Imagine

John Lennon is known worldwide for his fantastic rock and roll music that we all enjoy. Most of us don’t know that his work actually contains key components that are associated with romantic poetry! Some of his most popular songs contain all five major components of romantic poetry which are: the importance of imagination, a strong sense of emotion, an interest in the common man, the celebration of the individual, and an awe of nature.

Lennon celebrates the individual and

encourages everyone to "imagine."

“Imagine” is a very moving song by John Lennon that effectively encompasses the ideas of romantic poetry. Starting off, the title of the song is “Imagine,” which is already encouraging you to use your imagination to envision this new world that we can create. The song has lines such as “Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can. No need for greed or hunger, A brotherhood of man. Imagine all the people sharing all the world…” From this one stanza, we see an interest in the common man, the celebration of an individual, and a strong sense of feeling or emotion. It speaks to us as the common man and celebrates the individuals who can make a change in the world. He references the people a lot. This is exemplified in the lyrics, “and the world will be as one” and “imagine all the people living for today.” These quotes talk about everyone as a whole and their contribution to humanity. His work tends to have a strong tone that we can relate to by using the word “imagine.” It really made us think about the world and appreciate it for what it is. Instead of just an awe of nature, John Lennon is encouraging you to have an awe of the world. He suggests a world without cares, a world where everyone can appreciate the world in its fullness. His songs are very much like the romantic poetry that makes you feel a connection to the art.

As a whole, John Lennon’s songs tend to have down to earth, meaningful lyrics which have many similarities to the romantics from the 1800’s. His songs are very well known and appreciated around the world, but many don’t detect the significance of these lyrics. The strong emotions and reflection on the world in “Imagine “ makes it possible for us to compare John Lennon to the great romantic poets.