Analyses

Song
“Carry On” by Stills
One morning I woke up and I knew that you were gone.
A new day, a new way, I knew I should see it along.
Go your way, I'll go mine and carry on.

The sky is clearing and the night has gone out.
The sun, he come, the world is all full of light.
Rejoice, rejoice, we have no choice but to carry on.

The fortunes of fables are able to sing the song.
Now witness the quickness with which we get along.
To sing the blues you've got to live the tunes and carry on.

Carry on, love is coming, love is coming to us all.

Where are you going now my love? Where will you be tomorrow?
Will you bring me happiness? Will you bring me sorrow?
Oh, the questions of a thousand dreams, what you do and what you see,
Lover, can you talk to me?

Girl, when I was on my own, chasing you down,
What was it made you run, trying your best just to get around?
The questions of a thousand dreams, what you do and what you see,
Lover, can you talk to me?


Internal rhyme is densely present inside the song “Carry On” by Stephen Stills in order to portray the idea that one must “sing the blues”, “live the dues and carry on” which alludes to crying, coping, and carrying on with one’s life after their lover has left them. Due to the decade in which the song was written, the imagery involved is relative to hippie culture, which intensifies the internal rhyme in “The sun, he come” and “A new day, a new way” because it helps to characterize the disposition of the speaker.  “The fortunes of fables are able to sing the song” combines objectification with internal rhyme in order to show that a fate that seems to be too bad to be true can “sing” happily because “love is coming to all”.  Alliteration coupled with the think internal rhyme inside “Carry On”, shown in “Now witness the quickness with which we get along is used to convey the split couples ease to “get along” with each other after the breakup.  The inclusion of dominating internal rhyme only before the instrumental and lyrical shift in this song demonstrates how quickly one’s emotions can shift when trying to cope with a broken heart.

Poems
“Once by the Pacific” Robert Frost
The shattered water made a misty din.
Great waves looked over others coming in,
And thought of doing something to the shore
That water never did to land before.
The clouds were low and hairy in the skies,
Like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes.
You could not tell, and yet it looked as if  
The shore was lucky in being backed by cliff,
The cliff in being backed by continent;
It looked as if a night of dark intent
Was coming, and not only a night, an age.
Someone had better be prepared for rage.
There would be more than ocean-water broken
Before God's last Put out the light was spoken.

In “Once by the Pacific”, Robert Frost uses figurative language in order to convey the idea that “dark intent” is as large and as scary as an ocean.  “The clouds were low and hairy in the skies/Like locks forward in the gleam of eyes” utilizes a simile as well as foreboding imagery to show how the clouds are hiding the light from the observer.  The overall structure of “Once by the Pacific” consists of couplets, and when figurative language is added in the form of personification, adds to the short bursts of fear portrayed before the impending storm or hurricane suggested in this poem.  “Great waves looked over other coming in” includes personification along with imagery to portray the ever strengthening waves coming in toward the shore.  Robert Frost uses multiple forms of figurative language in “Once by the Pacific” and pairs them with other literary devices, such as imagery, to illuminate the impending doom about to hit “the shore”.

“Briefly it Enters, and Briefly Speaks” Jane Kenyon
I am the blossom pressed in a book,
found again after two hundred years. . . .
I am the maker, the lover, and the keeper. . . .
When the young girl who starves
sits down to a table
she will sit beside me. . . .
I am food on the prisoner's plate. . . .
I am water rushing to the wellhead,
filling the pitcher until it spills. . . .
I am the patient gardener
of the dry and weedy garden. . . .
I am the stone step,
the latch, and the working hinge. . . .
I am the heart contracted by joy. . .
the longest hair, white
before the rest. . . .
I am there in the basket of fruit
presented to the widow. . . .
I am the musk rose opening
unattended, the fern on the boggy summit. . . .
I am the one whose love
overcomes you, already with you
when you think to call my name. .

In “Briefly it Enters, and Briefly Speaks”, Jane Kenyon utilizes kind-hearted metaphor in order to demonstrate how happiness is found everywhere in our world.  The metaphors found in each verse of this poem are coupled with imagery, as found in “I am the blossom pressed in a book”, for the purpose of portraying the many forms of joy that readers can easily relate to.  Symbolism, paired with the ever-present metaphor, is found in “I am the patient gardener/Of the dry and weedy garden” to show how happiness weeds out the destruction and terrible things in the world.  “I am the musk rose” utilizes synesthesia with metaphor because it causes the reader to see a beautiful rose as well as remember the smell of the bloom in order to show different forms people notice happiness.  Jane Kenyon combines metaphor with other devices in “Briefly it Enters, and Briefly Speaks” to show all the little ways happiness “briefly… enters” each person’s life.

