Poetic Analysis of The Beatles Song Book

Till There Was You

There were bells on a hill

But I never heard them ringing

No, I never heard them at all

Till there was you

There were birds in the sky

But I never saw them winging

No, I never saw them at all

Till there was you

Then there was music and wonderful roses

They tell me

In sweet fragrant meadows

Of dawn and dew

There was love all around

But I never heard it singing

No, I never heard it at all

Till there was you

Then there was music and wonderful roses

They tell me

In sweet fragrant meadows

Of dawn and dew

There was love all around

But I never heard it singing

No, I never heard it at all

Till there was you

Till there was you

 

Till There Was You is about a guy who met someone and his whole world just opened up and became better. His life was simple and dull before he met this person. They changed his life for the better. The line that says, “There was love all around, but I never heard it singing. No, I never heard it at all. Till there was you.” shows that this guy didn’t know love until he met this person. The song is saying that he didn’t see the birds in the sky, didn’t hear music or bells, and didn’t smell the flowers around him. These things that are said are most likely untrue or over exaggerated, but by using these exaggerations, he’s showing us what happened when this person came into his life. You can tell from the title that this song means that something happens or changes in a person’s life when they meet a certain person.

Misery

The world is treating me bad, misery

I’m the kind of guy

Who never used to cry

The world is treatin’ me bad, misery

I’ve lost her now for sure

I won’t see her no more

It’s gonna be a drag, misery

I’ll remember all the little things we’ve done

Can’t she see she’ll always be the only one, only one

Send her back to me

‘Cause everyone can see

Without her I will be in misery

I’ll remember all the little things we’ve done

She’ll remember and she’ll miss her only one, lonely one

Send her back to me

‘Cause everyone can see

Without her I will be in misery (oh oh oh)

In misery (ooh ooh ooh)

My misery (la la la la la la)

 

Misery is about a man who lost the woman he loves. In this song, he is begging for her to come back to him because, just like the song, he is in misery. He’s thinking about the good times between them when they were together and it makes him want her back even more. By seeing the title, you know that this person is in misery over something and the song will most likely be sad or have a sad story that is being told. When people listen to certain songs, they relate to some of the lyrics. I feel that a lot of people can relate to this whole song and sympathize with the guy who lost the girl he loves. This song is easy for people to relate to because they can easily comprehend the meaning of this song and hear what is being conveyed.

You Can’t Do That

I got something to say that might ’cause you pain

If I catch you talking to that boy again

I’m gonna let you down

And leave you flat

Because I told you before, oh

You can’t do that

Well, it’s the second time I’ve caught you talking to him

Do I have to tell you one more time, I think it’s a sin

I think I’ll let you down (let you down)

And leave you flat

(Gonna let you down and leave you flat)

Because I’ve told you before, oh

You can’t do that

Everybody’s green

‘Cause I’m the one, who won your love

But if they’d seen

You’re talking that way they’d laugh in my face

So please listen to me, if you wanna stay mine

I can’t help my feelings, I’ll go out of my mind

I’m gonna let you down (let you down)

And leave you flat

(Gonna let you down and leave you flat)

Because I’ve told you before, oh, you can’t do that

You can’t do that

You can’t do that

You can’t do that

You can’t do that

You can’t do that

Everybody’s green

‘Cause I’m the one who won your love

But if they’d seen

You’re talking that way they’d laugh in my face

So please listen to me, if you wanna stay mine

I can’t help my feelings, I’ll go out of my mind

I’m gonna let you down (let you down)

And leave you flat

(Gonna let you down and leave you flat)

Because I’ve told you before, oh

You can’t do that

 

You Can’t Do That is about a guy who is feeling jealous. The person, who he is most likely dating, is talking to another guy and he feels jealous. So, he tells this person that they can’t talk to that guy anymore if they want to stay together. He says that if they keep talking to that boy, then they will break up. Clearly, this has happened more than once because, in multiple lines of the song, he says, “Because I’ve told you before, oh, you can’t do that.” This shows that the guy has said multiple times to this person that they can’t talk to the other man. When you see the title of this song, you probably don’t know what it is about other than the fact that someone is telling another person that they can’t do something. You might not even know if they’re telling this to a person. They could be talking to an animal. You only know who they’re talking to and what they’re talking about by hearing or seeing the lyrics. This song is basically about jealousy. And almost everyone has felt jealous before, so this song is very relatable.

 

All three of these songs have a commonality between them. They all have to deal with a person that they love romantically. Till There Was You is about a guy who’s life became so much better when they met this person and they’ve seen and heard things that they’ve never seen or heard before. Misery is about a guy who has lost the girl that he loves and wants her back. He keeps thinking of the good times when they were together. The man’s life is worse without her and he just wants to be with her again. You Can’t Do That is about a guy who is feeling jealous because the person he is dating is talking to another guy. He tells this person that they can’t talk to that other man again or else they’ll break up. People are able to relate to all of these songs and connect with the lyrics because they’ve possibly gone through something like this. These three songs all deal with love, but in a different way. One deals with love being the best thing that’s happened to him, one deals with wanting the person that they love back, and one deals with jealousy. A big portion of The Beatles’ songs are about a person they love. Also, the lyrics that they sing are very relatable to people which make their songs better.

