Imagine: John Lennon

John Lennon's song "Imagine" is poetry, and-like me-reflects a compassionate, caring person. It is poetry not just because the b and d stanzas rhyme but also because of its "economy of language" and its "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Flanagan). The song uses few and simple words to communicate powerful ideas, and poets are "miserly and unrelentingly critical in the way they dole out words to a page," choosing each word carefully for its "emotive qualities, its musical value, its spacing, and yes, even its special [sic] relationship to the page" (Flanagan). "Imagine" has spare wording but talks about issues that affect all of mankind-life, death, and world peace. Moreover, it stirs the heart of the listener with a passion to help the world or die trying, if necessary. It evokes a vision of a world living in harmony and unity, a vision that rises in a glowing, jewel-like presence above the din, corruption, and selfishness of modern life.

The poem is like me in that it reflects compassion and a concern for others. Lennon's vision of the unity of all mankind suggests many things. It intimates that the less fortunate will be elevated to the level of the rich, where they will enjoy food, clothing, and shelter beyond their dreams, and it also hints that the rich will be humbled so that their brothers can live better. It suggests that peace will prevail instead of war and that people will love one another instead of fighting. Lennon portrays

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Category: People - I