Hurt touches everyone’s life in some way from breaking a bone to a broken heart. John Randall and Bill Anderson show this in the song that they wrote “Whiskey Lullaby” and is sung by Brad Paisley and Allison Kraus. A woman had an infidelity and her husband left her but he could never forget her. This lead to him drinking too much and eventually killing himself with a gun because of the guilt that his former wife felt, she drank too much and eventually killed herself with a gun as well. Three of the literary devices that are used in this song are an oxymoron, foreshadowing, and a metaphor. First, there is an oxymoron. According to Glossary of Rhetorical Terms an oxymoron is when two contradicting phrases are put together, like opposites. In
“Whiskey Lullaby” the song title is an oxymoron because typically a lullaby is associated with babies or children, in a peaceful or secerned place that implies comfort. However, it is paired with whiskey, which is usually associated with an adult behavior. When alcohol is consumed in large amounts there is usually discomfort in the persons life that makes them driven to drink. This brings new meaning to the song because it is associating the alcohol with bringing the adult a sense of peace in a different way than is expected. In some way though when people become alcholics they are self-medicating. This could be their lullaby because for at least a little bit of time they can let go of their life and try to forget what may be going on in their life. Secondly, there is the use of foreshadowing. Bae and Young both agree that foreshadowing is when a story implies that something will happen in the future without saying it (1). This is used in “Whiskey Lullaby” by giving a glimpse of death, although the listener may not be sure in what way, but eventually the listener finds out that both the male and female counterparts kill themselves. Lines five and eighteen in the song written by John Randall and Bill Anderson says, “Until the night.” This line is also symbolism because night can refer to stillness or nothingness after death. Because it can mean nothingness after death one can draw the conclusion that someone is going to die. Thirdly, there is use of a metaphor. A metaphor is, “A comparison between two things, based on resemblance or similarity, without using ‘like’ or ‘as’” according to Bisignani. This is used in the song when the male has had too much alcohol and wants to end his suffering. In line six it says, “He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger” (John Randall, Bill Anderson). The bottle that is put to his head is a comparison that is drawn to the barrel of a gun. Then it refers to pulling a trigger and that confirms the idea that it is a gun because a trigger on a gun is fired to make a shot. In conclusion, “Whiskey Lullaby” is full of literary elements to convey the narrative that is happening in the song. However, three of them that were picked out are an oxymoron, foreshadowing, and a metaphor. During this song it is shown how destructive one mistake, the infidelity, can be on someone’s life, suicide. An oxymoron was shown in the title because whiskey and lullaby usually don’t coincide. Foreshadowing is in the song because it refers to the eventual death that will occur. Finally, a metaphor is in the song to draw a conclusion that there is a gun put to his head without exactly spelling it out. These elements are important because it enhances the song to make you think a little deeper into it than just knowing the words. This song also shows that small mistakes can lead too much bigger ones.
Songs and poems have a lot of great and powerful words, but sometimes nobody realizes the true meaning of the words. The song, “Wanted,” written by Hunter Hayes and his co-writer, Troy Verges, performed by Hunter Hayes, is about making the one you love feel loved and wanted. This country pop song produced by Dann Huff and Hunter Hayes was released on March 5, 2012. Hunter told Taste of Country about writing the song: "At the time, I was trying to tell somebody something, but I couldn't figure out how to say it. So I wanted to say it in music because I knew it would be a little more impactful. I wanted to say we are great in this relationship together, and I feel like it could even get better." The three literary devices used in this poem to get the theme across are hyperbole, simile, and indirect characterization.
In “We Real Cool,” by Gwendolyn Brooks, one can almost visualize a cool cat snapping his fingers to the beat, while she is reading this hip poem. Her powerful poem uses only a few descriptive words to conjure up a gang of rebellious teens. Brooks employs a modern approach to the English language and her choice of slang creates a powerful jazz mood. All of the lines are very short and the sound on each stop really pops. Brooks uses a few rhymes to craft an effective sound and image of the life she perceives. With these devices she manages to take full control of her rhyme and cultivates a morally inspiring poem.
As Carter opens the poem, he tells how at this point in his life, he still has this essential want for things his own father presented him growing up. In the beginning, he expresses he has this “…pain [he] mostly hide[s], / but [that] ties of blood, or seed, endure” (lines 1-2). These lines voice how he longs for his father and just how painful it is without him at his side. In addition, he still feels “the hunger for his outstretched hand” (4) and a man’s embrace to take [him] in” (5). Furthermore, Carter explains how this “pain” he “feel[s] inside” (3) are also due to his “need for just a word of pr...
