SiGNiFiCaNcE & eSSaY wRiTiNg WiTh AnnE-MaRiE, yUnGbLuD, LorNa ShOrE & JoRdAn DaViS | Sound of Pen

Thinking about the significance of a theme can leave our brains feeling like a ball of string after it’s spent half an hour with a hyperactive kitten. Let’s look at how we can keep that string in a more organised state!

When asked to examine the significance of a theme, you will need to:

articulate your thesis statement. (Whilst the theme in question could be seen to highlight __________, ultimately, it signifies __________ .)
consider how the chosen theme ‘moves’ the character/action this way or that.
think about how our reading of the symbols/imagery changes when we look through a particular lens (the theme in question would be the lens).
decide how our knowledge of the context impacts on our understanding of the theme’s significance.
note the theme’s significance in terms of the broader lesson it draws our attention to / think of the theme as a vessel and determine the response the writer is encouraging (i.e. the theme is significant because it highlights ___________ about the world, and encourages the reader to ____________________.

One paper which will certainly test your ability to explore the significance of a theme is AQA’s English Literature Paper 2.

ACTIVITY 1

Explore the significance of depression in Anne’s Marie’s ‘DEPRESSED’.

How does the chosen theme ‘move’ the character/action this way or that?
How do the symbols within the text impact underline the significance of the theme?
How does our understanding of the context impact on our understanding of the theme’s significance?
What is the theme’s significance in terms of the broader lesson?

‘DEPRESSED’

If you ask a stupid question
Then you’ll get a stupid answer
And if you ask if I’m okay
I’m unhappy ever after
Hmph!
If you ask me how I’m coping
I’m like a minute from disaster
I got so damn good at pretending
That I could win a BAFTA

My world’s spinning the wrong way round
Yeah, I’m smiling, but I’m lowkey down
Tryna find something to laugh about, ah

Oh, ain’t it funny how
I seem fine but I’m depressed
I look so pretty but I’m a mess
I think I’m immune to happiness
Oh why?
Oh, ain’t it funny?
I wanna be brave, I’m terrified
To get myself dressed and go outside
I say I’m okay, I’m fine
All jokes aside
If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry, cry, cry
If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry, cry, cry, cry, cry

I don’t want no conversation
I’m not good around new people
I’d rather stick to what I know
And watch Malcolm in the Middle

Feeling lonely when I’m in a crowd
Treading water, trying not to drown
Tryna find something to laugh about, ah

If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry all night
If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry for the rest of my fucking life

ACTIVITY 2

Explore the significance of love in Lana Del Rey’s ‘Blue Jeans’.

How does the chosen theme ‘move’ the character/action this way or that?
How do the symbols within the text impact underline the significance of the theme?
How does our understanding of the context impact on our understanding of the theme’s significance?
What is the theme’s significance in terms of the broader lesson?

‘Blue Jeans’

Blue jeans, white shirt
Walked into the room you know you made my eyes burn
It was like James Dean for sure
You’re so fresh to death and sick as ca-cancer

You were sorta punk rock,
I grew up on hip-hop
But you fit me better
Than my favourite sweater,
And I know that love is mean,
And love hurts
But I still remember
That day we met in December,
Oh, baby!

I will love you ’til the end of time
I would wait a million years
Promise you’ll remember that you’re mine
Baby, can you see through the tears?
Love you more
Than those bitches before
Say you’ll remember, oh, baby, say you’ll remember, oh, baby, ooh
I will love you ’til the end of time

Big dreams, gangster
Said you had to leave to start your life over
I was like, “No please, stay here.
We don’t need no money we can make it all work.”

But he headed out on Sunday,
Said he’d come home Monday
I stayed up waitin’,
Anticipatin’, and pacin’
But he was chasing paper
“Caught up in the game.”
That was the last I heard

You went out every night
And, baby, that’s alright
I told you that no matter what you did I’d be by your side
‘Cause I’mma ride or die
Whether you fail or fly
Well, shit at least you tried.

But when you walked out that door,
A piece of me died
I told you I wanted more,
But that’s not what I had in mind
I just want it like before
We were dancing all night
Then they took you away,
Stole you out of my life
You just need to remember…

I will love you ’til the end of time
I would wait a million years
Promise you’ll remember that you’re mine
Baby, can you see through the tears?
Love you more
Than those bitches before
Say you’ll remember, oh baby, say you’ll remember, oh, baby, ooh
I will love you ’til the end of time

ACTIVITY 3

Explore the significance of change in YUNGBLUD’s/BLACK SABBATH’S ‘Changes’.

