The Sound of Silence

The Sound of Silence

By Paul Simon

Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone, narrow streets of cobblestone
Neath the halo of a streetlamp, I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light, split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw, ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never shared, and no one dared
To stir the sound of silence

Fool, said I, you do not know, silence, like a cancer, grows
Hear my words and I might teach you, take my arms then I might reach you
But my words, like silent raindrops fell, and echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they’d made
And the sign flashed its warning in the words that it was forming
And the sign said the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls, and whispered in the sounds of silence.

Summary of The Sound of Silence

• Popularity of “The Sound of Silence”: The poem, The Sound of Silence was written by Paul Simon, a flourishing American songwriter, singer, and poet. It is a lyrical poetic piece, which unfolds the writer’s unforgettable dream that left a permanent mark on his memory. It also sheds light on the materialistic approach of the modern man due to which he has lost spiritual seriousness. The poem is famous for exploring the concept of silence and how it affects human beings.
• “The Sound of Silence” As a Representative of Surprise: The poem revolves around the writer’s dream that left its seeds in his brain. It begins when he finds himself surrounded by darkness, walking in the streets under the light of a street lamp. While walking, he was dazzled by the flash of neon light. In that light, he saw ten thousand people involved in a meaningful activity. To his surprise, no one was talking or exchanging ideas by using his voice. Instead, they convey their thoughts via writing; they are writing songs although nobody was there to sing those songs. The speaker tries to inform them about the damages silence can cause to them. They chose to follow the directions of a neon God whose power is expressed in wall paintings instead of listening to him.
• Major Themes in “The Sound of Silence”: The significant themes spotted in the poem are the conflict between spiritual value, the impact of silence, and the power of writing. On a surface level, the poem describes the speaker’s dream that captivated his mind. However, it presents a horrific picture of the modern world doomed by the lack of spirituality on a deeper level. Through this simple text, the poet unveils the materialistic approach of modern man. Unfortunately, modern man has forgotten the true value of life. He is constantly running after physical luxury and material prosperity. The existence of multinational companies has further aided his mission. Through their commercial advertisement, these companies have barred people from attaining real peace.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The Sound of Silence

literary devices enable the writers to present their ideas distinctly. Simple texts become absorbing with appropriate use. The analysis of the devices used in this poem is as follows.

1. Apostrophe: The poem shows the use of an apostrophe such as “Hello, darkness…”.
2. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /ee/ and the /a/ in “People writing songs that voices never shared, and no one dared” and the sound of /ee/ in “Because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping”.
3. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /m/ in “maybe more” and /s/ sound in “sign said”.
4. Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. Paul Simon has repeated the words “And the” in the last stanza of the poem to emphasize the point, such as,

“And the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they’d made
And the sign flashed its warning in the words that it was forming
And the sign said the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls, and whispered in the sounds of silence.”

5. Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /n/ in “And the sign flashed its warning in the words that it was forming”.
6. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,

“Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains
Within the sound of silence.”

7. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “And the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains”, “Because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping” and “But my words, like silent raindrops fell, and echoed in the wells of silence.”
8. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows silence as an extended metaphor to show how it cast a deep shadow on one’s life.
9. Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of silence, suffering, and companionship just to show how silence speaks to the people.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Sound of Silence

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

1. Diction: The poem shows descriptive diction having rhetoric devices, symbolism, and impressive images.
2. Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free-verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
3. Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here, the first three stanzas are quatrains.

4. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. The poem contains four quatrains and one tercet.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines from the poem “The Sound of Silence” are useful to quote in a speech delivered on the power of silence.

“And in the naked light I saw, ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never shared, and no one dared
To stir the sound of silence”