English Paper 3
Our last project!
Kiri Ramdeo
ENC 1101-063
Project 3 - Final Draft
Bohemian Revelations
Originally released in 1981, one of Queen’s biggest hits remains high on the lists even today. The “Bohemian Rhapsody” raises a century-old question concerning the meaning and purpose of life and they exploit the meaning of this question within their song. Queen presents a satirical view on a criminal’s take on life, successfully using symbolism, particular sentence syntax; it is these tools Queen uses to address the changing society and the reflection on religion. It’s important to address the many points of view - many reflections of thought - and this work considers the morals of the individual as well. As most works do, it all begins with the title.
The title of “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Lyrics) reveals that the song is an extended poem - though not quite a ballad. The two words have separate meanings that factor into a whole picture: “Bohemian” means “relaxed/ gypsy/ carefree” and “Rhapsody” connotes a “long extended poem.” The denotation of the title’s words makes it seem as though the song will possess more of an upbeat, lighthearted tone and mood as a carefree gypsy-like song would usually connote. Queen’s song is essentially a poem as suggested by the “Rhapsody” in the title because it can in fact be read and analyzed without the sound. The title does promise a carefree look at life (as listeners find when either reading it like a poem or listening to it in its song form) from an altered perspective. It is quite an intriguing song on its own until the listener begins thinking about quite what the artist is suggesting with the song - and it is then that the audience begins diving into the intricacies of the song. The implications behind Queen’s song is a contemplation on the difference between the meaning of life for one person in particular; it shows how each viewpoint can be different and why this may occur for one/some person/people versus the rest of the world. The audience, after listening to the song a few times, begins to realize that perhaps Queen is not only singing a long poem, but that the auditory poem may have a deeper meaning than it appears to.
There was much struggle and violence going on around in the world that the band members of Queen saw; such is implied by the verse “Mama, just killed a man,/ Put a gun against his head,/ Pulled my trigger, how he’s dead.” (Lyrics) The speaker comes from the view point of a participant in the violence of the world who later in the stanza laments committing this crime. This mirrors the lament that several of the members of society may have felt at the time, such as the criminals. Although obviously the criminals didn’t sit around listening to the radio, Queen could also have been referring to the deinstutionalization act that had occurred in the eighties and the general populous was contemplating whether or not it was still considered a crime if a mentally ill person committed the crime. The general populous was also dealing with the changes of culture in the time of the eighties. The message of guilt reaches out to not only those of times past, but also to the contemporary audience, for violence is still part of the world. Many, like the speaker in the song, may not even be able to explain to themselves why they have committed such a crime, and the song alludes to the crime-committers contemplating what they have done and the meaning to that - as well as the meaning of their life from then on.
Queen’s song also moves to reveal an ulterior meaning to life; to reveal a world that not everyone may have glimpsed. From the line, “I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy,” Queen’s song offers insight to a world that many were shielded at the time of composition (Lyrics). Song is a way in which the artists both express opinions, feelings, and information for the public about something that concerns them. Early on in this song, Queen may be referring to the many depressed persons at the time, and a little later on, gun violence in some cities. To counter and explicate this violence with a balance, they even include religion in the end part of the poem where it connotes through syntax and music that the angels and devils are arguing over who gets the soul of the boy who has committed a crime - until the “Devil” comes up and takes him away. This makes an appeal to the audience’s emotion, leading towards the issue of whether or not the “poor boy’s” soul should be pardoned. It also inadvertedly leads the audience to question the justice system, symbolized by the angels versus demons. At the end of the song, the Devil gains the soul and the last line of the song, the audience can audibly hear the fading of the boy’s voice as the Devil takes him away. This could be interpreted to mean that the demons and the Devil win in the case of criminals, whether or not the crime was lamented or not. It is also heard (and seen) that although Queen implements a Devil’s voice, they do not implement God’s voice. It reflects the generic view that God does not intervene in the lives of mankind. This consoles the populous, sticking to a generic religious view, but invokes thought on the issues in the society at the time.
Half of what leads the audience to question the world as they know it is through the diction and arrangement of stanzas in the poem. Queen uses musical syntax and connotative implications through the monologue of sections of the song. Where the speaker is iterating in a monologue, the audience can see where the subject uses logic to puzzle what life means to that individual. The song also combines many types of sentence syntax within the poem itself, which is made increasingly dynamic when the audio of the song is brought into play. Some areas are choppier, some more emphasized, indicating the most important part to the author of the composition. This indirect approach to addressing issues within a song reaches out to more people because of the universality of music; that and music also seems to be a fast traveler when it came to spreading the word - usually because of catchy lines and phrases. In the song, the boy is not named, making the song a generic view of the general bystander in the world. It makes the boy in the song easier to relate to, since the audience is not contemplating the meaning of the character’s name as well. The singers do not claim a dominant view of a particular subject, but, rather, they claim a view as a bystander - of being on common ground which therein makes the piece all the more personal to the audience. The audience’s common reaction, when sitting down to listen to the lyrics of a song, is most often than not to seek to relate to the piece. The singer provides this outlook as a common bystander, which serves to make it more universal. This induces the ability of the audience to imagine that the boy in the song is either them or someone like them. Perhaps they can even relate the boy to someone they know and/or are close to. The monstrosity of what the boy has done (killed a man for no apparent reason) may bring the audience’s distaste for the boy forth at first, but as they continue listening, they infer that the boy really is sorry and tries to repent before his soul arises to hover somewhere between Heaven and Hell.
