Hotel California Poem Literary Devices

In “Hotel California,” there are two original composers. Donald Hugh Henley and Glenn Lewis Frey. Don Henley was born and raised as an American in Linden, Texas. He attended University of North Texas for three semesters (“Don”). Glenn Frey was born and raised as an American in Detroit, Michigan. He attended Oakland Community College where he got involved with a band (“Glenn”). Henley wrote most of the lyrics based on Frey’s ideas. He sought inspiration for the writing by driving out into the desert used for films. The Beverly Hills Hotel, in which they were staying, had become literally and symbolically important point of their lives. The lyrics state “her mind is tiffany twisted, she's got the mercedes bends. She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys that she calls friends” Henley formed those lyrics based off of a breakup with his ex-girlfriend, Loree Rodkin.
The very first lines of the song sets the whole setting by using imagery. It not only uses visual imagery when it says “On a dark desert highway,” but also imagery that applies to the sense of smell when the singer says “warm smell of colitas,” (another
When the artist states “This could be Heaven or this could be Hell,” that is a paradox. Reasons being, no one knows for sure if Heaven or Hell exists, so how could anyone know what it’s like. Especially without being there themselves and going through the experience. When Henley wrote that “her mind is tiffany-twisted,” it’s an allusion to Tiffany and Co, which is a high end and expensive brand. This line implies that the woman the singer is speaking of is easily controlled and gets lost in expenses and power. The lyric “We are all just prisoners here, of our own device” is a paradox because it contradicts itself. A prisoner is someone who is forced into a cell by the law, but here the singer is speaking of how their materialistic beliefs keep them