Figurative Language In The Song 'Hallelujah'

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Hallelujah For many, poems are thought of as words on a page that rhyme or have different poetic elements. Most do not think of a song when they hear “poem.” Although many think this way, I’ve decided to show that songs are poems and one song in particular. Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. I'll be explaining that because it has historical allusions, biblical allusions, figurative language, and imagery, it is a great example of a poem. The only difference here is that it has music. First, the song Hallelujah makes a reference to David and the Lord. It says,” I've heard there was a secret chord that David played and it pleased the Lord.” It is referencing David and The Lord from the Bible. This is a biblical allusion. A biblical allusion is anything that makes reference to something in the Bible or any sort of religious topic. A biblical allusion is a part of many poems. So because the song Hallelujah has a biblical allusion, in fact it has more than one, it is a great example of a poem. …show more content…

It says, “cold and broken Hallelujah.” That is a oxymoron. An oxymoron (also known as a type of figurative language) is two opposite meanings put together to make a phrase. Some common ones that we use are “alone together” and “deafening silence.” “A cold and broken hallelujah” is an oxymoron because hallelujahs are supposed to happy, not cold and broken. This is a very well known element when writing poems. Figurative language is crucial to having a well written

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