eXpLoRiNg ThE SiGniFiCaNcE oF ThE PaSt WiTh RoRy | Sound of Pen

The second class in our 2000trees series revolves around one of RORY’s most powerful songs – the emotional blockbuster that is ‘UNCOMPLICATED’!

When considering the significance of a theme, the exam boards tell us that A-Level, “students and centres need to remember that this is ‘significance’ in the semiotic sense of being ‘encoded with meanings’ rather than in the conversational sense of ‘important’.”

Which is true.

To an extent.

But the ‘importance’ of the theme is also relevant. Yes, we need to talk about how the written word (whether we’re considering the motifs, metaphors, structure or any other of the myriad writers’ methods) does serve as a code, and how the written word does have greater significance than we might realise if we weren’t familiar with the code.

However, it’s difficult to frame an engaging argument simply based on ‘code’. The argument that drives your essay and makes it riveting surely comes to a large extent from the relevant theme’s ‘importance’. We need to ask ourselves how the theme in question impacts on the characters involved, on the feelings being expressed, on the action or setting being detailed – in other words: how is said theme ‘important’?

In short, it’s true that we need to consider significance in the semiotic sense and this is what we do when we examine the relationships between signs (signifiers) and their interpretations (signified). That is the process of code-reading. And we absolutely need to understand how those signifiers – that code – might be read in different ways dependent on the context. But if we’re going to frame that code-reading in any kind of interesting way, we also need to talk about how they’re part of a bigger picture, about how they underline a broader significance – about how they’re significant in that more familiar sense of being important.

Ultimately, then, we actually are writing about the importance of the theme, or character, in question – but of course we need to remember that it’s the significance – in a semiotic sense – of the evidence we use to support our argument about a theme’s, or character’s, importance that will fuel our success at A-Level.

Your task today is to:

Explore the significance of the past in RORY’S ‘UNCOMPLICATED’

When you have finished writing your essay, you can look at the model at the bottom of this class (underneath the RORY tour poster). You will see some of that model essay has been highlighted orange and some purple. The orange sections show you where if felt relevant to define the significance of the past as in the importance of the past; the purple sections show you where the past has had a significant impact on the way in which we interpret the code.

Okay, whenever writing a piece like this, it helps to make your first job deciding on a thesis statement (also known as a clear argument!). Try using my thesis statement, outlined immediately below in blue.

In ‘UNCOMPLICATED’, the past is enormously significant. It’s not only that RORY’s memories of it are still very present and positive, it’s also the way in which the joy she felt in her past contrasts with her present state and makes her current life feel so dark and disappointing. Not only, then, is the past significant in its own right, it’s also so significant because of the way in which it shines a light on RORY’s current situation.

ACTIVITY 1

Now, find at least 5 different words or phrases that support the argument established in that introduction.

Label the techniques in each of your chosen quotes.

You might spot:

rhyme
symbolism
repetition
assonance
rhetorical question
plosive alliteration
metaphor
adjective
polysyndeton
imperative

Consider too the structure of the piece – for example, the assonance later in the lyrics is positioned quite centrally in the relevant lines.

If you can’t locate these key techniques, scroll down below the picture of RORY for a colour-coded version of the lyrics.

RORY, ‘UNCOMPLICATED’

Take me back, I fuckin’ hate it
Those days were uncomplicated

My best friend Jenny
I missed her wedding
I don’t blame her at all
That she can’t forget it (can’t forget it)

She drives the same car in the same town (town)
I heard she got a couple kids now
My first ever lover

But like the others
LIT was my favourite band
So he sang me a cover (a cover)
And I got the mixtape in an old drawer (drawer)
What do I keep it for?

Now it’s another damn day
And another diagnosis
You get usеd to the pain
When you get my kind of hopеless
You drown in the weight of it all
When you’re down and there’s nowhere to fall

And now Avril’s on the radio
Takes me back to 15 years ago
Just a small town kid with no regrets
‘Cause I ain’t dropped out of uni yet

And my brother is still in my life
Ain’t lost nobody to suicide
Take me back I fuckin’ hate it
Those days were uncomplicated

Dysfunctional family
But I didn’t know it
My dad had some feelings
But he couldn’t show it
I buried my heart in empathy
That shit’s my worst enemy

Now it’s another damn day
And another diagnosis
You get used to the pain
When you get my kind of hopeless
You drown in the weight of it all
When you’re down and there’s no one to call

And now Avril’s on the radio
Takes me back to 15 years ago
Just a small town kid with no regrets
‘Cause I ain’t dropped out of uni yet

And my brother is still in my life
Ain’t lost nobody to suicide
Take me back I fuckin’ hate it
Those days were uncomplicated

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, uncomplicated
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, those days were uncomplicated
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Take me back, I fucking hate it
Those days were uncomplicated

rhyme
symbolism
repetition
assonance
rhetorical question
plosive alliteration
metaphor
imperative