The Mirror

Seeing is believing.
Whatever was thought or said,

these persistent, inexorable deaths
make faith as such absent,

our humanness a question,
a disgust for what we are.

Whatever the hope,
here it is lost.

Because we coveted our difference,
here is the cost.

In “The Mirror”, Robert Creeley utilizes morbid figures of speech in order to convey the idea that humans are “a disgust” because they covet their “difference”.  The first line of this poem, “Seeing is believing”, is used as a double entendre because it refers to looking into a mirror and as a figure of speech, a cliché.  The second stanza of “The Mirror” contains both imagery and personification, another figure of speech, in order to shown how murder makes believing humans are good creatures is impossible.  Personification and imagery are also found coupled in “Our humanness a question/A disgust for what we are” to illuminate the gross things humans are according to the author.  The structure of this poem adds to the idea of humans being inhumane because there is no rhyme-scheme or pattern found, showing that humans are not intellectuals.  Robert Creeley pairs figures of speech with devices and tools in “The Mirror” so he can show how inhumane man is.

Student-Choice Test

"Lucy" lyrics by: Skillet

Hey Lucy, I remember your name
I left a dozen roses on your grave today
I'm in the grass on my knees, wipe the leaves away
I just came to talk for a while, got some things I need to say

Now that it's over, I just wanna hold her
I'd give up all the world to see
That little piece of Heaven looking back at me

Now that it's over, I just wanna hold her
I've gotta live with the choices I made
And I can't live with myself today

Hey Lucy, I remembered your birthday
They said it'd bring some closure to say your name
I know I'd do it all different if I had the chance
But all I got are these roses to give
And they can't help me make amends

Now that it's over, I just wanna hold her
I'd give up all the world to see
That little piece of Heaven looking back at me

Now that it's over, I just wanna hold her
I've gotta live with the choices I made
And I can't live with myself today

Here we are, now you're in my arms
I never wanted anything so bad
Here we are for a brand new start
Living the life that we could've had

Me and Lucy walking hand in hand
Me and Lucy never wanna end
Just another moment in your eyes
I'll see you in another life in Heaven
Where we never say goodbye

Now that it's over, I just wanna hold her
I'd give up all the world to see
That little piece of Heaven looking back at me

Now that it's over, I just wanna hold her
I've gotta live with the choices I made
And I can't live with myself today

Here we are, now you're in my arms
Here we are for a brand new start
I got to live with the choices I've made
And I can't live with myself today

Me and Lucy walking hand in hand
Me and Lucy never wanna end
I've got to live with the choices I've made
And I can't live with myself today

Hey Lucy, I remember your name

Lucy

 “Lucy…” I whisper.  A tear slides down my face as I trace the letters on the stone under which no one is buried.  “They said I needed to cope with this like a normal death, but what I did wasn’t normal.  I wish so much that I could redo everything.  I’m so sorry…”  I kneel to the ground, wipe away the dead leaves, and place the twelve white roses on the cold brown stone.

 “If I had known what this would do to me, to you, I would have you in my arms right now.  I would be playing with you on a soft pink blanket.  I would be feeding you a bottle of warm milk.  I would be taking you for a walk in a pink stroller.  I would be saving money so you could go to college and be someone great.  I stopped all of that from ever happening…

“They don’t understand what it’s like.  They think that the mourning will pass and that I will be good as new, but that will never happen.  I will never be able to forget the horrid thing I did to you.  They think that this empty grave makes it normal, but nothing is normal anymore.  A gravestone with your name doesn’t let me hold you in my arms.  It doesn’t give me ‘closure’ to ‘pretend’ like this is a regular death; I’m the one who caused it…

“You probably hate me.  You probably aren’t even listening to me.  Even if you are listening, can you understand what I’m saying?  And even if you can understand, would you be able to forgive me?  Would you ever forgive me for taking you precious life away...?

