Friday, October 24, 2008

"The River", Garth Brooks

Garth Brooks, only second to the Beatles in selling the most albums, in America, is a talented singer and songwriter. In “The River”, he uses figurative language with vague uses of personification, metaphor, and simile.
In the first verse, Brooke says, “You know a dream is like a river.” This is a good example of a simile because a dream cannot be a living thing. An example of personification is the line, “Till the river runs dry.” In reality, a river does now really run, but as the listener, we understand the meaning of that line. Another example of personification is, “And let the waters slip away.” Water, also, cannot slip but as the listener we understand the significance of the word “slip”. There are also uses of metaphors, such as, “And a dreamer’s just a vessel.” Dreamers are being compared to vessels without the words, like or as. The following line says, “That must follow where it goes.” Now the listener, had a better understanding when Brooks says, “…a dreamer’s just a vessel.” They must follow their dreams. The next and last example of a metaphor is, “These waters are my sky.” Skies are endless, and so are waters, so it seems, to the person referring to “my”. They will, “never reach [their] destination.” The last reference to a simile is, “Like a bird upon the wind.” He clearly compares a bird to the wind, but differently than metaphors. Using figurative language, there could be any type of personification, metaphor or similes, for example.
Brooks in “The River” clearly uses figurative language. With the acceptable uses of personification, metaphor and simile.

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