Analysis Of The A Team And I Bleed By Ed Sheeran

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People that are “just under the upper hand” often go to desperate measures day after day to make ends meet (Sheeran 16). Out of that despair comes pain from not only the harsh way of life but also a neglecting “superior” society. “The A Team” written by Ed Sheeran and the poem “I Bleed” written by Stephanie Von Wille show a struggle of people who are “just under the upper hand.” The writer of “The A Team,” uses symbolism and hyperbole to portray to message and mood of the song. Angel, the main character, is a young adult woman who is desperately fighting her way through life. She earns her money by prostituting herself to men. Painfully, Angel is addicted to crack cocaine and lives in a state of depression. The title “The A Team” symbolizes …show more content…

The title cleverly hides the serious subject without blatantly stating it. Instead the listener has to decipher the author’s work to understand the true meaning. Another example of symbolism is the first lyric in the chorus, “just under the upper hand.” The phrase is commonly heard as having the ‘upper hand” in a situation. In other words, that person is at an advantage above others. Sometimes the advantage is earned on the contrary in most cases it is simply just received. Conversely, there are those just under the upper hand. These people are set apart because of, in most cases, poor life decisions. However, in some situations people are faced with challenges they do not deserve and it is up to them to pull through. The author also uses simile compare Angels face to crumbling pastries. In support, line 13 states “Crumbling like pasties.” Furthermore, the author portrays a feeling of despair throughout the song that helps create the theme. Each verse gives vivid imagery to help the reader visualize the desperation that Angel experiences day after day. For example, line 5 says “struggling to pay rent” then, “closed eye and hoping for a better life,” (Sheeran …show more content…

To begin, symbolism is used to create feelings of strong emotion towards drug addiction. Lines 13-14 say “ Into my veins; Evil spirits remain;” this symbolizes the drugs in her system she sees as evil and controlling of her body. Line 12, “Bearing the scars of years I branded,” refers to her skin that is scared and cut up from years of needles and self inflicted cuts. The writer uses diction and metaphor in line 18: “Needles and poison heal the webs I spin.” The author is comparing herself to a spider and uses words that help the reader imagine and picture exactly what is occurring in the story. Furthermore, the poet brings about a feeling of despair and anguish through diction. Lines 9-10 say, “Screaming from within; I want out of my skin;” This expresses that the persona feels trapped inside her worldly body and desperately longs to have freedom. In close comparison to “The A Team,” at the end of the poem “I Bleed,” the speaker finds herself in surrender. Lines 20-21, “Surrender I must; I come to trust;” then line 23, “I've cut my ties and here I bleed” explain how she is done fighting and has found peace in ending her life. The poem's theme is that pain and depression overcome the desire to survive. Therefore, surrender was the only

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