In the poem “Self-Pity’s Closet” by Michelle Boisseu, the speaker’s main conflict is self pity, and the author used diction and imagery to show the effects that the conflict has on the speaker. Phrases like “secret open wounds,” (3) show the effects with the word “secret” meaning pain that others are not noticing, which leads up to the speaker getting hurt, but no one indicating to notice it. Another effect is the speaker becoming more self concerning and thinking more about her negatives. This effect portrays through “night raining spears of stars,” (19) because night tends to be the time when people have the most thoughts about themselves and also the word “spears” make up an image of pain piercing through the speaker. “Tangy molasses of
trauma can have on someone, even in adulthood. The speaker of the poem invokes sadness and
For generations, singers and songwriters of country music have been working to evoke emotions in listeners by performing and writing songs that the listeners will be able to relate to. Country music traditionally reveals stories of life, love, death, and values, all of which can be seen in the works of great singers and songwriters like George Strait, Alabama, Brooks & Dunn, and Alan Jackson. One artist in particular, Garth Brooks, forever left his stamp on country music and on the hearts of his millions of listeners with his hit songs, “The Beaches of Cheyenne”, “Callin’ Baton Rouge”, and “The River”. “The Beaches of Cheyenne” has a storyline containing themes of life, death, love, and regret. The themes of this song branch out much further than the reaches of country music, and makes this particular song relatable to each and every person. "The Beaches of Cheyenne" by Garth Brooks is the epitome of country music, and largely contributes to the success and popularity of country music by evoking emotions in listeners through means of a storyline that conveys strong emotions, relatable to each and every person. “Callin’ Baton Rouge” is fast-paced, upbeat love song that is able to evoke emotion in listeners because of the strong instrumentals in the song accompanied by meaningful lyrics. “The River” is a song about following dreams no matter what obstacles may be in the way, which makes it inspirational and very relatable to everyone that listens to it.
Lullaby, by Leslie Marmon Silko, is a story about and old, Navajo woman that is reflecting on some of the saddest events in her life. Lullaby shows how the white people have damaged the Native American life style, culture and traditions. Loss and symbolism are two major themes in this story.
In the essay I hope to explain why I picked each poem and to suggest
For many of us, one of the most accurate and effective ways to express the feelings that really matter to us is through music. We don’t only grow to attached to songs that are catchy, but also those with lyrics that we can relate to. It is not uncommon to feel like sometimes, artists can convey the way we feel better than we could ourselves. The storybook-like lines you read at the start of this page are a collection of lyrics
For example, the first two lines of the poem read: "The whiskey on your breath/ Could make a small boy dizzy;" (Roethke 668). This excerpt appears to set a dark sort of mood for the entire rest of the poem. By the first two lines, the reader may already see how this man feels about his father's drunkenness. It seems as if Roethke has preceded his poem with this factor in order to demonstrate the resentment that he feels toward his father.
The French 1884 oil on canvas painting The Song of the Lark by Jules-Adolphe Breton draws grasps a viewer’s attention. It draws an observer in by its intense but subtle subject matter and by the luminous sun in the background. Without the incandescent sun and the thoughtful look of the young woman, it would just be a bland earth-toned farm landscape. However, Breton understood what to add to his painting in order to give it drama that would instantly grab an onlooker’s interest.
W.E.B. Dubois was one of the most prolific and pioneering leaders during the early Civil Rights era. Throughout his life, he produced numerous works as a commentary on the social construct that existed between whites and blacks, including the groundbreaking collection of essays The Souls of Black Folk published in 1903. These essays detailed the historical, political and sociological plight of African Americans in society after the Civil War. In addition, the essays introduced the concept of double consciousness which referred to the challenge blacks faced in reconciling an African heritage with an American identity, a theory that would disseminate into his later works. Accordingly, his poem “The Song of the Smoke” published in 1907 is an extension of his earlier work in double consciousness, but with an emphasis on the celebration of black heritage. Embedded in these affirmations of blackness; however, is a sense of longing for the unity and equality of all races. In the poem, “The Song of the Smoke”, DuBois reflects on the past, finding grief and courage in the legacy of his slave ancestry and toward the future, hoping a new strength and dignity is formed amongst all Americans.
Everyone knows how different emotions feel, so when they hear it accurately portrayed in a song they can sympathise with the singer. The way country songs convey emotions in a simple way, can tell you that those who like this music like for things to be simple. Those who like country music do what they can to lead a simple life. Songs of other genres often convey emotions in a much more complex way. The people who like these other genres often like they idea of having complex emotions and leading complex lives. How complicated a person's life is often directly correlates to the pace at which they live their lives. Which is parallel to how the meaning in a country song directly correlates to the emotion behind the
Often the way in which songs are written can be vague, dark and obscure. The lyrics often convey the message either in an abstract form or in a direct way in which the listener can understand the message outright. In the song “Whiskey Lullaby”, the negative impact of alcoholism is made apparent without requiring much thought. The lyrics go, “We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time “Here the message is made apparent that the answer for the depression is alcohol. However, the lyrics, “a little at a time” suggests that alcohol becomes a recurring option for the person in order to deal with their problem. The clue that it hints from that particular choice of words alone drives the song and gives it substance. In contrast to this view, the song “Rehab” introduces an opposing view in which alcohol is not an issue but does indicate a similar use as a form of coping as the lyrics in “whiskey Lullaby” do. The lyrics, “I don't ever wanna drink again, ohh I just need a friend” suggests that alcohol wouldn’t be a recurring means in order to deal with depression. Instead of the alcohol a friend and or a person that would give support is all that is necessary according to the lyrics. However, like the lyrics in the song, “Whiskey Lullaby” state that alcohol is still used as a means to
... was meant to serve as insight as to how Brooks used the tone to create a mood that was inconsistent with an overlying theme of self-pity. She has a way with words, and I feel that this ballad is very representative of her skill as a writer.