Alyssa Pfaus
ENG 2150
Rhetorical Analysis Project #1
Three Questions
What was it like to love him? Asked Gratitude.
It was like being exhumed, I answered. And
brought to life in a flash of brilliance.
What was it like to be loved in return? Asked Joy.
It was like being seen after a perpetual darkness, I
replied. To be heard after a lifetime of silence.
What was it like to lose him? Asked Sorrow.
There was a long pause before I responded:
It was like hearing every goodbye ever said to
me- said all at once.
-Lang Leav
Lang Leav, a poet and novelist based in New Zealand, has written six bestselling books since 2013. The poem above, “Three Questions”, is from her first book of poetry, “Love and Misadventures”. Throughout all five of Leav’s poetry books and her newly released novel, she has largely focused on the feelings of love, heartbreak, and sadness. She has become a millennial internet sensation, known as “The Girl Who Cries Wolf” on blogging platform Tumblr. Leav is also immensely popular on Instagram and Twitter. In 2014, celebrity Khloe Kardashian posted one of Leav’s poems entitled “Closure” on her private social media. This shot Leav even further into stardom by having her work exposed to Kardashian’s audience.
Lang Leav grew up surrounded by heartbreak and struggle. Due to the Khmer Rouge Regime, her Cambodian-native parents were forced to evacuate their home country when Lang’s mother was far along in her pregnancy, resulting in Lang being born in a Thai refugee camp. She lived her first eleven months within the camp before her family was able to relocate to Australia. Lang’s childhood was full of rough transitions and unending loss, which in turn created a beautiful and haunting backdrop for her future artistic endeavors.
In “Three Questions”, Lang creates a dialogue of a girl and her emotions after a traumatic breakup. The girl is entertaining an inner conversation with three characters, who share the names with strong emotions felt throughout a romantic relationship. The message of this text is the reflection of the three stages of a relationship- outpoured love, received love, and loss. The poem is designed to represent the chronological order that these stages were experienced. The purpose is to break down the relationship and examine its lifecycle.
What was it like to love him? Asked Gratitude.
It was like being exhumed, I answered. And
brought to life in a flash of brilliance.
In the first segment of “Three Questions”, Leav explores the beautiful phase of the relationship when love is fresh and fulfilling. Leav uses dramatic language such as “exhumed” to paint a picture of how the girl in this relationship was pulled out of the ground by the love she felt for her significant other. By stating her love towards this man brought her to life “in a flash of brilliance” implies that she led a life of no significance before his existence. The character asking the question here is Gratitude, leading one to believe that the girl was nothing but grateful for the newfound love she was finally allowed to give. Loving this man became her purpose in life.
What was it like to be loved in return? Asked Joy.
It was like being seen after a perpetual darkness, I
replied. To be heard after a lifetime of silence.
Next, the girl is questioned by a character known as Joy about what it felt to be the recipient of the man’s love. The girl responds by explaining that this love was the first validation she had felt in life, the first time she felt seen or heard. The power of this love was the first relief of darkness and silence she had ever been privy to.
What was it like to lose him? Asked Sorrow.
There was a long pause before I responded:
It was like hearing every goodbye ever said to
me- said all at once.
Finally, the character of Sorrow makes an appearance, asking “What was it like to lose him?”. The girl answers in the most heartbreaking response of all that the loss of this love felt like “hearing every goodbye ever said” to her “said all at once”. This puts the reader into perspective of just how powerful and catastrophic this loss was. Every single instance of loss the girl had experienced in her life was catapulted into one when the man she loved faded away. Nothing in her life could ever amount to the devastation this loss brought.
Lang breaks down the acquisition and loss of love in a way that no other can. Not only does she poetically convey raw human emotion, but she threads beauty into even the darkest of thoughts. She uses pathos within almost all of her poetry to reach her readers on an emotional level. Her poetry is undeniably relatable to many, especially young female readers. This helps to explain her immense worldwide success.
Lang’s work resonates with readers in every country, which cannot be said about many writers. Lang has the rare ability to persuade her audience’s feelings and it has been expressed by many that Lang’s writing has helped individuals process and work through depression. Human beings worldwide naturally experience times of heartbreak and sadness, and Lang sheds a light on the fact that these feelings are not exclusive or abnormal. It is okay not to be okay.
<u>Works Cited</u>
“About.” Langleav, http://www.langleav.com/about.
Leav, Lang. Love & Misadventure. Andrews McMeel Pub., LLC, 2013.
Mangla, Ismat Sarah. “Khloe Kardashian Posts Cryptic Poem About Closure On Lamar Odom’s Birthday.” International Business Times, 7 Nov. 2014, http://www.ibtimes.com/khloe-kardashian-posts-cryptic-poem-about-closure-lamar-odoms-birthday-1721041.
Ravindranathan, Shreeja. “Lang Leav: the Most Famous Poet You’ve Never Heard Of.” Friday Magazine, 16 Nov. 2017, fridaymagazine.ae/life-culture/people-profiles/lang-leav-the-most-famous-poet-you-ve-never-heard-of-1.2123631.
.
