"Suicide Note" Analysis by Karleigh

Poems, songs, and short stories can have many different meanings.  Mark Gibbons, “Suicide Note”, was about the transition in his life from being happy, having suicidal thoughts, and then finally death. I believe that the first 10 lines of his poem display life, while the other 25 lines talk about death.  This poem transitions from talking about life, then there is a point in the poem where it turns to death.

Mark Gibbons has a clever way with words.  “I am slick /  bear grass on an alpine slope” (1-2).  I think that this line shows life because bear grass is a living plant.  When I picture this line in my head I imagine grassy hills that house many different animals.  “I am cottonwood bark / floating in an eddy, / a double rainbow over Flathead Lake” (4-7).  I interpret this line as life because cottonwood bark, streams and rainbows are aspects of a landscape that one could enjoy.  These are not part of nature that I would associate with death. 

The point of transition from happiness to thoughts of death is, “I am / comets, the moon, my father’s /  ash” (10-11).  I interpret this line as the shifting point in the poem because after this line there are no lines which show life.  “I am bloody, / the swatted mosquito” (12-13).  I believe Mark Gibbons included this line in his poem because he wanted to show that someone broke his spirit.  “The swatted mosquito”, was Mark Gibbons way of saying that a person in his life broke him down.  Elements in this poem make me think that the Mark Gibbons sees himself as a monster.  “I am the reason / you fear the dark” (18-19).  When I read this line I imagine a criminal or even just a bad person.  Reading that line makes me think that the writer loathes himself. 

The deeper in this piece you get you come to realize that majority of it represents ideas of death. A few examples of this are: “I am cinnamon toast / and whispering voices that hiss—there is no forgiveness.”    I believe that suicide happens when a person feels that their life has no worth.  “There is no forgiveness”, makes me think the poet felt like they would never overcome a mistake they made.  “I am chemotherapy” (31).  Nothing screams death more than cancer.  Although chemotherapy is the treatment for cancer, I feel like chemo takes the life out of people.  Even though the purpose of chemotherapy is to heal people infected by cancer, it seems to make people feel like they’re dying, instead of being healed. 

Thousands of people commit suicide every day.  Some people leave a note which explains to their loved ones why they chose to take their life, while others choose to leave their loved ones with questions.  In Mark Gibbons “Suicide Note”, .I believe that every person that becomes suicidal had something very serious happen in their life which would  make them want to leave their life behind.  I don’t think that people can just become suicidal for no reason, there has to be a turning point in their life.  For each person who suffers from being suicidal, the turning point is different. 

"Isis" Analysis by Jasmine

Love and Death

Have you ever wondered if true love existed or if it’s just an invention of fiction writers? That it only exists in movies, because out of the 7 billion people in the world there couldn’t truly be someone just for you. If true love did exist and you’ve found your soul mate, what if he/she had passed away? What had once been two souls combined to form one is now just a shred of what is left of the heart. In Bob Dylan’s song “Isis”, it symbolizes how the love for someone never dies, even if they’ve passed away into heaven.

Marriage symbolizes the love for someone, it connects them.  Although two people who get married are both individuals, they become one. Marriage symbolizes forever, and the love someone could have for someone else. “I married Isis on the fifth day of May” (1). “But I could not hold on to her very long” (2). He had married his love, but was not able to hold on to her.  After a typical death, there is a ceremony for them, a funeral. “Went in to a laundry to wash my clothes down” (8). He is cleaning his clothes for the funeral of his wife.

If true love and heaven existed, someone would be able to see their loved one again after the passing of themselves. “How she told me that one day we meet up again” (22). Before she has died, she told him not to worry because they will see each other again one day. “And things would be different the next time we wed” (23). Once they meet, the problems they once had will be vanished and their relationship will be restored.

In the movies when someone is about to perish, they see “the light” and know that they are going to a better place, and perhaps say a quick prayer. That’s what the man in Bob Dylan’s song “Isis” has done. “I said a quick prayer and I felt satisfied” (40). “Blinded by sleep and in need of a bed. I came in from the East with the sun in my eyes.” (43-44). He is finally in heaven and at peace.

 In Bob Dylan’s song “Isis”, it reveals a love that is so strong that it can never be broken even through death. True love never vanishes, even if someone has lost their soul mate. They will be forever in your heart and mind. “Isis oh Isis you mystical child. What drives me to you is what drives me insane. I still can remember the way that you smiled. On the fifth day of May in the drizzling rain” (50-53).
Read "Isis" lyrics here.

"Suicide Note" Analysis by Nakeya

Although the poem “Suicide Note” by Mark Gibbons contains references to death, its main theme is a description of life.

            When there are fires that take the life of bushes, grasses, and trees, there are new reborn lives such as bushes, trees, and grasses that take its place. “I am slick bear grass on an alpine slope (1-2)”. When I hear this quote it reminds me that the new life is taking over the old life. There are also new animals that come to the new life after a fire such as deer and birds. Animals have been able to determine if a forest has life. “… Talons of a red tail hawk. I am cottonwood bark floating in an eddy, a double rainbow (3-6)”.

Music can make your life happier make you feel good. When people make music it really gets into your emotions and really makes people feel like life is going well. “I am music that puts you on the kitchen floor of the house (25-26)”. I think the music makes you dance and your dancing on the kitchen floor.

When people have cancer they have to go through chemotherapy. Cancer victims who have been through chemotherapy often have a more positive outlook on life. Chemotherapy saves lives.” I am chemotherapy (30-31)”.

 “I am fresh turned dirt (17)”. When I read this line it reminds me of a grave getting dug up. The dirt from the earth is getting turned so that it buries the person who died. Or it could mean when you are planting life such as plants you are turning the dirt over.

