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Light And Darkness Poem Analysis

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The notion of ‘light and darkness’ can be seen as both complementary and dualistic. The start of polytheism shifted ‘light and darkness’ from being seen as a natural phenomena to a personified symbol, like the sun god, Ra, a symbol for life. While, the beginning of monotheism in 500 B.C., developed the dualistic aspect of ‘light and darkness’. This is seen in the Jewish Bible, where it takes on a moral dichotomy, (good or evil), for example in ‘The lord is my light and salvation’ (Ps. 27:1). Contemporary art and music still expresses ‘light and darkness’, taking on both complementary and dualistic approaches. For example, ‘Tuck the darkness in’ by the Bowerbirds and ‘Anthem’ by Leonard Cohen. The juxtaposition of light and dark elements in …show more content…

This is evident in the stanza, ‘Well, the light was rust and the cold was in our knees’. The word ‘rust’ portrays imagery of a dawn or a new beginning, while the word ‘cold’ gives a negative connotation to the sentence. This internal contrast in the tone of a stanza emphasises the interdependent nature of ‘light and darkness’. Moreover, assonance is present both in one stanza and across a verse, for example in the next stanza, ‘And the breath poured out over golden fields’, where the sound ‘o’ is repeated, which is also present in the previously mentioned stanza. The song also contains rhyming, for example ‘knees’ rhymes with ‘these’ in the third verse. The rhythmic patterns accentuate the connection between the light and dark elements in the songs by adding fluidity to the …show more content…

While, ‘Tuck the darkness in’ utilizes imagery to give specific words a connotation, ‘Anthem’ employs symbolism and allusion.) The message the artists convey in their complementary interpretation of the themes is prominent in the chorus of Anthem, where it states that ‘There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.’ This quote supports the belief that man is inherently evil, due to Adam and Eve 's expulsion from the Gardens of Eden. In my opinion, this innate darkness allows humanity to strive for adversity and optimism. Accepting the darkness within oneself allows the resurrection process on both a personal and societal level. This is significant in society today where perfectionism gives individuals

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