Analysis of "The Rose That Grew From the Concrete" by Tupac Shakur (Essay Sample)

The iconic rapper in the 90s was Tupac. He was well known for his play on words. He was eloquent with his words and used his words to impact those around him. His goal was to open the eyes of people about the violence in the black communities. The poem “The Rose That Grew From the Concrete” was to encourage those to be excelling and rise above all their hardships in life. The author uses symbolism, no rhythm to advance the subject, and no matter what obstacles you have, you can still prevail in poetry. 

No matter what your circumstances happen you can still overcome the obstacles is the theme of this poem. A rose appeared implanted in the ground under a slab of concrete.  Even though there was a concrete layer present over the rose, it still managed to sprout through the hard and solid paste. Tupac states, “learned to walk without having feet. Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams, it learned to breathe fresh air.”(Shakur, 1999, p.1).  When he states this, he is telling his audience never to give up. The “rose” had situations get in its way and had everything oppose it, but still managed to become something exquisite.  

The times, Tupac talks about this rose, it signifies him growing up as an African American in a big city with the confrontation of violence. As well, it can also symbolize people that have challenges in their life. He uses roses to create a story, mostly his story.  Growing up in callous circumstances than most people, he had difficulties. With the difficulties Tupac encountered such as the violence, hardships, and issues, he did not let it get in his way. He became an iconic rapper, and like a rose sprouting in concrete, he conquered everything.

In the poem, there was no rhyme scheme, as Tupac became known for using a free verse approach when he was concocting his literary work. His way with words was to invoke an imperishable impact rather than creating a rhyme in the poem. An example would be, “Long live the rose that grew from concrete”(Shakur, 1999, p.1). This line has no rhyme scheme, and throughout the poem it was similar. Not having a rhyme scheme allowed readers to refine their ability to cultivate an image. The absence of rhyme allowed Tupac's emotion to seep through and permitted the reader to resonate with the other.

If Tupac never suffered the circumstances of hardship, this poem or all the messages he fabricated throughout his life would have never come about. His main goal throughout this poem was to try to express himself by using symbolism through the rose. Free verse was his style; it's what he knows; it allowed him to express himself strongly. Sadly, because of his past caught up to him and resulted in his demise. Still, to this day, Tupac's word continues to spread to hopefully make an impact on those that have “concrete” over them.