Poetic Devices In The Sound Of Silence By Simon And Garfunkel

I have decided to analyze the poetic devices and the purpose of the lyrics “The Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel. This song is based around the idea that people are unable to communicate with their own species because of advanced technology and media which is symbolized by the “neon god” in the song. It shows us that people strongly believe in celebrities, wealth, and media that they silence a simple, beautiful world, underneath them. The author, Simon intends to make the world realize that people are unwilling to let go of this superficial world and “disturb the sounds of silence" because they strongly accept what is around them. The narrator wants people to look beyond their ignorance and recognize what is around them but his efforts …show more content…
The writer enhances the mood and emotions of this song through poetic devices integrated in the song. The poetic devices in the song are repetition, consonance, assonance, alliteration, imagery, rhyme, personification, simile, paradox, metaphor, and hyperbole. Repetition is used in this song when the author includes the phrase “the sounds of silence” at the ends of almost all of the stanzas. Another, poetic device that is used in “The Sound of Silence” is consonance, which takes place when the lyrics “But my words like silent raindrops fell” come up. This line consist of two examples of this poetic device, one where the “d” is repeated in words and raindrops. Second, when the “l” is repeated in silent and fell. To continue, an example of assonance is when the song lyrics are “Fools!” said I, “You do not know” where the “oo” sound comes from the both, Fools and You. Furthermore, alliteration is included in the lyrics “And no one dares disturb the sounds of silence.” There are two examples of alliteration in this sentence, one is the repeated sound of “d” and the other one is when the “s” is …show more content…
Another poetic device that can be found in this song “The Silence of Words” is paradox. Paradox takes place in the story during the line “hearing without listening” and “talking without speaking.” The last poetic device the song includes of is metaphor. For example, when the lyrics ‘”And echoed in the wells of silence" come up, Simon has connected non-communication and wells of silence. The song, “The Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel consists of many different poetic devices. These devices help the song reach a deep level of ourselves and humanity. They allowed the author to enhance the emotions in the song that was passed to the listeners, helped to emphasize the effect of inanimate objects in the lyrics, or create an effective impact of the emotions in the song. The author takes the aid of these poetic devices so he can express the message of the song in a more clear and effective way. Also, Simon wants to create a better connection between the audience and the song for a better understanding of the lyrics. In this song, the author has also made an attempt to connect to society. The theme of this song is connected with the impact of technology on people and their communication. This is a major topic associated with the world and