Pub 5

            Loss is the state of feeling grief and emptiness when one is deprived of a loved one. Loss can be expressed in a variety of ways through music, literature, poems, as well as films. Each aspect of art tells a story, in which the themes and tones create an atmosphere for their reader or listener. The poem “Stop All The Clocks, Cut Off The Telephone” by W.H Auden and “Rooms Remembered” by Laure-Anne Bosselaar draw a strong connection to the song “I’ll Be Missing You” by Sean Combs and Faith Evans. Each piece of art expresses grief in which they feel due to the close relationship they once had which was destroyed.

             

            In the poem “Stop All The Clocks, Cut Off The Telephone” by W.H Auden, the poet has a reoccurring theme of loss communicated throughout the poem. For example “He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest” (Auden 471). This implies that to the poet, life cannot go on because he feels a deep pain, his loved one was his whole world. No matter what day of the week it was or what time of the day it was, the dead man was the speakers life.The tone of the poem is quite sorrowful, “The stars are not wanted now: put out every one” (Auden 471).  The final stanza of the poem indicates rejected romanticism due to the communication of the stars, the moon and the oceans. “Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood; For nothing now can ever come to any good” (Auden 471). The author is communicating the idea of great sadness and depression, feeling that the world isn’t worth anything anymore because his lover is gone.

           

            In the poem “Rooms Remembered” by Laure-Anne Bosselaar, the tone that is expressed is the feeling of detachment. The authors communicates the theme of remembrance due to losing her lover, stating “I needed, for months after he died, to remember our rooms-some lit by the trivial, others ample” (Bosselaar 1). The poet implies that she needs something to hold onto in order to not feel a great deal of sadness. Remembering old memories can affect one’s mental state, by changing their mood from upset to somewhat joyful. “But tonight—as I stand in the doorway to his room & stare at dusk settled there—what I remember best is how, to throw my arms around his neck, I needed to stand on the tip of my toes” (Bosselaar 1). By stating that she remembers all the memories that once happened, it is giving her strength and something to hold on to due to detachment from her lover.

            In the song “I’ll Be Missing You” by Sean Combs and Faith Evans, the theme can be connected to both poems discussed. Sean Combs raps about memories, and remembrance however he cannot deal with the death of his friend, rapper The Notorious B.I.G.  The theme of loss throughout this song is shown through expressing deep emotions such as “Can't imagine all the pain I feel, Give everything to hear half your breath, I know you still livin' your life after death” (Combs). This is similar to the poem by W. H Auden because both poets feel pain in remembering their loved one. When Auden states “I thought love would last forever, I was wrong” (Auden 471), the quote implies that his love was torn for his special someone. The song by Sean Combs and Faith Evans also relates to the poem by Laure-Anne Bosselaar because both poems discuss reminiscing. “Shop for new clothes and kicks, You and me taking flicks” (Combs). “I remembered tables of laughter, a chipped bowl in early light” (Bosselaar 1). Both quotes discuss joyful memories in which the poet seems to be happy to remember.

            All three poems have a connection of reoccurring themes and tones, in which the reader feels. The poems portray deep sadness due to a loss of a loved one expressed with the concepts of reminiscing, grief, and heartbreak. All poems tell a story, all songs tell a story. The stories consist of aspects in which humans deal with throughout their lifetime, which results in a profound connection among the poet and their audience.