Angels Essay, Research Paper
Angels
When hearing the word angel, there is a wide choice of common images one can think of. One might think of a loved friend, a beautiful woman, or even a holiday. The image in which I plan to discuss in is that of a guardian. Musician Sarah Mclachlan recently released a new hit song entitled, “angel.” This song represents individuals who have a sense of loneliness and suffer from various types of depression. Whether regarding a job, schoolwork, parenting, etc., I believe that anyone, in some shape or form, can relate to this song personally. In order to provide a thorough rhetorical criticism, I find it necessary to perform Kenneth Burke’s dramatistic pentad. Burke states, “the job of communication is to help bring people together” (Burke, 177). I believe that songs help people come together and give a better understanding of themselves as individuals. Songs also provide a sense of relaxation, which helps individuals open their minds to new ideas.
Scene: a hotel room
Agent: an angel
Act: memories/life
Agency: an act of comforting
Purpose: to overcome your fears
Depression plays a major role throughout the lyrics of this song. The scene takes place in a hotel room where an individual, or the songwriter, is in a moment in time where life is difficult and incomprehensible. They are taking a moment to glance at their previous memories and attempt to grasp their meaning of life. This is evident through the act portrayed in the lyrics:
I need some distraction
or a beautiful release
memories seep from my veins
they may be empty
or their weightless and maybe
I’ll find some peace tonight (Mclachlan).
“Depressed individuals generally regard their condition as irreversible” (Abnormal Psychology, 233). The individual personified in this song is alone, restless, and unfaithful. It is in this sense that the agent and agency are evident. Mclachlan sings of an angel in order to help the individual through suffering and anxiety. The fact that the scene takes place in a hotel room indicates that the territory in which the individual is physically confronted with is unfamiliar and impersonal. The individual is confronting a territory mentally that may be familiar to many people. Memories and aspects of life seem to be fading into the night until the chorus begins with comforting lyrics provided by an angel:
You’re in the arms of an angel
may you find, some comfort here (Mclachlan).
Upon thinking about angels, why and where did they come from? The Greek word angelos means messenger. “Angels serve as messengers from God to man” (Angels and Us, 11). This was the way that God obtained the ability to talk to humans, according to the Bible.
It don’t make no difference
escaping one last time
it’s easier to believe (Mclachlan).
Angels are also used and identified through persuasion. They ensure individuals that life can get better by helping them to see their problem as it lies with the intention of working them out intelligently, wisely, and safely. This is possible simply by taking a step out of life for a moment and looking at what the world has to offer. If more humans took the time to realize what they possess instead on dwelling on what they lack, society would be different in many aspects. It seems as though the song is relaying a distinctive and persuasive message to its listener. As long as one believes, then they will be comforted. Whether it is by God, an angel, a friend, or oneself, believing seems to be the answer to the coping of life. “Plato and Aristotle agreed on the priority of mind over matter, on a realm of reality which stands behind or above the appearances of the world” (Unseen World, 2,3).
The alleged purpose of this song is to give the listener a sense of hope and belief in order to overcome their fears. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance, when he knows that it is but the strange work of infinite and victorious Love” (A Book of Angels, 227). If believing that one is there to comfort, then one withholds the ability of overcoming anything.
In this sweet madness
or this glorious sadness
it brings me to my knees (Mclachlan).
In conclusion, music heard on the radio everyday may hold significant meaning to one’s identity. Burke’s dramatistic pentad thoroughly justified many of the key aspects within this song. These include losing and regaining faith, grasping a hold on a true meaning of life, and understanding a value of persuasion. This song gives me a sense of security whenever I hear it, and in my opinion, there are angels among us.
References
Adler, M. F. (1982). The angels among us. (p. 11). NY:
Macmillan.
Alloy, A. B. (1996). Abnormal ~psychology. (7th ed). (p. 233).
NY:McGraw-Hill.
Nichols, G. O. (1908). A book of angels. (p. 227). NY:
Longmans, Green, and CO.
Reinard, J. C. (1998). Introduction to communication research (2nd ed). (p. 177). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
Lane, Anthony. (1996). The unseen world. (pp. 2,3). Grand Rapids, MI: Paternoster Press.
Mclachlan, Sarah. (1998). Angel.
“Angel”
written by: Sarah Mclachlan
You spend all your time waiting
For that second chance
Or a break that would make it okay
There’s always some reason
To feel good enough
And it’s hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
Or a beautiful release
Memories seep from my veins
They may be empty
Or their weightless and maybe
I’ll find some peace tonight
In the arms of the angel
Fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the air is less that you feel
You are part from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You’re in the arms of the angel
May you find, some comfort here.
So tired of the straight line
That everywhere you turn
There’s vultures and thieves at your back
Storm keeps on twisting
Keep on building the lies
That make up for all that you lack
It don’t make no difference
Escaping one last time
It’s easier to believe
In this sweet madness
Or this glorious sadness
It brings me to my knees
IN the arms of the angel
Fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the air is less than you feel
You are part from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You’re in the arms of the angel
May you find, some comfort here
You’re in the arms of the angel
May you find, some comfort here
Adler, M. F. (1982). The angels among us. (p. 11). NY:
Macmillan.
Alloy, A. B. (1996). Abnormal ~psychology. (7th ed). (p. 233).
NY:McGraw-Hill.
Nichols, G. O. (1908). A book of angels. (p. 227). NY:
Longmans, Green, and CO.
Reinard, J. C. (1998). Introduction to communication research (2nd ed). (p. 177). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
Lane, Anthony. (1996). The unseen world. (pp. 2,3). Grand Rapids, MI: Paternoster Press.
Mclachlan, Sarah. (1998). Angel.
“Angel”
written by: Sarah Mclachlan
You spend all your time waiting
For that second chance
Or a break that would make it okay
There’s always some reason
To feel good enough
And it’s hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
Or a beautiful release
Memories seep from my veins
They may be empty
Or their weightless and maybe
I’ll find some peace tonight
In the arms of the angel
Fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the air is less that you feel
You are part from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You’re in the arms of the angel
May you find, some comfort here.
So tired of the straight line
That everywhere you turn
There’s vultures and thieves at your back
Storm keeps on twisting
Keep on building the lies
That make up for all that you lack
It don’t make no difference
Escaping one last time
It’s easier to believe
In this sweet madness
Or this glorious sadness
It brings me to my knees
IN the arms of the angel
Fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the air is less than you feel
You are part from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You’re in the arms of the angel
May you find, some comfort here
You’re in the arms of the angel
May you find, some comfort here