“Lucy…I’m just so sorry.  I have absolutely nothing to  justify what I did, but it would have been nigh on impossible for me to have kept you.  I couldn’t even tell you why I thought that it was the right thing to do.  It could never be right to take away the life of your own daughter.  I should’ve asked for help.  I should’ve found a way.  I should’ve given you to someone who could take care of you, but instead I took your life away…

“Do you even like your name?  If I hadn’t done what I did, would you be named something else?  If I put you up for adoption, would they have named you Lucy?  Would you have been a Jessica or a Marissa?  Would you have been a girly-girl?  Would you have wanted to dress-up like a princess?  You deserve to be a princess, Lucy.  You deserve to be here.  You deserve to be living in a loving family who would die for you.  You don’t deserve me.  You don’t deserve to be wherever you are.  You don’t deserve to have a grave.  You don’t deserve to have a mother who was too young, too stupid, to think that a baby isn’t a baby until she’s born.  You don’t deserve any of this…”

I reach into my back pocket and pull out the knife that gleams in the sun.  “You don’t deserve to be alone wherever you are.  You deserve to be happy.  You deserve to see me gone.  You deserve a mother who is willing to die for you…”

Original Song

Heroes

By: Corina Jurczyk

Heroes don't look look like that
They don't go into combat
Wearing flowing capes
Wearing armored plates
Oh, no
That's not a hero

Heroes don't say their heroes
They honorably accept their medals
If they boast about
Or enjoy the crowds
Then no,
They're not a hero

{Chorus}
Heroes
Endure the pain of war
And heroes
To protect the weak they swore
Heroes
Accept the sacrifice
Because they're brave enough to give us their life

Heroes aren't like those in books
They aren't revered for catching crooks
They don't enjoy the hurt
If their eyes don't avert
Then no,
That's not a hero

To save the good
They sleep out in the wood
To help the ones in need
They fight, hopeful to suceed

{Chorus}

Because heroes wear camouflage
They join in the war's harsh barrage
With patriot power
They press through the hours
But no,
Not to become a hero

But they are
Since they travel far
They bear the sacrifice
And are brave enough to give us their life
Yeah, that's a hero

They're brave enough
And strong enough
And courageous
To give us their life

Short Fiction

Lyrics: (Inspiration is highlighted)
"In Color" Jamey Johnson

I said, grandpa what's this picture here
It's all black and white, it ain't real clear
Is that you there? He said yeah, I was 11

Times were tough back in '35
That's me and uncle Joe just tryin' to survive
A cotton farm in a great depression

If it looks like we were scared to death
Like a couple of kids just tryin' to save each other
You should've seen it in color

Oh, and this one here was taken over seas
In the middle of hell in 1943
In the winter time you can almost see my breath

That was my tail gunner ole Johnny Magee
He was a high school teacher from New Orleans
And he had my back right through the day we left

If it looks like we were scared to death
Like a couple of kids just tryin' to save each other
You should've seen it in color

A picture's worth a thousand words
But you can't see what those shades of gray keep covered
You should've seen it in color

This one is my favorite one
This is me and grandma in the summer sun
All dressed up, the day we said our vows

You can't tell it here but it was hot that June
And that rose was red and her eyes were blue
And just look at that smile, I was so proud
That's the story of my life right there in black and white

And if it looks like we were scared to death
Like a couple of kids just tryin' to save each other
You should've seen it in color

A pictures worth a thousand words
But you cant see what those shades of gray keep covered
You should have seen it in color
You should have seen it in color

Yeah, a pictures worth a thousand words
But you cant see what those shades of gray keep covered
You should have seen it in color

Fiction Story:

The Photograph

By: Corina Jurczyk

It is black and white, blurred and slightly torn.  It’s nearly impossible to tell the difference between the four men frozen in time, but I can tell you everything those shades of gray keep covered.  I can see the flying dirt, the blood, the death.  I can hear the machine guns, the screams of pain, the sound of boots on a forest floor.  I can see Johnny McGee, Lenny Georges, Roger Manley, along with myself, an eighteen year old at war.  Then I see everything all over again.

“Reynolds!” Lt. Thomas calls.  I run over and stand at attention.  “I want you to lead the ambush on Essen tomorrow night.”  I nod, hiding the fear.  I’ve never led anyone before.  How am I supposed to go on ambush and lead men?  As I ponder, my CO dismisses me. 

I head back through the trenches to inform my buddies.  McGee and Manley are having one of their usual political debates.  “The government doesn’t have the right to force us into fighting,” Manley stated loudly. 

McGee replies with an equally loud “Of course they do!  We are citizens that should protect our country like our fathers did.”  Those two couldn’t be more different.  McGee comes from a long family of military men.  Manley is a man of peace and against the war.  No one can really blame him though.  He lost his best friend, Andrew Crow, to a machine gun two months ago.  He hasn’t yet gotten over it.

