Figurative Language And Tone In For Annie And Jessie's Girl

“Love is pure, love is painful, love is sweet and love is dreadful” (“20 Interesting Facts”). Love has both up’s and down’s. How people prepare and react to love’s down will determine the outcomes. Poets throughout history have had difficulties with love, and Edgar Allan Poe, author of “For Annie,” and Rick Springfield, songwriter for “Jessie’s Girl,” are no exception. Poe and Springfield’s approaches on love are like peanut butter and jelly, they can go together, but do not mix. While Poe is the fault of his disconnection from love, Springfield has no control over his love life.

In Poe’s poem, “For Annie,” figurative language and tone is used to show how much he depends upon Annie. The poem states, “for it sparkles with Annie-/ It glows

with the light/ of the love of my Annie-/ with the thought of the light/ of the eyes of my Annie” (Poe 4). Poe only brings darkness and worry to her world even though she is the ray of sunlight that allows him to get out of bed every morning. She is every light that allows him to see, and every candle that illuminates the darkest corners. The tone forms the whole poem that Annie is worried and everyone is sorrowful but she still tries and shines a figurative light on the situation.

In the poem “For Annie,” metaphors and figurative language are used to show that people should be thankful for what they have while they have it. It states, “that you shudder to look at me, /thinking me dead: - /but by heart it is brighter /than all of the many /stars in the sky” (Poe 3-4). This figurative language shows that he may be depressed but her purity is shared with him. The metaphors demonstrate her pureness that he does not deserve.

Poe uses hyperbole, symbol, and diction to prove that he does has ruined his chances at love. He says, “and the fever called ‘Living’” (Poe 1). This line is an exaggeration and a symbol. The sickness he has endeavored is not “living,” but depression. His depression is causing him to think what he writes. “Living” has a denotative meaning of being alive, where Poe makes it out, connotatively, as being a burden. He feels that he does not have the justification to be alive, to be with her.

Onomatopoeia and imagery are used in Poe’s poem to demonstrate how bad his depression is. The poem states, “the moaning and groaning, / the sighing and sobbing, / Are quieted now, / with the horrible throbbing/ at heart: - ah, that horrible, / Horrible throbbing!” (Poe 1). By him saying “moaning and groaning,” or “ah,” it can be heard how bad he is suffering. We can imagine how he just mopes around. These reasons are why he feels he does not deserve Annie.

The broken Edgar Allen Poe could only have portrayed such an emotion of worry and sorrow, for throughout his life he encountered numerous heartaches. In contrast, Rick Springfield, the pop rock Australian musician, wrote a song that is full of jealousy. Unlike Poe’s depressed character who is the cause for his withdrawal from love, it can be inferred that Springfield’s main character had no control over what “Jessie’s girl” (Springfield) wanted.

In “Jessie’s Girl,” Springfield includes engaging language and tone to show that the narrator can only watch his love, not have her.

The song says, “you know/ I wish I had Jessie’s girl/ I wish I had Jessie’s girl/ Where can I find a woman like that” (Springfield 1). The repetition of the line “I wish I had Jessie’s girl” is catchy, is stuck in the head, and engrosses the audience. This also establishes the greed the narrator has for the girl and establishes that the tone is extreme jealousy.

Springfield’s song, “Jessie’s Girl,” uses connotation, denotation, and onomatopoeia to demonstrate the literal meaning that sometimes people do not always get what they want. He says, “Jessie is a friend… Jessie’s got himself a girl and I want to make her mine” (Springfield 1). The denotative meaning for a friend is a person your trust while the connotative meaning for this song is a person you envy. This shows that the narrator is jealous of Jessie and wants his girl even though he cannot have her.

Literal language and imagery are used by Springfield to show how jealous he is of Jessie. It states, “cause she’s watching him with those eyes/ and she’s loving him with that body” (Springfield 1). Springfield is literally stating what she is doing, and demonstrates how much he contemplates his love. He also says it in a way that we can see what he does not want to think about, which is that she will never be

his.

Word choice is used to establish how much the narrator wants Jessie’s girl and yet how bad he feels for wanting her. It says, “I feel so dirty when they start talking cute” (Springfield 1). Dirty is used in a connotative way that he feels bad or naughty to want what Jessie has. While, on the other hand, the denotative meaning of dirty is of the earth.

Even though Poe and Springfield’s writings were different, they have also have similarities. Poe states, “she covered me warm, /and she prayed to the angels /to keep me from harm-“(Poe 3). Where Springfield says, “and I’m looking in the mirror all the time /wondering what she don’t see I me… where can I find a woman like that” (Springfield 2). Both men demonstrated how much they need this girl, and yet how much they do not deserve her. Poe is depressed and she hopes he will get better even though she knows he is too far out. She protects him as best as she can. Springfield, on the other hand, judges and compares himself to Jessie to figure out why she does not like him. She is in love with his best friend and it is eating him alive.

Only a poet such as Poe, dark and mysterious, depressed and full of fear, could have the in depth emotion to write such a dark, sad, and worrisome account about being in love, while knowing someday your partner will leave you. Analysis of his flawless figurative word choice hints to the conclusion that love does not last forever, love is tiring, but love is achievable. The ending line lets loose the thought that Annie is still his and shines a very slim ray of sunlight. Springfield explores the roads of resentment. A “friend,” should always be trusting and loyal, where he is jealous. He may want Jessie’s girl, but he needs to understand that not everything we want will come to us. Which is more devastating: experiencing love knowing it is causing harm to your loved one, or watching the one you love, love your best friend?