Entry 1.3 Poetry Symbolism

 "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin

There's a lady who's sure

All that glitters is gold
                And she's buying a stairway to heaven       
                               When she gets there she knows                          
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for

Ooh, ooh, And she's buying a stairway to heaven

There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook there's a songbird who sings       
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiving

Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it makes me wonder

There's a feeling I get When I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking.

Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it really makes me wonder

and it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune
then the piper will lead us to reason

And a new day will dawn for those who stand long

And the forests will echo with laughter

Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, ooh, whoa, oh

if there's a bustle in your hedgerow don’t be alarmed now

It's just a spring clean For the May queen
Yes, there are two paths you can go by but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on

And it makes me wonder Aw, uh, oh

Your head is humming and it won't go In case you don't know 

the piper's calling you to join him

Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow?
And did you know your stairway lies on the whispering wind?

(Solo)

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard the tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all To be a rock and not to roll

And she's buying a stairway To heaven...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9TGj2jrJk8

Led Zeppelin was a heavy metal rock band with a bluesy-rock sound that would often include mythology and mysticism undertones in most of their songs. The band members were Jimmy Page on guitar, John Paul Jones on bass guitar and keyboard, John Bonham on drums and Robert Plant on lead vocals. The band was started by Jimmy Page on September 1968, and ended with the drug overdose of John Bonham, on September of 1980. Led Zeppelin rarely gave interviews. So, the only connection with the fans was through the albums and concerts.

 In addition, there was speculations from critics and fans that the band was into the occult and Satanism. According to Rolling Stone Magazine “Plant believed in psychic phenomena, and Page, whose interest in the occult was well known, once resided in Boleskine House, the former home of infamous Satanist Aleister Crowley.”

Because the group had an obsession with mythology and the occult, I decided to analyze one of their biggest hits. The song was voted #3 on the VH1 list of “100 greatest rock songs of all time”. The song or I would call it more like a poem; “Stairway to Heaven” was released in 1971 from the band’s fourth album. Also, the song was rumored to have a hidden message; which made it more interesting to use because it had a better fit for our Supernatural theme english course. The alleged message can be heard if the song is played backward in a technique called backward masking. (I have included a link from Wikipedia)

"Stairway to Heaven" (section) 

In the Stanza:

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now,
It's just a spring clean for the May queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
there’s still time to change the road you're on.

If you play this bit backwards it says: "Stairway to Heaven" (section) (reversed)

Oh here's to my sweet Satan.
The one whose little path would make me sad.
Whose power is Satan?
He'll give you the 666.
There was a little tool shed where he made us suffer,
Sad Satan. 

The denotative meaning of words:

Glitter-sparking light

Sure-impossible to doubt/worthy

Lady-a well-mannered female with high standards

Buying-to acquire in exchange for money

Stores-a place where commodities are kept

Closed-blocked or barred to passage or entry

Word-a sound or a combination of sounds/promise/the bible

Sign-a posted notice bearing a direction or command

Tree-large woody perennial plant

Spirit-the soul as it is departing from the body of a person at death

Misgiving-doubtful/regret

Wonder-a feeling of puzzlement/arouses awe/far superior to anything formerly foreseen

West-the direction in which the sun sets

Crying-demanding attention/the process of shedding tears

Smoke-the cloud like gases of soot given off by something which is burning

Bustle-to move or cause to move energetically

Hedgerow-a row of bushes, shrubs or trees forming a hedge or a circle

May queen-a girl chosen especially for her beauty

Spring cleaning-refers to yearly act of cleaning/or organizing

Humming-persistent and invasive noise

The connotative meaning of the symbolism of the song:

Gold-fertility/highest stage in spiritual development/illuminating/sacred

Buying-to acquire by sacrifice/exchange or trade

Stairway-connection between heaven and earth/progress/ambition

Lady-spiritual guide/the Virgin Mary

Songbird-power to speak reflectively/human desire to escape gravity/linked to spring and dawn

Forest-magical places inhabited by gods/portals to supernatural worlds

Tree-ethereal; part of the earth and heaven

Brook-magic/fertility/baptism/give strength

West-dusk/death/ending

Smoke-covers the light or good/represents darkness or evil

Rings-supernatural strength with superhuman power over his fellows/eternity and life

Piper-pay the piper and call the tune to bear the cost of an undertaking/karma
Dawn-illumination and hope/a chance for happiness/awakening

Rock-eternal/divine/symbolize the immortal

My attempt to interpret:

There's a lady who's sure
All that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven           
When she gets there she knows                         
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for

The lady depicts Virgin Mary as a spiritual guide, she is holding a illuminating sparking light for those who want salvation. The stairway is the connection between heaven and earth (hell). She is buying or acquiring lost souls that have inner demons locked away. Even though the sign says doomed forever, she will not give up because she knows how to open the doors with the word (bible).