When this boy, personalized to the audience by a thought process that can be related to through ethos, comes across the angels and demons, Queen then puts into play the irony of the religious system. This is tied to common preaching of how God is forgiving and accepts sinners who repent with open arms, but here in Queen’s song, God seems to have abandoned a repented sinner and one who asks graciously for passage by the angels around the gates to Heaven. This angel/devil dichotomy, as well as the slight revision of a religious view, functions to address the confusion in a society of a changing world. Perhaps it is also meant to reflect the audience’s thought process - maybe some feel abandoned by God. Queen’s largest section of the song seems to be of this “poor boy’s” soul being made into a symbolic rope that the “angels” and “demons” are playing tug-of-war with (Lyrics). The language of the song invokes vivid images as it is even without the music. The music in the background serves to set the tone of the stanza that is being sung. It tugs the audience members’ sense of morality and prompts them to question it - would the same happen to them? Have they done something just as unforgivable according to society’s standards? The purpose of this is to help the audience in the time that the song came out; it was meant, such as the idea of the socially normal, what that meant, and the changing justice system.
Queen’s satire on a view of life is delightfully portrayed in their song “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It is my hope that this has opened an audience view to several takes on an issue, as well as several underlying conflicts revealed within the song. It leads me, and hopefully you, my reader, to question whether religion is all that we stereotypically cut it out to be? It could be more than it is typically seen to be; maybe some people see deeper into it than we do at first. Or could there be something more? There may be something else that can be derived from the mixed messages shown to us about religion. It could be implied that there is also a deeper meaning to life than we had anticipated. Perhaps, for example, there is an underlying motive; a part of society that our eyes have not viewed yet. Then again, one must debate within themselves as to whether this underlying layer exists, or whether or not it is significant. Queen presents a satirical view but do we necessarily have to take it as satire? Not necessarily. We could just take it at face value; ultimately it is up to the audience.
Works Cited
Lyrics Freak Team. “Lyrics Freak.” Bohemian Rhapsody. 6 Nov. 2007.
< http://www.lyricsfreak.com/q/queen/bohemian+rhapsody_20112599.html>
ta-da ^^
Kiri Ramdeo
ENC 1101-063
Project 3 - Final Draft
Bohemian Revelations
Originally released in 1981, one of Queen’s biggest hits remains high on the lists even today. The “Bohemian Rhapsody” raises a century-old question concerning the meaning and purpose of life and they exploit the meaning of this question within their song. Queen presents a satirical view on a criminal’s take on life, successfully using symbolism, particular sentence syntax; it is these tools Queen uses to address the changing society and the reflection on religion. It’s important to address the many points of view - many reflections of thought - and this work considers the morals of the individual as well. As most works do, it all begins with the title.
The title of “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Lyrics) reveals that the song is an extended poem - though not quite a ballad. The two words have separate meanings that factor into a whole picture: “Bohemian” means “relaxed/ gypsy/ carefree” and “Rhapsody” connotes a “long extended poem.” The denotation of the title’s words makes it seem as though the song will possess more of an upbeat, lighthearted tone and mood as a carefree gypsy-like song would usually connote. Queen’s song is essentially a poem as suggested by the “Rhapsody” in the title because it can in fact be read and analyzed without the sound. The title does promise a carefree look at life (as listeners find when either reading it like a poem or listening to it in its song form) from an altered perspective. It is quite an intriguing song on its own until the listener begins thinking about quite what the artist is suggesting with the song - and it is then that the audience begins diving into the intricacies of the song. The implications behind Queen’s song is a contemplation on the difference between the meaning of life for one person in particular; it shows how each viewpoint can be different and why this may occur for one/some person/people versus the rest of the world. The audience, after listening to the song a few times, begins to realize that perhaps Queen is not only singing a long poem, but that the auditory poem may have a deeper meaning than it appears to.
There was much struggle and violence going on around in the world that the band members of Queen saw; such is implied by the verse “Mama, just killed a man,/ Put a gun against his head,/ Pulled my trigger, how he’s dead.” (Lyrics) The speaker comes from the view point of a participant in the violence of the world who later in the stanza laments committing this crime. This mirrors the lament that several of the members of society may have felt at the time, such as the criminals. Although obviously the criminals didn’t sit around listening to the radio, Queen could also have been referring to the deinstutionalization act that had occurred in the eighties and the general populous was contemplating whether or not it was still considered a crime if a mentally ill person committed the crime. The general populous was also dealing with the changes of culture in the time of the eighties. The message of guilt reaches out to not only those of times past, but also to the contemporary audience, for violence is still part of the world. Many, like the speaker in the song, may not even be able to explain to themselves why they have committed such a crime, and the song alludes to the crime-committers contemplating what they have done and the meaning to that - as well as the meaning of their life from then on.
