Cats in the Cradle Poetry Essay chose this song as my poem for my project because I felt Like the story that it tells Is common in today’s society. I liked this song because although it is sad, it has an upbeat and very catchy chorus that has deeper meaning. With many songs of today, they sacrifice deeper meaning for catchy lyrics that don’t really mean anything. I think this song Is about a man that has a son but Is very busy with work and never has time for the son. The son keeps on saying that he is going to be just like his father ND as he gets older, the son begins to have no time for his dad.
This is a very sad song but I enjoyed that Harry Chapin was able to tell this story in such a creative way. Harry Chapin uses multiple literary devices In the song “Cats In the Cradle”. One literary device would be foreshadowing. Foreshadowing Is used when the little boy says, “I’m goanna be like you dad, you know I’m goanna be like you”. In the end of the song the son is always too busy to spend time with his dad just like the dad was too busy to spend time with the son. Foreshadowing Is used when the son told the dad that he’s going to be the same as him.
In the end this comes true. A second literary device that Chapin used was symbolism, when Chapin says, “Little boy blue and the man on the moon” he is using symbolism to refer to the son and the dad. These two symbols have multiple meanings. The little boy blue is the son and the little boy blue comes from an old nursery rhyme. In the nursery rhyme Is says little boy blue come blow your horn. I find that the son asking his dad to spend time with him is the little ay blue blowing his horn and trying to get attention.
The father is seen as the man on the moon. I believe that the father is symbolized as the man on the moon because he is constantly traveling and never has time to spend with his son. Astronauts are gone from their fearfulness for months at a time and this Is how I find Harry Chaplin relates the dad’s constant business trips to. This song tells of a father and son who can’t schedule time to be with each other, and it’s a warning against putting your career before your own family. The verses tell a story of a father with his newborn son.
Although the dad gets the necessities of raising a child accomplished, he doesn’t allow himself to put in quality time with his son because of his career. This seems like no big deal because of his life working and paying bills. Over time, both father and son change roles. The father realizes his son’s ambitions and goals of college, grades, and driving and wants to spend more time with him. But realizes that now his son has no time for him. In the last verse, the son is all grown up with a job and kids f his own. We see that the son has no time to spend with his father.
Sadly, dad realizes that his boy has become Just like him. This song is based on a poem that Hardy’s wife Sandy wrote. Harry Introduced the song at all his concerts and said, ‘This is a song my wife wrote to zap me because I wasn’t home when our son Josh was born. It took the birth of his son for Harry Chapin to decide to turn the poem into a song. Harry Chapin poetry essay By Suitability’s I chose this song as my poem for my project because I felt like the story that it tells is his song is about a man that has a son but is very busy with work and never has time for the son.
The son keeps on saying that he is going to be Just like his father Harry Chapin uses multiple literary devices in the song “Cats in the Cradle”. One literary device would be foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is used when the little boy song the son is always too busy to spend time with his dad Just like the dad was too busy to spend time with the son. Foreshadowing is used when the son told the dad comes from an old nursery rhyme.
