Caleb Velasquez

English Gate 1
Ms.Shaffer Period 3
23 October 2016

Poem Analysis:
1. Pick one of the following
2. Copy and paste the lyrics below:
songs:
"Stitches"
Stitches by Shawn Mendes
I thought that I'd been hurt before
Skyscraper by Demi
But no one's ever left me quite this sore
Your words cut deeper than a knife
Lovato
Now I need someone to breathe me back to
Wings by Macklemore
life
Got a feeling that I'm going under
But I know that I'll make it out alive
If I quit calling you my lover
Move on
You watch me bleed until I can't breathe
Shaking, falling onto my knees
And now that I'm without your kisses
I'll be needing stitches
Tripping over myself
Aching, begging you to come help
And now that I'm without your kisses
I'll be needing stitches
Just like a moth drawn to a flame
Oh, you lured me in, I couldn't sense the
pain
Your bitter heart cold to the touch
Now I'm gonna reap what I sow
I'm left seeing red on my own
Got a feeling that I'm going under
But I know that I'll make it out alive
If I quit calling you my lover
Move on
You watch me bleed until I can't breathe
Shaking, falling onto my knees
And now that I'm without your kisses
I'll be needing stitches
Tripping over myself,
Aching, begging you to come help
And now that I'm without your kisses
I'll be needing stitches
[x3:]
Needle and the thread,
Gotta get you out of my head

Caleb Velasquez
English Gate 1
Ms.Shaffer Period 3
23 October 2016
Needle and the thread,
Gonna wind up dead
Needle and the thread,
Gotta get you out of my head, get you out
of my head
You watch me bleed until I can't breathe
Shaking, falling onto my knees (falling on
my knees)
And now that I'm without your kisses
I'll be needing stitches (and I'll be needing
stitches)
Tripping over myself,
Aching, begging you to come help
(begging, "Baby, please.")
And now that I'm without your kisses
I'll be needing stitches
(And now that)
I'm without your kisses
I'll be needing stitches
(And now that)
I'm without your kisses
I'll be needing stitches

Questions

3. Describe the structure of the poem

(How many lines are there? How
many stanzas? What is the rhyme
scheme?)
4. Who is the intended audience?
5. Describe what the speaker is like.
6. What is the name of the poet?
7. What is the poems rhyme scheme?
8. Does the poet use alliteration? If
so, give an example.
9. Does the poet use consonance? If
so, give an example.
10. Does the poet use assonance? If
so, give an example.
11. Does the song use diction with
positive or negative connotations?
Give some examples.
12. What kind of tone does the author
use? Give an example of a line

Answers
Use complete sentences!

3. In the song that is a poem, there are

10 stanzas consisting of 53 lines in all.
The rhyme scheme varies throughout the
song with AABB, XXXX, and CCDDXXEE
in the first 3 stanzas. Overall, the words
kisses and stitches are rhymed
together numerous times in every other
stanza and allow the poem to flow
smoothly.
4. The intended audience is mostly teens
who are going through problems because
it is common for many teens to go
through break-ups or stress due to
problems like the ones brought up in the
song and teenagers would be able to
connect on more personal levels.

Caleb Velasquez
English Gate 1
Ms.Shaffer Period 3
23 October 2016

that illustrates this tone.

13. What kind of mood do you feel as
a reader? Give an example of a
line that illustrates this mood.
14. What is a theme that you noticed
in the poem? Use evidence to
support your theme.

5. The speaker is telling the story of how

his breakup left him in devastation, and
now is slowly recovering. From what is
expressed in the song, the speaker is in a
feeling of betrayal and deception. In
reality, the speaker is a Canadian
singer-songwriter who is only 18 years
old.
6. The name of the poet is Shawn
Mendes.
7. At the end of every other stanza, there
are verses that end with the word kisses
for one and stitches for the other. The
rhyme scheme consists of AABB, XXXX,
and CCDDXXEE throughout the song
because a few stanzas are repeated.
8. From my understanding, there is no
alliteration used by the author and
instead there is plenty of repetition of
verses.
9. After reading the lyrics numerous
times, I could not find the use of
consonance by the author.
10. No, there is no assonance used and
instead words often rhyme due to the
vowels, but in this case there are none
present in a sequence of the same verse.
11. In the song, the diction used sets
somewhat negative connotations. Some
examples are Gonna wind up dead and
You watch me bleed until I cant breathe
which both have eerie feelings associated
with pain and agony.
12. After reading the lyrics, I can sense
that the author expressed heartache and
anguish. An example of the heartache
expressed by the author is ...Ill make it

Caleb Velasquez
English Gate 1
Ms.Shaffer Period 3
23 October 2016

out alive If I quit calling you my lover.

With these words, the author sets up
readers to feel the attitude of sorrow by
mentioning that in order to stay alive, he
must sacrifice/let go of something that he
one treasured and loved.
13. After reading and listening to the
song, I was transported to an atmosphere
where I felt remorseful for the pain that
the speaker is going through. In the song,
it states Your words cut deeper than a
knife and Just like a moth drawn to a
flame... Oh you lured me in, I couldnt
sense the pain. Both verses from the
song give connotations linked with
suffering which causes me to feel sorry
for the speaker.
14. The theme of the song is that even
though life hurls obstacles your way and
is like a rollercoaster with ups and downs,
there are ways to find comfort while in the
midst of despair. Shawn Mendes
constant mentioning of stitches symbolize
that the problems that tore apart his heart
are being eliminated and his heart is
beginning to be repaired/comforted.