No matter how you interpret this poem, it best fits for it being called life. Life can be read in so many ways the title “Suicide Note” does not mean that it describes death. It could be an opening into a new life.

"The Guidelines" Analysis by Tayla

The Guidelines

Most rappers these days use excessive explicit language or better known as cuss words. I believe rappers use explicit language to be more intimidating and to make sure you know that they are the “best.” Also rappers think it is necessary to have cuss words to make the song better. Can a rapper, rap about being the best without the use of cuss words? Aceyalone’s “The Guidelines” projects his lyrics to indirectly claim he is the best rapper. The making up of words, the cleverly rhyming and his refrain, it is all very fascinating and makes his rap beyond unique.

Throughout Aceyalone’s rap he makes up a few words. At first you don’t notice, but once you read the lyrics and see that they are made up. What makes these made up words unique is that they make sense; you would actually think they are words. In line 66 and 67 it says, “I note the animal kingdom and the phylum WHYLUM style em, until they get to hit the target.” Whylum is not a word, but it goes along with the song and rhymes with phylum, it flows nice so that someone doesn’t think it’s a made up word. Also Aceyalone combines words to make up a word, “architectnique” (70). He combined architecture and unique together. I think he is being daring when he makes up and combines words.

Aceyalone can rhyme so well, it is a struggle to read it, it twists your tongue. Try saying “I don’t contort connect conduct collect console or conceal in full control of the roll of the wheel” (11-13). Also some of his cleverly rhyming lyrics say how he feels about rap. “I love it, learn to live it, then give you my exhibit / always seeking the challenge, to show the world the incredible talents” (38, 61-62). He loves rap, he learns to live through rap and then publicly displays his lyrics to the world. He likes to challenge the rap game and show the world what he can do and is made of. Through his rap, he doesn’t only express is feeling for rap through clever rhymes, there is other ways.  

His lyrics aren’t like most lyrics rappers have today. Aceyalone’s rap doesn’t have the ordinary one repeated verse that’s half the song. He does not cuss nor directly tell you what he means. I feel like it is a rap/poem/story all wrapped in this unique form of a song. The one short verse he repeats in here twice in the middle and once towards the end, “My attempts to redefine your hip-hop guidelines and you can play the sidelines, ride rhymes in your spare time” (40-42, 43-45, 96-98, 99-101). Why is this the only verse repeated? Well his song is called “The Guidelines” and he attempts to “redefine” your outlook on hip-hop, while you take notes from him and practice on your own time.

My favorite lines in these lyrics would have to be, “I square up, select, and rec’d, every tangle I flare up, and you can try, any angle Even Bermuda” (108-110). Why? He talks about shapes, square, rectangle, and triangle. He’s practically saying he can be anything he wants to be. Instead of just saying, “I can be anything I want to be, doesn’t matter what,” he puts a cool twist on it and says it in a different style. Aceyalone’s “The Guidelines” skillfully makes his lyrics to claim he is the best of the best of the best rappers.  
Read "The Guidelines" lyrics here. 
Hear "The Guidelines" here.

"Isis" Analysis by Darian

Literary Analysis of “Isis” by Bob Dylan

Some song writers are content with repetitive lyrics and monotonous choruses, but Bob Dylan’s “Isis” is rich with figurative language and narrative verses.  You could say it’s simply a song about a girl, but there is a lot more meaning to be found under the lyrical surface. I think the song is about a person who is in love but is feeling restless,  so he goes off on an adventure to seek the things he believes he’s lacking. What he really finds though, is that what he thought he was missing, he had all along, so he goes back to Isis and she puts him back together.

In the very first verse of the song, the speaker very plainly explains his predicament, “I married Isis on the fifth day of May, But I could not hold on to her very long, So I cut off my hair and I rode straight away, For the wild unknown country where I could not go wrong,” (1-4). He is saying that even though he is in love with Isis, he can’t be tied down. He “cuts off [his] hair and [rides] straight away,” he cuts off the ties to her and responsibilities, and goes to seek adventure. 

There’s a part in the song where the man he met in the town dies while they are chopping through the ice pyramid, and he ends up putting him into the empty tomb he finds (29-38). I think the man tricked him into doing this. I believe this was the man’s plan all along, because he knew he was going to die, and he had nobody. So he deceived the narrator into burying him in the pyramid, because he knew that they wouldn’t find anything. “There was no jewels, no nothin’, I felt I’d been had,  When I saw that my partner was just bein’ friendly, When I took up his offer I musta been mad” I also think that the narrator realizes the error of his ways at the conclusion of this exchange with the old man. He realizes how sad loneliness can be, so he goes back to Isis (39-40).

  The reason why I believe Isis “puts him back together,” is that while I was reading the verses (41-50), I thought about the egyptian myth about Isis and Osiris. Basically Osiris is a god king who gets killed by his brother Seth, and Seth tears his body up into many pieces and scatters them along the Nile River. Isis, who is Osiris’s wife, is very sad but she picks up the pieces and puts them back together so that his spirit can be free. The name Isis is the same in both the song and the myth, so that is why I think there could be a connection.  

“Isis” by Bob Dylan is a song about love and revelation. It’s about a person who believes he needs more than love, but in the end it was love by itself that made him feel fulfilled, not adventure. “I said a quick prayer and I felt satisfied, Then I rode back to find Isis just to tell her I love her....Isis, oh, Isis, you mystical child, What drives me to you is what drives me insane, I still can remember the way that you smiled, On the fifth day of May in the drizzlin‘ rain” (39,40, 48-52). Love is what sets people free, not material things or errant wishes.To quote The Beatles, “All you need is love.” 
Read "Isis" lyrics here.