Day: December 3, 2022

Count Me Out as Poetry

On By Lily D.In Uncategorized2 Comments

While life is full of joyful experiences, there are also many moments of isolation. In his expository two-part concept album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, Kendrick Lamar reflects on his self, insecurities, and psyche. He specifically references how he handles depression and pressure when it feels like the world is against him in his song Count Me Out. In reflecting on his own experience he centralizes his idea and turns criticism into motivation. His self-reflection provides listeners relief with the opportunity to relate their experiences to his own feelings of depression and isolation.

He is successful in utilizing multidimensional language to depict his struggling.

“I ain’t there too much, I’m a complex soul
They layered me up, then broke me down
And moralities dust, I lack in trust”

Kendrick Lamar

The word “layered” contributes multiple meanings to this phrase and song as a whole:

  1. Figurative imagery of feeling suffocated
  2. Reference to the media’s depiction of Kendrick Lamar
  3. Provides contrast to when he was “broke[n] down”

Additionally, He attributes his self-reliance to his ability to overcome his feelings of depression and isolation.

“I fought like a pit bull terrier, blood I shed could fill up aquariums
Tell my angels, “Carry ’em
Even my strong points couldn’t survive
If I didn’t learn to love myself, forgive myself a hundred times, dawg”

Kendrick Lamar

In using both a simile and a metaphor in the same line he is able to effectively demonstrate his ability to overcome his pain.

In comparing himself to a “pitbull” and the description of the figurative blood he shed being enough to fill up an aquarium it is evident that he had to endure pain in order to overcome his pain. It is also a unique way to express this as he represents his emotional turmoil by equating himself to a dominant animal and alluding to the physical amount of work he did.

He ends his song with the final lyric “Anybody fightin’ through the stress?” This rhetorical question ties together his song by relating it to the listeners. He is able to universalize his experiences to those of his audience.

21

On By Lianna B.In Poetry5 Comments

In her hit single, “21“, Gracie Abrams sings about the pain and heartache of lost love. She mourns a recent breakup, feeling a mix of regret and thinking of what could’ve been. Although it is unknown what caused the two to separate, Abrams utilizes strong poetic language to express just how much of a toll it had taken on her, physically and mentally. She later commented that this song allowed her to say everything she had to say that she was unable to do before, allowing her to release her bottled up feelings, much like poetry itself. Abrams writes

I’m sorry if you blame me, if I were you I would
Thought you’d see it coming, but you never could
I still haven’t heard from your family
But you said your mom always loved me

Abram’s use of AABB rhyming scheme helps pull the reader in to the story she is telling. Her song is directed towards the person she is missing, while also being able to resonate with a general audience of listeners who may have gone through a similar experience. This makes the song more real, diving more into the aftermath of a breakup that involves not only the severed bond between those dating, but to the other’s family as well.

Just because you’re hurting doesn’t mean I’m not
If it doesn’t go away by the time I turn thirty
I made a mistake and I’ll tell you I’m sorry
“Sorry”

Her use of “Hurting” here goes both ways, both for the other person and herself. She shoulders the blame and regret, which people may use as a way to justify the pain she is feeling. But it goes beyond that, showing the weight of a breakup and how it affects both parties, no matter how big or small.

When the night is over
Don’t call me up I’m already under

Abram’s multidimensional language used here is the many interpretations of “under”. She’s at her lowest underneath, out of reach of those around her. She feels crushed under self-loathing and past mistakes. Someone going under is another way to say that they are feeling defeated and overwhelmed. It all ties back to her central theme that inspects all layers of her pain, from the surface level to the furthest depths. Along with this, she utilizes contrast with two opposites by following “up” with “under”. She feels submerged in her misery, unable to reach the surface or free herself of drowning guilt that would plague her for years.