A Daughter Leaving Home Poem Analysis

When someone has moved on or grown up into their own individual human being, it is not only a time to rejoice, but also, a time to grieve. Everyone has gone through the trouble of dealing with a loss, no matter how small.But, in all stages of life, in order to learn and grow, moving on is essential. Award winning songwriter and singer, Tim McGraw had written a song about losing someone who is growing up. Ray Hansell's poem “A Daughter Leaving Home”, is similar to McGraw’s song “Humble and Kind” through theme, tone, rhyme scheme, and other poetic devices. Songs lyrics have evolved, which make them an equal art form to poetry. Although some may think that music is nowhere near poetry in a sense that there is no intelligence required, others would disagree. According to www.chicagotribune.com, “This is the most significant way in which songs differ from poems-they’re intended to be heard, while poems for some time have been written primarily for the eye” (Robbins, 1). Whether it is a song written about heartbreak, loss, or the complete opposite, the singer or songwriter is creating emotion for the audience and is attempting to relate the topic to people’s everyday lives. Although this quote does support the fact that song lyrics are more …show more content…
There is also rhyme scheme in this poem, and is not just free verse (similarly to Tim McGraw’s song too). “Humble and Kind” shows imagery too, but also has a use of inversion. In the last stanza of the song he sings: “Don’t take for granted the love this life gives you/ When you get where you’re goin’/ Don’t forget turn back around”. Mcgraw could have easily said, “The love life gives you is important, don’t take it for granted”. But, in order to show emotion and get the point across that the audience should not take love for granted, the singer had to switch the order of the words to put more emphasis on the theme of the