In the conflict.

In the poem “Theme for English B” by Langston Hughes many Literary elements are being used and there is a meaning behind the poem. within the poem. One of the elements is allusion. Hughes uses many allusions throughout the poem such as, Durham, Harlem, New York, Eighth Avenue, Bessie, and Bach. These allusions reference the schools Hughes went to and where he lives. They also represent what kind of contemporary entertainment he enjoys. He also uses quite a few enjambments to drive the poem forward. The enjambments bring the lines together, even though there is a line break the idea of the line continues on. A example of one of Hughes’s enjambments is “ I guess you learn from me--/ although you’re older”(Hughes 38-39).

Some have coined music as a universal language. Perhaps, the complexity of the notes, the consistency of the beat, the array of instruments, or the flow of lyricism offers this universal appeal. Nevertheless, the unique composition of each song enables it to sustain its own magnetic aura, much like the musical implication in Lewis Nordans Music of the Swamp. Though, many argue Nordans piece suggests merely a collection of short stories rather than a novel, Nordan uses his singsong methodology- a novel-in-stories- to incorporate an anthology of his transformative memory- an autobiography of the way it was.

In the poem, "When I Was Growing Up”, Nellie Wong relates the struggles of a Chinese girl growing up, searching to find her voice in a predominantly white cultural majority. The speaker begins the poem with, “I know now that once I longed to be white,” (1). This speaker longs for the privileges she attributes to being a member of the cultural majority. Ashamed of her darker Asian skin and Chinese culture, the speaker laments, “…I could not change, I could not shed / my skin…” (49, 50). The poem details the feelings of the speaker as she was growing up in America, while simultaneously being immersed in Chinese culture. She wanted to be part of the American white culture as it was depicted and glamorized by the media and movies. "When I Was Growing Up", utilizes literary devices such as diction, imagery, and symbolism to create friction and express the theme of shame and regret that the speaker feels about her longings to be white.