Poem About The Book Thief

My experience reading The Book Thief was a pretty emotional one.

I was actually very upset, when it was over and done.

During the ending, I teared up quite a bit.

This was the first book that made me cry, I might as well admit.

 

I wanted to get the book done early, which made me motivated;

But when I started reading it, I just became fascinated.

So then I started reading about fifty pages a day,

But some days when I finished, I didn’t want to put it away.

You can probably tell I read it a lot more for fun,

Instead of reading it quickly just to get it done.

 

I understood every word, nothing was complicated.

And when I found out who the narrator was, I was already captivated.

The beginning of the book was strange,

But there was nothing I would change.

Because the way the story was told,

I couldn’t wait to see it unfold.

 

I loved the middle of the book

Because of the turn the story took.

The Hubermanns had to hide a Jew,

Then he became my favorite too.

Later, I found out Rudy would die.

I tried to prepare, but his death made me cry.

 

I favored Rudy, Liesel, Hans, and Max which I will always say.

And it made me so upset when Death took two of them away.

Rudy Steiner was such a caring boy;

But he also was filled with spirit and joy.

Hans Hubermann was an amazing husband, father, and friend.

He protected those closest, until his life came to an end.

Throughout the story, Liesel Meminger remains kind.

However, if she feels it, she gives those deserving a piece of her mind.

Max Vandenburg is full of love, spirit, and fight.

His friendship with Liesel is my favorite because they love each other with all their might.

 

The end of the book was the worst.

I wish it all could have been reversed. 

Hans was in the army, Max had to leave,

Himmel Street was bombed, which I didn’t want to believe.

Since Max was on the run,

I wasn’t sure if his life was done.

Rudy, Hans, and Rosa died.

But Liesel was in the basement, so she survived.

 

At the very end, Max came back to Himmel Street.

He and Liesel hugged and the ending felt complete.

Even though it felt like the book was done, that was not the end.

When Liesel later had a family then died, she talked to Death like he was her friend.

 

The Book Thief is a great story indeed,

And I’m glad it’s something I got to read.

Now, I want to read it a lot more,

Because it’s something I never thought of reading before.

While reading The Book Thief, my emotions went from happy, to angry, to sad.

And even though I don’t read books a lot, this was one of the best reading experiences I’ve ever had.

 

Why I Read

     Some people read because they have to for a class, some people read because they love literature, and most people read for both. Personally, I read because I love books. I know some people who hate reading and don’t like a certain class because they have to read a book or an excerpt from a story. However, I also know many people who love to read just for the fun of it. I feel that books are amazing to read because you can get immersed in most of them so easily. Also, it’s a great way to strengthen your imagination. When an author describes the characters and settings in vivid detail, you can see everything in your head and see everything like it’s real. When an author gives very limited detail on characters or settings, you can paint your own picture and make part of the story your own.

     Like I said before, I love to read. I prefer books over a magazine, newspaper, or an article like the ones I sometimes have to read in class. I like reading in my free time because I can pick what I want to read, unlike school when they most likely pick for you. Occasionally, the books that teachers choose are good and I absolutely love them. However, sometimes they’re bad and I just want to get it over with so I don’t have to read it anymore. When I do read, I like fiction a lot better than nonfiction. So far, the Harry Potter books have been my favorite that I have read. The books are just fantastic and I can’t get enough of them.

     I’m not a big reader, but I like to think I read a lot. I usually read books that I know I’ll like. I know that I’ll like certain books because I have already watched the movies. I watch movies a lot more than I read books. For example, I watched the Harry Potter movies and decided I really wanted to read the books because they will have more detail and more things that happen than in the movies so it will be even better. Sometimes that doesn’t happen. For instance, I read a book that was based around the idea of Sleeping Beauty but with a twist. It took me forever to get even partially through it because the first part was very boring for me and I’m still not even done with it because it doesn’t grab my attention like other books. Sometimes when I read a book after watching the movie, I feel like it’s not as fun because I already know what happens and it lessens the surprise of things, but I still feel a lot of emotions when I read those books anyway. Basically, I’m not a huge reader like other people I know, but I do read quite a bit and I usually read a book after I’ve already seen the movie.