How does the chosen theme ‘move’ the character/action this way or that?
How do the symbols within the text impact underline the significance of the theme?
How does our understanding of the context impact on our understanding of the theme’s significance?
What is the theme’s significance in terms of the broader lesson?

‘Changes’

I feel unhappy
I feel so sad
I lost the best friend
That I ever had

She was my woman
I loved her so
But it’s too late now
I’ve let her go

I’m going through changes
I’m going through changes

We shared the years
We shared each day
In love together
We found a way

But soon the world
Had its evil way
My heart was blinded
Love went astray

I’m going through changes
I’m going through changes

It took so long
To realise
That I can still hear
Her last goodbyes

Now all my days
Are filled with tears
Wish I could go back
And change these years

I’m going through changes
I’m going through changes

ACTIVITY 4

Explore the significance of the past in Lorna Shore’s ‘Glenwood’.

How does the chosen theme ‘move’ the character/action this way or that?
How do the symbols within the text impact underline the significance of the theme?
How does our understanding of the context impact on our understanding of the theme’s significance?
What is the theme’s significance in terms of the broader lesson?

‘Glenwood’

Can we go back
Can we go back
Can we go back
To how it used to be
Can we go back
It’ll never be the same for me
Walking through memories
These fading photographs tell stories of another time
Forgotten elegies
These tinsel dreams paved the moments that made up my life

Where do they go? What do we seek?
As we grow older so do the trees
This aging oak never felt so cold
It rots within looking back on what could’ve been

The leaves begin to fall all around me

Take me home
This pain is all I know
I see your face in a broken home
We couldn’t see the forest lies within the trees
Where did it go
Where did it go

We can’t go back
To how it used to be
We can’t go back
It’ll never be the same for me
‘Cause things are different now
It’s not the same
All these empty rooms
Now only bring me pain
As it all turns to dust
We’re slowly taken by time
Let’s rewind

Where did it go? When did it leave?
You cut me down and I ran away
You were the tree from which I grew
I was the branch you never knew

Take me home
This pain is all I know
I see your face in a broken home
We couldn’t see the forest lies within the trees
Where did it go
Where did it go

Are we too far gone
From where we began
All the time we lost
The years we spent
Running away – we hide
I guess we could say our pride
Got in the way
We’ve been lost in the wrong moment

Take me home
This pain is all I know
I see your face in a broken home
We couldn’t see the forest lies within the trees
Where did it go
Where did it go

ACTIVITY 5

Explore the significance of money in Luke Bryan’s ‘Buy Dirt’.

How does the chosen theme ‘move’ the character/action this way or that?
How do the symbols within the text impact underline the significance of the theme?
How does our understanding of the context impact on our understanding of the theme’s significance?
What is the theme’s significance in terms of the broader lesson?

‘Buy Dirt’

A few days before he turned 80
He was sittin’ out back in a rocker
He said, “What you been up to lately?”
I told him, “Chasing a dollar”

And in between sips of coffee
He poured this wisdom out
Said, “If you want my two cents
On making a dollar count

Buy dirt
Find the one you can’t live without
Get a ring, let your knee hit the ground
Do what you love but call it work
And throw a little money in the plate at church

Send your prayers up and your roots down deep
Add a few limbs to your family tree
And watch their pencil marks
And the grass in the yard all grow up”

‘Cause the truth about it is
It all goes by real quick
You can’t buy happiness
But you can buy dirt

Before you get caught on that ladder
Let me tell you what it’s all about
Find you a few things that matter
That you can put a fence around
And then he laid it out

Buy dirt
Find the one you can’t live without
Get a ring, let your knee hit the ground
Do what you love but call it work
And throw a little money in the plate at church

Send your prayers up and your roots down deep
And add a few limbs to your family tree
And watch their pencil marks
And the grass in the yard all grow up

‘Cause the truth about it is
It all goes by real quick
You can’t buy happiness
But you can buy dirt

Yeah, you can buy dirt
And thank the good Lord for it
‘Cause He ain’t makin’ any more of it

So buy dirt
Find the one you can’t live without
Get a ring, let your knee hit the ground
Do what you love but call it work
And throw a little money in the plate at church

Send your prayers up and your roots down deep
Add a few limbs to your family tree
And watch their pencil marks
And the grass in the yard all grow up

‘Cause the truth about it is
It all goes by real quick
You can’t buy happiness
But you can buy dirt

Now, think about the significance of Gracie Abrams’ earrings!