Analysis of Sound of Silence
Yubraj Budhathoki
Shannon Vails
ENGL 1302
March 8, 2011
Lack of communication: An analysis of “The Sound of Silence”
“Sounds of Silence is an album by Simon and Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966” [ (wikipedia) ].This is a beautiful song composed with wonderful choices of words. Behind this beautiful song with melodious rhythm, there is a big message in the lyrics. In this poem, Simon presents the speaker who speaks about communication. The idea of lack of communication builds up throughout this poem. This poem conveys a message that there is a lack of real communication in the people. The poet multiple uses of words in this poem have a significant meaning and strongly support the thesis above. The multiple uses of “I” imply that he wants the reader to be the particular person he is referring to in the poem. “I’ve come to talk with you again.” and “Left its seeds while I was sleeping” in the beginning of the poem relates silence with the speaker (lines 2-4). The darkness meaning silence in this poem is speaker’s old friend. He knows the silence very well. Similarly, the multiple use of ‘and’ provides reasoning and supports for the writer’s argument. For example, in the lines “And the vision that was planted in my brain………….the sound of silence”, the speaker argues that the environment he has created is still inside his brain and thus is not exposed yet (5-7). The speaker also uses the word ‘people’ many times. “People” in this poem refers to all the common people without being concerned to any individuals (17-19). In this context, people refer to those mass who are communicating with each other without any emotional feelings.
The poem describes people’s way of communicating in several lines. Through the lines below, Simon wants the speaker to know how people are sharing information with no value. The following section is most important because they convey the speaker’s main message:
“People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
Shannon Vails
ENGL 1302
March 8, 2011
Lack of communication: An analysis of “The Sound of Silence”
“Sounds of Silence is an album by Simon and Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966” [ (wikipedia) ].This is a beautiful song composed with wonderful choices of words. Behind this beautiful song with melodious rhythm, there is a big message in the lyrics. In this poem, Simon presents the speaker who speaks about communication. The idea of lack of communication builds up throughout this poem. This poem conveys a message that there is a lack of real communication in the people. The poet multiple uses of words in this poem have a significant meaning and strongly support the thesis above. The multiple uses of “I” imply that he wants the reader to be the particular person he is referring to in the poem. “I’ve come to talk with you again.” and “Left its seeds while I was sleeping” in the beginning of the poem relates silence with the speaker (lines 2-4). The darkness meaning silence in this poem is speaker’s old friend. He knows the silence very well. Similarly, the multiple use of ‘and’ provides reasoning and supports for the writer’s argument. For example, in the lines “And the vision that was planted in my brain………….the sound of silence”, the speaker argues that the environment he has created is still inside his brain and thus is not exposed yet (5-7). The speaker also uses the word ‘people’ many times. “People” in this poem refers to all the common people without being concerned to any individuals (17-19). In this context, people refer to those mass who are communicating with each other without any emotional feelings.
The poem describes people’s way of communicating in several lines. Through the lines below, Simon wants the speaker to know how people are sharing information with no value. The following section is most important because they convey the speaker’s main message:
“People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
Cited: wikipedia. 27 February 2011. 01 March 2011 .