Is The Representation Of Irishness In The Song 'The Troubles' By U2

The last line of stanza is sung as “So watch my back and keep the blade i think it got you laid.” This means instead of their family hurting them they should watch their back and by doing so it will be good overall which means the laid part.

The second half of the first stanza introduces an extended metaphor describing the motivating factor of human nature, saying, “To conquer every mountain shown” (Keenan). While the word “conquer,” conjures up images of imperialistic warfare, within the context of this song the word has a broader meaning and may be more clearly understood as the “will to power and the will to meaning.” That is, the driving forces of human nature are achievement, which is motivated by personal ambition to reach the highest possible position we may accomplish, and the drive to understand the meaning of our lives. The word mountain represents every type of obstacle that might get in the way of that goal, while the word “I” directly refers to the singer and metaphorically refers to humanity as a collective of individuals motivated by personal self-interest. Taken together with the first half of this stanza, we see the idea that the defining characteristic of human nature is to overcome, or conquer, every obstacle that obstructs the will to power or prevents us from discovering truth. The singer then introduces the controlling metaphor (or main theme) of the song, which is transcendence saying, “But I’ve

In the first part of the poem the writer shows the difficulty he is having with taking a human life. In the second stanza he says “Making night work for us the starlight scope bringing men into killing range. This dark tone helps to emphasize the struggle the author is feeling as a soldier in war. Also he shows his emotions directly. In stanza 3 he says “The river under Vi Bridge takes the heart away”. This quote shows the feeling that the author gets

The song centres around the warfare associated with change “battle outside And it is ragin’”. The imagery used reflects the society the song was written in and the ideals of a society that was focused solely on war during that era (the 1960s). It also displays the different attitudes that generations have towards change and the warfare that can occur from this. Authoritarian figures “Senators, Congressman...Mothers and fathers” are used to demonstrate the conflict between the older and younger generations. “Don’t stand in the doorway Don’t block up the hall” shows how the older generations, may try to prevent

Under the line, "I've been a victim" the speaker says, "The Belgians cut off my hands in the Congo. / They lynch me still in Mississippi." These lines demonstrate that obviously the speaker is symbolic of the black race, and is not just one person. However, the author wrote them as if it were one person and that proves to be very effective, especially in this stanza. The use of the first person voice allows the author to illustrate suffering in a very personal way, while simultaneously making the statement that each person carries with them the suffering, if not the experience, of past generations.

It is a sin for anyone to destroy, in a blink of an eye, what they have been working on for months or even years. Therefore, one should always face the hardships with a strong will, hold their head up high when facing an upcoming storm, because that is the only way they can survive the war that is life. Right towards the end of the song, there is an extremely empowering line that says “this road never looked so lonely, this house doesn’t burn down slowly to ashes” which stands as a reminder that right when the challenge becomes harder, one should never forget what they are fighting for and simply give up. The amount of determination reflected in this line is the reason why I listen to this song whenever I feel defeated by the obstacles. It comes to spark the flame of determination in my heart when I consider backing

The next line in the same stanza reads “they may not mean to but they do” (Larkin). This line relates to contraception. Contraception in the late sixties was not readily available like it is today. So in turn, it wasn’t their fault that they had you, it just happened. The next two lines state “they fill you with the faults they had/And add some extra, just for you” (Larkin).

It is talking about the war in Vietnam and religious wars. Also young men were sent to war at 18 and weren’t allowed to vote until they were 21. This didn’t seem fair as they had no say in what was happening to them. The 2nd verse is about the very real possibility of nuclear war.

The first stanza is addressed to ‘old men’ and how they should not simply slip away and die quietly, they should fight death until the end. Poetic techniques

The symbolism in this song is that life is hard for other members of the society. This song regards a man trying/ resolving to alter his ways before starting to change the world. This

to a man whom Mr. Dylan felt compelled to tell the story of. It is a song of protest, fighting

To start off, the first stanza in her song represents a sense of how unavoidable change is and how the confusion of the bond combined with the stress of the blame game can lead to a doomed

This theme is brought through the song by showing multiple literary devices. Such as “I'm the one at sail, I’m the master of my sea”. This metaphor shows the realization and empowerment that oneself can give in a depressing situation. This simile “Falling like ashes to the ground, Hoping my feelings they would drown” compares his feeling of sadness and depression to ashes, and wanting them to drown and vanish, from his life. This line, “All the hate that you’ve heard has turned your spirit to a dove” explains how all of the hate that he has experienced and gone through has turned his feelings around, and decided to look on the bright side of things. Personally I think this is a great

The refrain goes like this, “When I look into your eyes / There’s just devils and dust”. Eyes are often used in poetry and in popular culture as a path to see what somebody really feels and how that person is really like in the inside. If in a person’s eyes “there’s just devils and dust” it shows that that person is troubled, haunted, and desolated. The visual image of “devils and dust” illustrates a godforsaken place, which is what that person’s soul has become. Following that the speaker tells his friend, Bobby, how they are a “long, long way from home”. These verses can have two meanings: they can refer to a soldier in a war (thus the relation with the Iraq War) or they could mean that we have strayed so far away from our values, from what we were founded upon, that this is no longer home, it is now a strange place. Many people argue, and with some justification, that the United States in the past years is becoming less and less like the country it was founded to be. The verse, “I feel a dirty wind blowing” once more takes us to the Iraq War since it evokes the image of a desert. It also relates, together with the “finger on the trigger”, to the Wild West, which seems to be where Springsteen has gotten most of the imagery for his CD (as it can be seen in songs with titles such as “Black Cowboys” and “The Hitter”). The Wild West used to be a treacherous place, which relates with the

Angelou, in the first stanza, she talks about being characterized very negatively. This can be the effect of the history during the time that Angelou grew up, back when segregation was allowed in the United States. The “bitter” and “twisted lies” can represent the racist and negative comments that people made and thought during this time. Line three may illustrate the hate crimes that