Hands Held High Rhetorical Analysis
Kendall Fischlein
Com. 225
April 5, 2015
Professor Von Burg
Hands Held High Rhetorical Analysis The song Hands Held High was written and sung by Mike Shinoda, the figurehead of the well renowned band, Linkin Park. The song belongs to the album “Minutes to Midnight”, which was released in 2007, however, this particular song had a different theme to their regular music style; for the first time, Linkin Park released a politically charged/themed song. Shinoda was angry with President George Bush’s ultimate decision for the United States declaring war with Iraq. The title in itself could be a reference to the hands held high in the air of the surrendering people and/or soldiers symbolizing faith by praying to God for better days. It could also be perceived to symbolize protest and the hostile, aggressive, attitude toward war, symbolizing the soldiers fighting for their country's freedom. This song contains several literary elements such as, imagery, irony, and personification, along with the usage of polysemy to make the lyrics come to life and add more depth. The prominent argument of the entire song is that nothing beneficial comes from war, and ultimately the poor are the ones who have the lower hand, suffering and struggling more than any other social class when war is waged. This is supported by the lyrics, “when the rich wage war it’s the poor who die” (Shinoda, 2007). The lyrics of this song have a strong, impactful connotation to them that compel us to speak up and make a difference- a call to action. Hands Held High has three major tropes, or literary devices, that stood out to me in particular during the song. The first, and most effective trope is imagery. From the first line of lyrics in the song, Shinoda wants to grab our attention in a way that allows us to feel a sense of support toward his strong, ambitious perspective of the topic: war. The song begins with, “Turn my mic up louder I got to say somethin” (Shinoda, 2007). Now that Shinoda has caught
Com. 225
April 5, 2015
Professor Von Burg
Hands Held High Rhetorical Analysis The song Hands Held High was written and sung by Mike Shinoda, the figurehead of the well renowned band, Linkin Park. The song belongs to the album “Minutes to Midnight”, which was released in 2007, however, this particular song had a different theme to their regular music style; for the first time, Linkin Park released a politically charged/themed song. Shinoda was angry with President George Bush’s ultimate decision for the United States declaring war with Iraq. The title in itself could be a reference to the hands held high in the air of the surrendering people and/or soldiers symbolizing faith by praying to God for better days. It could also be perceived to symbolize protest and the hostile, aggressive, attitude toward war, symbolizing the soldiers fighting for their country's freedom. This song contains several literary elements such as, imagery, irony, and personification, along with the usage of polysemy to make the lyrics come to life and add more depth. The prominent argument of the entire song is that nothing beneficial comes from war, and ultimately the poor are the ones who have the lower hand, suffering and struggling more than any other social class when war is waged. This is supported by the lyrics, “when the rich wage war it’s the poor who die” (Shinoda, 2007). The lyrics of this song have a strong, impactful connotation to them that compel us to speak up and make a difference- a call to action. Hands Held High has three major tropes, or literary devices, that stood out to me in particular during the song. The first, and most effective trope is imagery. From the first line of lyrics in the song, Shinoda wants to grab our attention in a way that allows us to feel a sense of support toward his strong, ambitious perspective of the topic: war. The song begins with, “Turn my mic up louder I got to say somethin” (Shinoda, 2007). Now that Shinoda has caught