“Boys, it looks like I’m heading the ambush tomorrow,” I say, still hiding the worry.  They stop, and McGee pats me on the back.  “What?  I haven’t done anything yet.”

“I know, but tomorrow night you will.  Just don’t die okay?” McGee jokes, causing Manley to clench his fists.  “Oh… Sorry…” he apologizes.  Manley just walks away down the zigzagging trench.

That night I have terrible nightmares.  I can’t stop thinking of dying, of causing someone else’s death, save for the Nazis.  I wake up, breathing heavily.  I don’t want to do this anymore.  I refuse to sleep again; I don’t want to picture my death another fifty times, each far worse than the last.

As dawn approached, everyone wakes up tense but excited in a cruel sort of way.  Lt. Thomas sends me out with a recon squad to figure out the best way to ambush the city.  We discover a small group of Nazis stationed in Essen, nothing to be entirely worried about.  They didn’t seem suspicious or cautious of the impending attack.  Good, I think to myself.  It will be easier if they don’t know of us. 

When we return to the trenches a few miles outside the city, fear returns, and I refuse to talk with anyone.  Not even McGee, my best friend, can get through to me.  I don’t want to talk.  I don’t want to do anything.  Shaking, sweating in the middle of winter, I sit there.  I don’t eat and ignore all around me.  Though I want to, I can’t cry; how great would that look?  Their leader is a crying baby.  As night approaches, Thomas comes to talk to me.  “What’s wrong with you, Reynolds?  You haven’t talked to anyone today.  I know you haven’t led before, but you know enough.  This ambush shouldn’t be hard.  Clayton told me it should be a piece of cake.”

“Then let him lead.  He can do better than me,” I blurt out.

“Clayton can’t lead due to his injury.  You know that,” the lieutenant replies, reminding me of Clayton’s concussion.

I mutter a “Yes, sir” and am dismissed.  A stupid Army photographer comes to take a photograph of McGee, Georges, Manley, and I before we leave.  I don’t want to be in it, but McGee insisted so I give in.

The ambush begins at around eleven that night.  I have around 40 men under my control, including McGee.  We head into the city, remaining as quiet as possible.  I tell Sanders and Georges to scout out the main road, and not even a minute later, we hear two gun shots.  I start running for cover, nearly forgetting that I was in charge.  Great.  Now the Nazis know of us.  So much for ambush.

The Georges and Sanders don’t return, so we head out.  I put on a brave face and tell my men to kill only those uniformed.  I don’t want to kill the people stuck in this city, unable to escape the madness of war.

As we reached the heart of the city, McGee stays with me after I send the others towards the eastern and southern parts of Essen.  We hear firing from our left, and run towards it, even though our minds beg us to run in the opposite direction.  We leave three Nazis in the street, dead.  My confidence boosted, we head back to the main road out of the city.

Bang! I twist to my right.  McGee is collapsed in the snow, blood pooling below him, changing the innocent white to red.  Bang!  I fall, clasping my shoulder and black out.

He wasn’t supposed to die.  He was supposed to win medals and rise through the ranks.  He was supposed to have a family after the war.  He was supposed to live, but he didn’t. 

Tears streaming down my face, I crush the photo in my hand and toss it into the fire burning beside me.

SA2: "Last Words" Thousnd Foot Crutch

“Last Words” by Thousand Foot Crutch

Shifting from apologetic to instructional tone in “Last Words”, Thousand Foot Crutch incorporates ghostly point of view, letter format, and losing hyperbole in order to warn listeners that “the world is not worth leaving”.

                Thousand Foot Crutch talks from the point of view of a dead loved one who committed suicide so that listeners will be persuaded that regret comes after suicide.  The speaker is “living in a world of regret” after they have committed suicide.  Through a suicide note, the speaker tells the listener they “never meant to hurt [them] dearly”.   The speaker in “Last Words” warns that “life is more than just the games you’re playing” by explaining how “the world is not worth leaving”.  Thousand Foot Crutch wants to convey a story of a person who regrets their choice of suicide and wants to warn their suicidal “loved one” that suicide is not the answer.  The speaker in wished they took “life seriously” and thanked “God in the morning for another day”.  The speaker portrays these things through the next tool, format.

