Firework Figurative Language

Music can mean many things to a lot of people. It can change your emotion in an instant. Most of that is due to the lyrics. Most of the time people will base their favorite song on how they can relate to the lyrics. When artists add figurative language to their songs it adds meaning and it makes the song easier to follow. One song with a lot of figurative language is "Firework" by Katy Perry. The song starts out with a simile. Katy sings, "Do you ever feel like a plastic bag drifting through the wind, wanting to start again? Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?". When she sings this she means at one point have you ever felt so fragile and thin? Have you ever wondered if you could just start over instead of crumbling and breaking down? With this simile it helps Katy get her point across and paint a picture into the listener's head with imagery. In the refrain Katy sings, "Baby, you're a firework. Come on, show 'em what you're worth. Make 'em go 'Oh, oh, oh' as you shoot across the sky-y-y". These sentences represent metaphors. A metaphor is a simile without like or as, so when Katy calls you a firework she doesn't literally mean you are a firework. By saying that she probably means that you are inspiring and beautiful to everyone around you, so you should let your true colors show. In the bridge the lyrics say "After a hurricane comes a rainbow. Maybe a reason why all the doors are closed so you could open one that leads you to the perfect road". In these couple of lines Katy is using symbolism. Although it may be true that a rainbow comes after a hurricane, in this case the hurricane represents bad times in life, and the rainbow is showing that the problem will get better. In the next sentence the door symbolizes opportunity or possibilities, and when those doors close she means that those opportunities are gone, but the one that you that is left is the one that will be perfect for you. Symbolism was a great choice of figurative language in this song. Many authors and music artists use figurative language to creatively get their point across and engage the reader/listener. I'm glad that they do this because it makes the lyrics memorable and adds meaning. Katy's inspiring song "Firework" has been brought alive by figurative language, and it wouldn't be the same without it.