     I am currently reading a book called The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It is an amazing book because it’s about a kid who just became a freshman and his struggles through school and life but he makes great friends along the way. I feel like people can relate to different characters, especially him and that’s part of what makes the story so good. Whenever I read a book, sometimes, I just stop reading it for no reason and it takes me a while to come back to it. I just started reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower again because I stopped reading it for a while and decided that I wanted to finish it. This happened with the seventh Harry Potter book too. If I didn’t stop reading it, I would have finished it a lot quicker. For instance, I read the first Harry Potter book in two days because I wouldn’t quit reading it. Once I finish the Perks of Being a Wallflower, I already know the next book that I’m going to read. So basically, I do like to read, but mostly fictional books, I like to read on my own time and at my own pace, and I mainly read books that I am pretty sure that I’ll like.

A Book That Has Meaning to Me

   Evan Puschak’s video essay on the Nighthawks painting by Edward Hopper is very in depth and detailed. When I listen to a song, look at a painting, drawing, or work of literature, I don’t usually analyze it or find a deep meaning to it like Puschak does in his video essays. I mostly don’t research and analyze a work of art like Puschak unless it means something to me. For example, if I saw the Nighthawks painting, I would try to find a deep meaning in it, but I wouldn’t research things about it to learn more. However, I have analyzed a lot and will keep researching things about the Harry Potter books.

    The Harry Potter books mean a lot to me because they are, in my opinion, amazing. I get immersed in them so easily and I never want to stop reading. The stories are just magical. My emotions change constantly when I read Harry Potter. Different things can be interpreted from the books. One of the themes that I found after finishing the series was that love conquers any evil. I noticed this theme when Harry’s mom died for Harry and he survived because of her love. Also, many villains in the series were defeated because people would do anything to protect their loved ones and that, in the end, defeated the villains. When Harry was going to die later, he thought of someone he loved dearly and that was a reason he survived. Like is said in the previous paragraph, I don’t analyze a lot of artworks unless they mean something to me, but with Harry Potter, I do it all the time. This is one of the things I have thought about after reading the series.

    The Harry Potter series has artistic merit because some of the parts in the books have a childlike sense to them and they’re full of fantasy which draws readers in. Also, people can relate to multiple characters and have a greater connection to the books. I think J.K. Rowling purposefully made these characters relatable so readers can have a good relation to the books. For example, Hermione is mostly the smart, brave, bookish character so some people who are like Hermione can relate to her and understand her ideas and the ideas of others in the story. I feel like J.K. Rowling made the characters seem like real people and not just one-sided book characters. They have a story and have traits like a real and natural human being which lets her audience can associate better with the stories.

    J.K. Rowling came up with the idea for Harry Potter by being delayed on a train traveling to King’s Cross Station. King’s Cross is the train station in Harry Potter that lets Harry get to the train for Hogwarts. So, that is one of the real life elements in the books. The first few books seem for children more than the last few because the series gets progressively darker as they go on. When J.K. Rowling tried getting her book published, someone who was a part of the group wanting to publish her book showed the first three chapters to his eight-year-old daughter. She said she wanted to read the rest of the book. This shows that children can read the books and understand it just as much as adults. The Harry Potter books mean a lot to me because they are fantastic, people of all ages can read them, they have so much symbolism in them, and they have many meanings in them.

 

Write to Please Yourself More Than Others

     In the podcast, Maria Popova on Being Interesting, Creating More Time in a Day and How to Start a Successful Blog, Maria Popova answers questions on how to be successful in writing a blog and sometimes in life. She gives her full opinion and is very helpful. Maria Popova answers questions on becoming who you want to be, how to choose what to read, what book she has read the most, what should be a priority, and gives advice to beginners on writing a blog. A lot of what she said in her podcast was powerful to me. Maria Popova claims, “But if the travel and preparation and logistics eat up 20 hours of your time so that your writing suffers, so that you will ultimately not be proud of the result, then maybe it’s not worth it.” Basically, if you do something and it takes time out of your day and you aren’t even happy with the result, don’t do it. Do something you are proud of. This quote was very meaningful to me because sometimes I do things to get recognition or extra credit which is good, but sometimes, I’m not proud of the result or I feel like I didn’t even need to do it in the first place which means it took time out of my day for basically nothing. However, this wasn’t the most powerful quote to me.

     The most meaningful thing Maria Popova stated in her podcast was “Write to please yourself.” I found this powerful because when I have to write something for class, I put in all of my effort which is a good thing. However, I’m not doing what Maria Popova said. I don’t write to please myself, I write to please my teacher. She even mentioned this in her podcast. She noted that usually younger people write to please teachers or publishers. This I what I do when I have to write an essay. I give it my all but I don’t write it to please me, I write what I think would please the teacher. This isn’t a bad thing because you will mostly get a good grade out of it and learn more from it which is what I strive for but, it could be a bad thing when writing a blog which is basically what she is saying. Since what I’m writing is going on a blog, I’m going to listen to Maria Popova and make sure it pleases me most of all and also hope that it pleases my teacher. Whenever I write essays, I will still want to please the teacher with what I’m writing, but I will try to remember “Write to please yourself” while I’m writing it.