                Thousand Foot Crutch wrote this song in a way such that it portrays the reading of a letter the speaker wrote to encompass the thought of a suicide note being that “last words” one will ever say.  “Last Words” begins with “Dear loved one,” a proper introduction on a letter.  The name is not mentioned due to the multitudes actually addressed in the song.  The speaker, who is actually the writer of this message, says “this might be the last chance [they] get” to say they are sorry.  The speaker continues by apologizing about how they “never meant to hurt” the listener and “there’s so much [the speaker has] done wrong”.  Then they continue with “Listen I’ve got to tell you something/These are the last words/I’m ever gonna get to say to you”.  They mark that they have chosen the path of suicide with this.  However throughout the rest of the song, the speaker warns the listener to not follow in their footsteps and “take life seriously”.  The speaker then asked the listener to “tell [their] mother that [they] love her”, which means this is the only copy of the letter.  The speaker is filled with regret about their decision, but they do not have “what it takes to make it through” “what life pulls [them] through”.  In a way, the letter is a letter to the speaker themself by telling how they should not have committed suicide.  The song does not end like a letter, but Thousand Foot Crutch probably wanted the speaker to remain anonymous for the sake of the listeners.

                Thousand Foot Crutch includes materialistic hyperbole so that the amount lost in committing suicide is presented.  Referring to the listener’s thoughts on life, the speaker says “you can have everything, but have nothing”.  The speaker is introducing the thought that what their “loved one” has amounts to nothing.  The speaker tells the listener that “when everything falls away from [them]” to “know the world is not worth leaving”.  This hyperbole embodies the feelings a depressed person has, feelings in which they feel they “have nothing”.  The speaker is relating to the reader by remembering how it felt to feel like absolutely no one wants them anymore.  The use of this device helps non-suicidal listeners feel how others feel and reminds suicidal listeners that in reality “everything [doesn’t fall] away from you”.

                With the use of paranormal point of view, message format, and greedy hyperbole, Thousand Foot Crutch communicates the idea of “living in a world of regret” after suicide.

Youtube video with lyrics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HnW3UdJhZg&feature=watch_response

Song Analysis One/SA1

               Shifting from first to second person, as well as questioning to answering, point of view in “Someone Worth Dying For”, Mikeschair utilizes contradictory assonance, persuasive repetition, and worried characterization to portray the idea that even though one might think they are “just some wandering soul” and have no purpose in life, they must remember that God created them for a reason and Jesus paid for their sins on the cross.

                The pairs of lines using assonance in this song seem to challenge each other.  In the lines “Am I more than flesh and bone?/Am I really something beautiful?” the word “bone”, a repulsive and sickly object, is paired with “beautiful”, the adjective used for describing visually appeasing objects.  The speaker is comparing what they think of themselves with what they hope God thinks of them.  Another contradiction is found in the lines “I’m not just some wandering soul/That you don’t see and you don’t know.”  Souls are not scientifically known to exist.  When the other words are added, the sentence becomes more understandable because “some wandering soul” that “you don’t know” is unknown and therefore logical even though this song deals with religion.  Assonance in the lines “I know you’ve heard that truth that God has set you free/But you think you’re the one that grace could never reach” pairs being able to do anything with trying for something you will never obtain.  The contradictory assonance in “Someone Worth Dying For” is necessary due to its contribution of contemplating who one really is.  This assonance will be swayed to one option with the use of the next device, repetition.

                When people repeat things over and over, they remember them better.  They will start believing it as fact if they hear it enough times.  The repetition used in “Someone Worth Dying For” first tries to show that the struggling people in the world want to believe they are worth more with “Yeah I wanna believe, I wanna believe”.  After this line, the repetition changing to persuading the worried into believing they are in fact worth something.  The line “Yeah you gotta believe, you gotta believe” is repeated not only in the line itself but also in the song twice.  “He wants you to see, He wants you to see/That you’re not just some wandering soul” repeats the fact the God Himself wants them to know they have purpose.  The songs ends with “You’re someone worth dying for” repeated twice.  These repetitions are making sure the self-proclaimed worthless people never forget that they are worth dying for.

                The speaker begins the song with stating different types of people that could be or may become the listener.  “You might be the wife/Waiting up at night” portrays a woman who is so worried about her life that she cannot even sleep.  Characterized in the lines “You might be the man/Struggling to provide/Feeling like it’s hopeless”, this man feels so worthless that he does not want to try anymore to support his family because “it’s hopeless”.  The second verse of “Someone Worth Dying For” portrays two other types of people.  “Maybe you’re the son/Who chose a broken road” represents a son shunned by his family due to his mistakes in life.  The lines “Maybe you’re the girl/Thinking you’ll end up alone” tell of a girl afraid to become an old maid because no men want her.  All these different kinds of characterizations are calling towards all different types of listeners.  Unspecific toward gender or age, this song is more relatable and helpful for those who believe they are not “someone worth dying for”.

