Stereo Hearts Analysis Essay Sample

Introduction

In the Stereo Hearts, the poet's purpose is to express his genuine love to the recipient of the poem and convince her to love him through his use of metaphors comparing himself to music, as well as numerous other poetic devices.

Poetic Techniques in Stereo Hearts

The first stanza of the poem uses metaphors to compare the speaker to music. In the opening lines, Travis McCoy states, "My heart's a stereo/It beats for you..." (1-2). The first line starts the extended metaphor comparing the poet to a stereo/radio, which continues throughout the stanza, while the second line begins to communicate the love for the recipient and how he loves her. McCoy then urges the recipient to, "Make me your radio/turn me up when you feel low" (4-5) and sings "this melody was meant for you” (6). These lines expand and continue on the extended metaphor for this stanza, but they also aim to try to persuade the recipient to love him by elaborating on the fact how his love is genuine and he is there to support them.

In the next stanza, McCoy uses poetic devices such as metaphor and imagery to communicate his love and persuade the recipient to love him. He sings, "If I was just another dusty record on the shelf" (8) and also sings "I apologize for any skipping tracks/...the last girl that played me left a couple cracks/...now I'm over that/Cause holding grudges over love is ancient artifacts" (12-15). The first line of the stanza begins the extended metaphor of comparing the singer to a record; he then explains how even though he is hurt from his last breakup, he is over that and asks them to love him with his flaws This is a testament to his genuine love which is furthered when he sings "If I could only find a note to make you understand/I'd sing it softly in your ear and grab you by the hand" (17-18) as well as "my heart's a stereo that only plays for you" (19). These lines and the imagery used exemplify the singer's genuine love for the recipient by showing he only loves them and describes a tangible, real feeling to go along with the metaphor to communicate that his love is not just a series of empty words.

In the final two stanzas, the poet uses additional figurative language to attempt to persuade the recipient to love him and fully communicate his love. He first compares himself to an “old school, fifty pound boombox” (20) and asks if they would “hold me on your shoulder, wherever you walk/Would you turn my volume up.../And crank it higher every time they told you to stop” (21-23). The extended metaphor used in these lines attempts to urge the recipient to love him by staying together through thick and thin and really embrace him. The imagery used couples with the metaphor to develop a more powerful scenario in order to persuade them. In the final stanza, McCoy compares himself to “good music” (24) and asks that they “never leave me behind” (23), furthering the metaphor and trying to convince the recipient, but also sings. “I take your head and hold it closer to mine/Thought love was dead but now you’re changing my mind” (30-31). These lines contrast the figurative language with a real, tangible description of two people to show that his love is genuine, and the last line uses a personification to show that he thought he was done loving, but his feelings are so strong they are true.