Simon and Garfunkel
If you look at them now, they don’t seem
like much; old, wrinkled and scrunched-looking are some accurate
descriptions. But if you listen instead
of look, it becomes apparent that Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel are still about
as fresh as they were when their folk duo first formed. Ever since the 1950’s when they recorded
their first album as “Tom and Jerry,” their careers have both skyrocketed,
their music became famous and their relationship has been through some tough
strains.
Although “The Sound of Silence,” “Mrs.
Robinson” and “Bridge over Troubled Water” are by far their most popular and
celebrated hits, I redirect you towards a forgotten and underrated gem written
and performed by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel in 1965 called “I am a
Rock.” This song is a masterpiece in
both musical and literary worlds. It was
written after the popularity blast that was “The Sound of Silence” in 1964, and
when compared, an argument could easily be made that “I am a Rock” is a
continuation of “The Sound of Silence,” as the same solemn themes seem to
permeate both pieces. Simon introduces this
song generally as a song about loneliness, but a closer look at the lyrics puts
a colorful spin on the merits of solitude.
Numerous literary devices can be found throughout the lines and stanzas,
many overlapping each other in a mess of poetic genius. Even though “I am a
Rock” is about a speaker trying to convince the world that he is unaffected by
the heartache of an excruciating love affair, it seems that Paul Simon is using
the creative style more to try and convince himself of this unsure image of
impenetrability.
“I am a Rock” kicks off with three
consecutive splashes of alliteration.
These repetitions establish a gloomy setting in “a deep and dark
December” and “on a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.” This device is effective in the sense that it
links two or three separate images or feelings to conjure up specific
combinations of phantasmagoria. Also, it
spices up what would otherwise be a boring couple of lines; there’s not a lot
of action going on here because the function of this entire stanza is to lay a
scene. Simon does not use alliteration
again after its rapid-fire succession in the introduction.
Amplification is also utilized in the
beginning and ending of the song. He
previously states that “I’ve built walls” but then goes on to continue that
idea, comparing those previously built walls to “a fortress deep and
mighty.” When using this device, Paul
Simon restates the idea of love and proceeds to build upon it in stanza two. Metonymy is also used when he references his
hardened resolve as “armor.”
The epitome of creative analogies is the
transferred epithet, which uses an entirely unrelated word that would not
typically be used to describe an idea or concept. For instance in stanza one, Simon uses the
word “shroud” to describe snow. This is
odd because a shroud is a piece of clothing, and usually would never be used to
describe any weather-related phenomena.
I’ve last seen it used mostly in regards to funeral shrouds, such as in The Odyssey, which would add another
dark undertone to an already depressing song.
Stanza four modifies another noun with words that would not ordinarily
describe it, saying “hiding in my room, safe within my womb.” If this analogy was taken literally, the
listener could deduce that Paul Simon possibly found an actual womb to seclude
himself within, which is gross imagery.
However, we’re smart enough to know that he’s just using creative style
to take the protective nature of a mother’s womb and transfer that same idea to
his secluded room.
The listener gets the general sense that
this song is a conversation between Paul Simon and a nameless individual. Procatalepsis is when the speaker anticipates
an objection from some unknown person and responds to it. This device is used one time in particular
when Simon suddenly exclaims “Don’t talk of love.” We don’t actually know who he’s talking to,
but the entire song is almost like an intimate conversation focused on the
trials and hard-learned lessons of one nasty love affair. He is obviously trying to teach that
nameless, faceless person to not make the mistakes he did, but as the song
continues, it appears that the speaker is inwardly reflecting to himself. His use of pronouns is indicative as such,
and thus the song turns into one man’s attempt to convince himself that he is
unaffected by emotional trauma.
If there is one sure way to convince
one’s self of anything, it is through repetition. Constantly Paul Simon restates that he is a
rock and an island, always at the end of his stanzas. This literary device is known as epistrophe,
where words are repeated at the end of phrases.
“I am a rock, I am an island” is also an example of the song’s most
prominent metaphors. Generally this song
is dripping with them. In fact, the
entire poem is an extended metaphor ornamented with smaller metaphors; so many
levels of consciousness went into writing this stubbornly resolved song. Hand in hand with those metaphors is
personification. It’s everywhere. The more prominent places are:
- · Stanza 3: “Don’t talk of love… it’s sleeping in my memory.”
- · Stanza 3: “I won’t disturb the slumber of feelings that have died.”
- · Stanza 4: “I have my books and poetry to protect me.”
- · Final Couplet: “And a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries.”
Personification runs rampant. Love does not literally sleep, feelings
cannot slumber, nor can they die. If
books and poetry had actual protective qualities, I’m sure they would be more
of a novelty to today’s youth. The
concluding couplet states that rocks and islands don’t feel pain nor do they
cry, which doesn’t seem like personification.
But really, it is; Paul Simon is still attributing human capabilities to
those inanimate objects. We are to
assume that the rock cannot feel pain, but it can experience other emotions and sensations. The island doesn’t cry, but it implies that
it is capable of other emotions.
All in all, this song is pretty low-key
for such an emotionally turbulent theme.
The word selection Paul Simon uses creates an overall soft quality to
the song that is enhanced by the soft style of Simon and Garfunkel’s unique
sound. Strong imagery is present
throughout; it makes an already relatable song even more so and articulates the
isolation and frozen status of Paul Simon’s personal life. “I am a Rock” was written after Simon and
Garfunkel firmly established themselves as musicians. Its overall function is entertainment and art
for art’s sake, but on an imaginative and universal level of
understanding. Extensive research
returned inconclusive in regards to what or who this song was written for. Simon and Garfunkel refuse to explain much of
their music due to the intensely personal nature in which it was written, and
this song is no exception. One can
postulate that it was written for therapeutic reasons, but other than that
there’s no further explanation as to how it came to be.
by Shelby Phillips
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