ANALYSIS - Imagine

The object of the present work is to analyse the song written by Jhon Lennon: "Imagine".

What the reader focuses the attention on after having read the song is the title, it’s very short indeed. The title is composed by a single world: "imagine". However, this single word creates a lot of images in reader’s mind, and arouses his or her curiosity. In fact, imagine works as a verb and means picturing and conceiving, nonetheless it can also indicate believing or thinking. Thus, the only reading of this suggestive title doesn’t creates a definite idea in the reader, who expects to find out it’s real meaning into the entire text, while reading and analysing.

Taking the layout into consideration, the song doesn’t seem to display a regular pattern: it’s written in free verse. Anyway, the reader may recognize that three of the five stanzas have the same number of lines, while the two remaining stanzas have both four lines. Moreover, in the three same stanza, which are all consisting in seven lines, the intelligent reader notices they end with a very short line, composed by a word only.

Now analysing the content of the poem, the speaking voice seems to be dialoguing to the listener or to the reader, indeed invites to imagine, to dream for a beautiful word. Furthermore, after a quick reading too, the reader may know the real meaning of the title, which can be interpret as believing.

Tackling the structure of the poem, the reader easily notices the last line of the three same-layout stanzas is (as already said) composed by a single world, that is a personal pronoun. Indeed, in the first septet the concluding line is "I", while in the two others it’s "You". This changing marks a development: before is I, and then it becomes you. Thus, the poet demonstrates to the reader or the listener that also he or she can change and grow as the speaking voice has done.

Another important element noticeable from reading, but also from layout, is the refrain present in the text. Besides the three septets, there are indeed two other stanzas, which are identical themselves. They are quatrains and can be distinguished each other with their last lines. There is indeed a difference due to the presence of "be" in the first stanza and "live" in the other.

In this case, as well as the pronouns of the song, there is the topic of developing: in a first time the people are together, but in a second moment this united condition of being becomes a living state. Therefore, the singer doesn’t want the people only to be together, whereas to create a society based on unity and on brotherhood. Thus all the poem conveys this message, that you don’t have only to imagine, whereas you have to imagine to change.

On the whole, the poem conveys the idea of a wonderful, probably utopian, world where everyone is next to the others human, with brotherhood and solidarity, but with no hierarchical society. People share everything, they are united even if they have no possessions, there aren’t any separating religions or purposes. There is no heaven or hell to die for. In the text is also quoted a sort of community formed by the poem and others, which makes the world better, but if the listener joins, he or she will make the world even more fantastic.

I think this fanciful thought of world is impossible to realize, because in my opinion there will be always someone (who can also be me) that doesn’t respect others or environment; however, the poet thinks there is a possibility, indeed he knows is difficult to imagine, but we can (and we have to) make all a try.

I mentioned environment, because this song is actual and forever it will be for any time it is sung, the humanity always has a problem and right now, for instance, it’s environment, even if there are many other problems. In fact, global warming is a big problem but not the only one. However, I’m led to think this song talks about racism and discriminations, on one hand because of the words in the poem, such as sharing and brotherhood, on the other hand for Jhon Lennon who wrote this song, indeed (if I’m not wrong) he became famous even because of his peaceful nature, he was considered similar to a hippy.

I really appreciate this song, on one side because it sounds good and it’s enjoyable, on the other since it is catchy even if it treats these hard thematic and I can recognize that Lennon wants and hopes to convey something with the song.