Queen’s song also moves to reveal an ulterior meaning to life; to reveal a world that not everyone may have glimpsed. From the line, “I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy,” Queen’s song offers insight to a world that many were shielded at the time of composition (Lyrics). Song is a way in which the artists both express opinions, feelings, and information for the public about something that concerns them. Early on in this song, Queen may be referring to the many depressed persons at the time, and a little later on, gun violence in some cities. To counter and explicate this violence with a balance, they even include religion in the end part of the poem where it connotes through syntax and music that the angels and devils are arguing over who gets the soul of the boy who has committed a crime - until the “Devil” comes up and takes him away. This makes an appeal to the audience’s emotion, leading towards the issue of whether or not the “poor boy’s” soul should be pardoned. It also inadvertedly leads the audience to question the justice system, symbolized by the angels versus demons. At the end of the song, the Devil gains the soul and the last line of the song, the audience can audibly hear the fading of the boy’s voice as the Devil takes him away. This could be interpreted to mean that the demons and the Devil win in the case of criminals, whether or not the crime was lamented or not. It is also heard (and seen) that although Queen implements a Devil’s voice, they do not implement God’s voice. It reflects the generic view that God does not intervene in the lives of mankind. This consoles the populous, sticking to a generic religious view, but invokes thought on the issues in the society at the time.
Half of what leads the audience to question the world as they know it is through the diction and arrangement of stanzas in the poem. Queen uses musical syntax and connotative implications through the monologue of sections of the song. Where the speaker is iterating in a monologue, the audience can see where the subject uses logic to puzzle what life means to that individual. The song also combines many types of sentence syntax within the poem itself, which is made increasingly dynamic when the audio of the song is brought into play. Some areas are choppier, some more emphasized, indicating the most important part to the author of the composition. This indirect approach to addressing issues within a song reaches out to more people because of the universality of music; that and music also seems to be a fast traveler when it came to spreading the word - usually because of catchy lines and phrases. In the song, the boy is not named, making the song a generic view of the general bystander in the world. It makes the boy in the song easier to relate to, since the audience is not contemplating the meaning of the character’s name as well. The singers do not claim a dominant view of a particular subject, but, rather, they claim a view as a bystander - of being on common ground which therein makes the piece all the more personal to the audience. The audience’s common reaction, when sitting down to listen to the lyrics of a song, is most often than not to seek to relate to the piece. The singer provides this outlook as a common bystander, which serves to make it more universal. This induces the ability of the audience to imagine that the boy in the song is either them or someone like them. Perhaps they can even relate the boy to someone they know and/or are close to. The monstrosity of what the boy has done (killed a man for no apparent reason) may bring the audience’s distaste for the boy forth at first, but as they continue listening, they infer that the boy really is sorry and tries to repent before his soul arises to hover somewhere between Heaven and Hell.
When this boy, personalized to the audience by a thought process that can be related to through ethos, comes across the angels and demons, Queen then puts into play the irony of the religious system. This is tied to common preaching of how God is forgiving and accepts sinners who repent with open arms, but here in Queen’s song, God seems to have abandoned a repented sinner and one who asks graciously for passage by the angels around the gates to Heaven. This angel/devil dichotomy, as well as the slight revision of a religious view, functions to address the confusion in a society of a changing world. Perhaps it is also meant to reflect the audience’s thought process - maybe some feel abandoned by God. Queen’s largest section of the song seems to be of this “poor boy’s” soul being made into a symbolic rope that the “angels” and “demons” are playing tug-of-war with (Lyrics). The language of the song invokes vivid images as it is even without the music. The music in the background serves to set the tone of the stanza that is being sung. It tugs the audience members’ sense of morality and prompts them to question it - would the same happen to them? Have they done something just as unforgivable according to society’s standards? The purpose of this is to help the audience in the time that the song came out; it was meant, such as the idea of the socially normal, what that meant, and the changing justice system.
Queen’s satire on a view of life is delightfully portrayed in their song “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It is my hope that this has opened an audience view to several takes on an issue, as well as several underlying conflicts revealed within the song. It leads me, and hopefully you, my reader, to question whether religion is all that we stereotypically cut it out to be? It could be more than it is typically seen to be; maybe some people see deeper into it than we do at first. Or could there be something more? There may be something else that can be derived from the mixed messages shown to us about religion. It could be implied that there is also a deeper meaning to life than we had anticipated. Perhaps, for example, there is an underlying motive; a part of society that our eyes have not viewed yet. Then again, one must debate within themselves as to whether this underlying layer exists, or whether or not it is significant. Queen presents a satirical view but do we necessarily have to take it as satire? Not necessarily. We could just take it at face value; ultimately it is up to the audience.
Works Cited
Lyrics Freak Team. “Lyrics Freak.” Bohemian Rhapsody. 6 Nov. 2007.
< http://www.lyricsfreak.com/q/queen/bohemian+rhapsody_20112599.html>
ta-da ^^