¶ … John Lennon
"Imagine" by John Lennon uses poetic devices to create an ideal of world peace. The song deals positively with the problem of people fighting each other by removing some reasons for fighting. He understands that this might seem unrealistic but still asks us to join him and others so everyone in the world can be united in peace. I believe Lennon's ideas would reduce violence but not eliminate it.
"Imagine" is one track on the "Imagine" album released by John Lennon in 1971 (EMI Group Limited, 2013). The song uses the poetic devices of rhyme, repetition and rhythm to dream up an ideal of world peace. Rhyme is used in lines such as: "It's easy if you try" and "Above us only sky"; "It isn't hard to do" and "And no religion too"; "I wonder if you can" and "A brotherhood of man" (AZLyrics.com, 2014). Repetition is used for the lines "You may say I'm a dreamer, But I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us" (AZLyrics.com, 2014), which are used together in 2 places and are followed by a line that is only slightly changed from "be as one" to "live as one" (AZLyrics.com, 2014). Rhythm is used in the gentle melody and also in the lyrics, which are almost hypnotic when read aloud. Lennon shows his talent by using three poetic devices in this song.
The song deals positively with the problem of people...
This is why he uses so few instruments in the song, and why the melody is so simple. It is really only a few notes and chords linked together to form the melody, and it repeats itself throughout the song. The sound of the song is straightforward, but the root of the song is not, and that is one of the things that gives the song such impact. In fact,
Lennon is making an argument, an emotional argument like a poet. His language is simple and direct. It is hard to see this same directness in Romantic poetry, because the language of the 19th century is so different from our own. But even with a 21st century ear, it is possible to see this directness and simplicity in Keats, such as when Keats writes: "Beauty is truth, truth beauty, /
"Imagine all the people / Living for today." The be-here-now tenet is at the core of Zen and other forms of Buddhism. Other Eastern religions like Taoism are devoid of the binary concepts of heaven and hell too. Lennon suggests that "living for today" releases the need for crippling religious dogma, which has been responsible for fomenting wars throughout human history. Peace, suggests Lennon, is only possible when individuals are
Genius Award 20th Century Genius Award: John Lennon It is with great pleasure and honor that the Committee of Genius presents the 20th Century Genius Award for Excellence in the Age of Pluralism and the Age of Modernism to English artist, musician, and social activist John Lennon. John Lennon was born in Liverpool, England in 1940. In 1957, when he was still a teenager, Lennon founded a rock and roll band with a
Cultural Sociology What Defines Us as a Global Population - our Differences or Similarities? Analysis of "Imagine" by John Lennon History is littered with wars and global divisions as a result of Man's search for self-definition. Man's differences appear to drive us apart but it is also conceivable that these differences bring us together. The song "Imagine" by John Lennon speaks of a 'utopia' where there are no differences that can potentially divide
Martin Luther King Jr. was a black revolution leader who fought for the equal rights of blacks in USA. A priest by profession. A philosopher and hero of the blacks. Headed the Southern Christian Leadership and held peaceful protests. He was arrested for a similar protest in Birmingham. White priests sent him a letter in jail, asking him to end the demonstration and approach the court with his problem. He wrote this in reply to their
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