Ooh, ooh, And she's buying a stairway to heaven

There's a sign on the wall But she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have Two meanings
In a tree by the brook There's a songbird who sings      
Sometimes all of our thoughts are Misgiving

The sign on the wall is a direction one can take, sometimes words have two meanings (two different paths). The tree (is you) by the brook, which has branches in heaven and its root in hell. However, the river can give strength by washing the sins. The bird is singing the phases of God, because sometimes we may stray and have doubts (misgiving)

Ooh, it makes me wonder (confusion between Satan and God)
Ooh, it makes me wonder

There's a feeling I get When I look to the west
And my spirit is crying For leaving
In my thoughts I have seen Rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those Who stand looking.

When one looks to the west, he sees death and the ending of life. His soul is demanding direction, because he knows he has sinned. The ring of smoke is Satan beckoning for him to come in the direction of hell. The voices are doomed souls saying take a stand or be in hell until eternity, just like them, because they did not take the path of God.

Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh; it really makes me wonder (confusion on which path to take).

And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune
then the piper will lead us to reason

And a new day will dawn for those who stand long

And the forests will Echo with laughter

The piper is Satan he wants us to pay (with our soul) the piper is playing the tune of evil reasoning, he is whispering my way is better....... But, if we defy Satan , then we will be rewarded with a new day of light; There will be happiness and laughter because the portal to hell (forest) will close.

Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, ooh, whoa, oh

if there's a bustle in your hedgerow don’t be alarmed now

It's just a spring clean For the May queen
Yes, there are two paths you can go by but in the long run
there’s still time to change the road you're on

The May Queen is of inner beauty and a spiritual force that is acting on your life (hedgerow), So do not be afraid. The force will clean up your life and make you a “new person”; even if you have strayed many times, there is still time to make it better.  It is never too late to follow the right path of life.

And it makes me wonder Aw, uh, oh

Your head is humming and it won't go In case you don't know 

the piper's calling you to join him

Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow?
And did you know your stairway lies on the whispering wind?

Your mind has a persistent voice that is Satan’s (piper); he will not give up so easily, he wants you to join him in the fires of hell. Satan has engulfed the beginning of Virgin Mary’s stairway with his whispering wind, he is unrelenting on his pursuit to have you.

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard the tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all To be a rock and not to roll

And as we go on with our lives, we will sin again, sometimes our sins will be larger that our soul. But, in the end the lady (Virgin Mary or God) will seek you again, because she is forgiving. She will shine her light that will lead you to the stairway to heaven. Satan’s tune will finally end because you are the voice and the voice is you. And most important you are the rock, which has stopped rolling (death) and will rest in peace at last.

And she's buying a stairway to heaven...

I believe the song was inspired from the songwriter (Jimmy Page) Satanic beliefs, after all if one believes in Satan then they also in God and heaven. The overall theme of the song is positive and uplifting. Also, the song interprets the struggles one (Page) may face as they fight the inner demons. Finally, in the end don’t we all want to go to heaven or a place where we can Rest In Peace, even if we sinned...

Work cited

"Led Zeppelin." Biography. LoveToKnow, n.d. Web. 24 September 2010. <http://www.yourdictionary.com/biography/led-zeppelin>.