                Mikeschair conveys the thought that everyone is “someone worth dying for” with the help of self-challenging assonance, bias repetition, and struggling characterization.  This song reminds listeners that even though they feel unwanted, God wants them to do something in life and any mistakes they make along the way have already been forgiven through Jesus’ death.

Lyrics

You might be the wife,
Waiting up at night
You might be the man,
Struggling to provide
Feeling like it’s hopeless

And maybe you’re the son,
Who chose a broken road
Maybe you’re the girl,
Thinking you’ll end up alone
Praying God can you hear me?
Oh God are you listening?

Am I more than Flesh and bone?
Am I really something beautiful
And I wanna believe, I wanna believe
I’m not just a wandering soul
That you don’t see it and you don’t know
And I wanna believe, Jesus help me believe that I
Am someone worth dying for

I know you found the truth
That God has send you free
If you think you’re the one
That grace will never reach
So you just keep asking,
Oh what everybody’s asking

Am I more than flesh and bone?
Am I really something beautiful?
And I wanna believe, I wanna believe
I’m not just a wandering soul
As you don’t see it and you don’t know
And I wanna believe, Jesus help me believe that I
Am someone worth dying for

You’re worth it
You can’t earn it
That the cross has proven
That you’re sacred and blameless
Your life has purpose

And you are more than flesh and bone
Can’t you see you’re something beautiful
Yes you gotta believe
You gotta believe
He wants you to see
He wants you to see
That’s you’re not just some wandering soul
That can’t be seen and can’t be known
Cause you gotta believe
You gotta believe that you are
Someone worth dying for, oh


You’re someone worth dying for, oh
You’re someone worth dying for

Oxymoron, Irony, and Paradox in Song Analysis

Shifting from a bored to happy mood in “Escape”, Rupert Holmes utilizes romantic irony, musical simile, and suburban imagery to convey the idea that it is necessary to escape the “same old dull routine” in order to remember the purpose of life-changing events.

“Escape” is about a man who is sick of his wife and wants someone new.  He sees a personal ad and replies with hopes of meeting her.  When he does, he finds his own wife.  In the line “I didn’t think about my lady, I know that sounds kind of mean” the man clearly does not want to have anything to do with his wife.  The irony comes into play in the lines “I knew her smile in an instant, I knew the curve of her face/It was my own lovely lady, and she said ‘Oh, it’s you.’”  The man was expecting a beautiful woman he has never met to walk into the bar, but instead he sees his own wife.   The irony is also comedic because the couple just goes with it; they laugh and plan their escape despite finding out they both attempted to cheat on one another.  The irony in this song shows that he needed to escape his daily routine to realize that he actually loves his wife who he described using a less important but still necessary device, simile.

The man in “Escape” claims that his wife was “like a worn-out recording, of a favorite song.”  The “worn-out recording” term can also be applied to his routine.  Everything in this man’s life is repetitive and boring.  He wanted to break free from it, which is the whole reason why he replied to the ad in the newspaper.  To become worn-out, a song must be played so many times.  This shows that his life and conversations with his wife were expected and uninteresting.  Had his lifestyle been on the boring side of normal instead of repetitive, the man would have never have replied to his wife’s ad, and he would have never escaped and fell in love with his wife again.

The suburban imagery used in this song gives it a story many people can relate to.  In the line “I read the paper in bed” the man is portrayed as a normal husband most likely in an average house.  The man asks the woman, unknown to him as his wife, to meet him “at a bar called O’Malley’s” to plan their escape.  This relates to a lot of people because many couples meet in bars.  The descriptions they give of themselves shows that they are like most suburban people.  Like many people, the man is “not much into health food”.  In the line “if you have half-a-brain”, the woman shows that she wants an average suburban man.  She doesn’t want to escape with a college professor nor someone who had not even graduated high school.  These lines are important to the song’s story sounding like it could actually happen to a couple.

In “Escape”, Rupert Holmes tells of a couple’s journey to rekindle their love through the use of comedic irony, cliché simile, and relatable imagery.  These devices help Holmes’s idea of changing up one’s daily life to remember the good things in life and why certain things were chosen over others to be portrayed in the fun and casual manner used in “Escape”.