Comparing Car Radio 'And Acquainted With The Night'

Songs are exactly like poetry, maybe even a little better (Griggs, Does poetry still matter?). The song “Car Radio” by Twenty One Pilots is more poetic and artistic than the poem “Acquainted with the Night” by Robert Frost because of the use of repetition, rhyme and symbolism. Though there are many differences between the song and the poem, the theme and SOAPSTone elements are similar in a lot of ways. In the song, Tyler is explaining his experience with depression. By him saying “he lost his car radio” , he’s talking about the music that helps him through the rough times. He has lost his outlet and now is left alone with his thoughts. Similarly, the poem is about a lonely guy who is also experiencing depression. He compares it to being “acquainted with the night.” He’s saying that he’s lonely and he’s isolating himself because of the depression. The subject of the song deals with depression mostly because Tyler’s mind is going crazy with bad thoughts. The car radio is stolen and he’s in silence, which silence can bring about sadness and overthinking. In the same way, the poem’s subject is about the same topics, depression, loneliness and isolation. The narrator has never found any comfort in his depression. He is unwilling to express his feelings because he feels as if no one
will understand him.
So what happened to make these people write these pieces? Tyler wrote this piece because his car radio was literally stolen in college, so he decided to write about what you feel in silence. He even said himself, “the song documents where you let your mind go when you don’t have a distraction to keep it in its box” (songmeanings.com). Frost wrote his poem because he was a person that dealt with depression. This poem in particular, though, is a lot about isolation and the battle of the depression itself. He doesn’t want to express himself and he thinks no one is waiting for him. His sadness is never
ending. The poem “Acquainted with the Night” by Robert Frost is very artistic and unique in its own way. 1. In the beginning, he says “I have been one acquainted with the night” (Frost 1) and he repeats it at the end for emphasis. 2. He is not actually acquainted with the night but it is a metaphor for how his depression makes him feel. 3. There are many other metaphors within the poem, as well. Along with repetition, there is also rhyme. 4. The last word of the first line of each stanza rhymes with the last word of the last line. 5. It is very hard to write this way but he does it so that it represents his slow footsteps on the pavement (shmoop.com). 6. The last poetic device used in this poem is symbolism. His acquaintance with the night symbolizes his depression and isolation. The word “acquainted” is a very sad word within itself. The word is used to describe when you’re not really friends with someone, you have just briefly met that person (shmoop.com). The song, “Car Radio” , has a much more deeper meaning than the poem. 1. Tyler repeats some of the lyrics over and over to get his thoughts across. For example, when he repeats “now I just in silence” , he is explaining how he is trapped in his thoughts and he can’t turn his brain off. 2. With no music, he has no way to block out his thoughts (songmeanings.com). 3. Following with the first paragraph, the next poetic device is rhyme. 4. Throughout the whole song, Tyler uses rhyme with some lyrics, but mostly, the chorus is the main part for rhyming. 5. When he says, “I have these thoughts, so often I ‘ought, to replace this slot with what I once bought…” (songmeanings.com). The “ought” noises rhyme a lot within these lines. Last but not least, symbolism. There is a lot of symbolism within this song, but the most obvious is the car radio. The car radio symbolizes the person’s mind. When you’re distracted from your depression, life is great and everything seems happy and content enough for you to not think about it. But when that distraction is gone, then what do you do? Without it, your mind often wanders and you think about things you may not want to think about. Overthinking can kill your mind. The song “Car Radio” by Twenty One Pilots is more poetic and artistic than the poem “Acquainted with the Night” by Robert Frost because of the use of repetition, rhyme and symbolism. The song and the poem do have a lot in common when it comes to theme and the subject/purpose. When talking about the poetic devices, thought, like the ones listed in the thesis, there is difference. The song definitely digs deeper into the depression aspect, but the poem doesn’t hold back either. The song is easier to understand and relate to, the poem can, kind of, be tricky when reading and analyzing it. As Juan Herrera said, “You could say we live in poetry.”