“Led Zeppelin” Biography.VH1.Web 24 September 2010 <http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/led_zeppelin/bio.jhtml

“Stairway to heaven” Wikipedia, Web, 25 September 2010      <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stairway_to_Heaven

“Led zeppelin” Artist, Rollingstone, Web, 28 September 2010  <http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/ledzeppelin/news/artists/8865/53294/53318

“Dictionary of symbolism” UMICH, Web, 28 September 2010 <http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/

Entry 1.2: "Internet Research"

Do you believe in magic? Ever since I was a little girl, I had a fascination with witches and witchcraft. It all started with the reruns of the sitcom “Bewitched”, the storyline was about a pretty young witch named Samantha that married a mortal. The ordinary man did not want Samantha to use witchcraft, however she did anyway. Every weekly episode would be a new situation for Samantha to somehow cause chaos in the mortal world of her husband’s.

Moreover, as I grew older I would often read fairy tales that always included an evil witch, such as, “Snow White”, “Rapunzel” and “Hansel and Gretel”.

Even to this day I am still fascinated with witches and their magic. For example, I often sit with my daughter Tabitha (named after a fictional character in “Bewitched”), and watch Disney’s “Wizard of Waverly Place” (I know it’s a kid’s show, but I cannot resist). Furthermore, a few years ago I went to Salem Massachusetts, www.salemweb.com instead of a material birthday gift from my husband. So, in light of my mini obsession, it makes perfect sense that I choose to do my internet research on Witches and Witchcraft.

The World Wide Web has thousands upon thousands of websites from around the world that have information about Witches and Witchcraft. Therefore, I had a hard time weeding out the ones I liked best.

To begin with, I believe the most useful and interesting website that I found for my research is http://www.witchcraft.com.au/ . The website information ranges from how to do witchcraft to the history of witchcraft. The most interesting to me is the origins of Witchcraft (also referred to Wicca or Paganism). I learned that Witchcraft is a religion that has been practiced for over 40,000 years in many societies and cultures. For instance, there was Egyptian, Medieval and Native American Witchcraft.

Additionally,as with most religions across the globe, Witchcraft is a way of life with a sense of balance, faith, and a belief in a higher purpose. Sometimes a religion can be an escape from the otherwise chaotic life.  Most religions in the world worship a god or gods. For instance, in the Catholic religion, we worship God (Jesus) and believe that our God is the creator of earth; whereas, in Witchcraft (Wicca) religion they worship a female Goddess, and a male God. Wiccans believe that the Goddess and God working together created the world. That belief sounds logical, because we need a female and a male to create life.

Furthermore, because witches have a deep faith in the power of nature, they would often “brew” raw items found on the earth, such as herbs, stones and bones. They would brew medicines to heal the sick and also to perform their rituals. Or were the Witches brewing a potion to cast a spell on someone?

Finally, that last sentence takes me to my other chosen website on my quest for knowledge of Witchcraft and Witches. Even though the first website had spells, I found http://www.spellsandmagic.com to be better targeted to spells and better organized with many spells to choose. According to the website, there are different types of magic. Such as, the white magic is used to heal, protect and to bless yourself or others, and is considered positive. While, black magic is of negative motives, such as, bringing about sickness, break-up love affairs and vengeance. The black magic is also called hexes or curses (remember the evil witches in the childhood fables). The gray magic is a white spell turned black. For example, you cast a spell for a married man or woman to love you (white). But, then a month later his wife/her husband die (black) and as a result, the spouse is free to love you.  “Even if you meant no harm, yet someone was harmed, you will have to except the Karmic responsibility!  What goes around comes around!” Witchcraft has a Wiccan rule: If a witch cast a spell, that spell cannot harm another person!

As a final point, my research gave me knowledge of the religion of Witchcraft, that is also called Wicca or Paganism. My research also gave me a glimpse of what it is to be a Witch and that most of them are not evil as I once thought. After all, isn’t there evil people in other religions as well. Also it gave me a better understanding of the importance of freedom of religion. But most essential it answered my question if I believe in magic. I do believe the mind can have a powerful force when mixed in with potions and spells. The magic is what you want to believe!

So, proceed with caution and enjoy the magic of the spells….http://www.spellsandmagic.com

Website cited: www.salemweb.com  for your information only.

                        http://www.witchcraft.com.au/ .

                        http://www.spellsandmagic.com

about me

I live in Ridgewood, Queens. My interests are traveling, creating art and just spending time with my husband and two children. I like LaGuardia Community College, because it is helping me reach my goal of becoming a nurse, at an affordable price. Furthermore, LaGuardia also offers many art courses; so, I can create my art.