Lit Life Skills: Expression of Emotions Through Songs, Poetry, and Literature
Contributed by Speak Up for Kids Student Intern Team — This article was developed through the combined efforts of multiple student interns, each bringing unique skills and perspectives to support life skills education for foster youth.
Life is a roller coaster of emotions. Ranging from the highs of joy to the lows of grief, varying feelings are all a part of being human. As humans, we also experience varying mental health challenges in life. While experiencing such emotions and mental health challenges, it is important that we feel able to freely express them. There are many ways to express emotions and mental health, including through music, poetry, and literature.
Writing is something many people use to cope with their feelings and mental health. For instance, we hear this every day in music. All of our favorite artists, including Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Chappell Roan, Lana Del Rey, Olivia Rodrigo, Adele, and Benson Boone, each write about their experiences and feelings in their different songs.
Poets also find poetry as a way to convey their emotions. Whether containing a strict rhyme scheme, a sonnet, or a spoken word style, poetry is a creative outlet for many. Hundreds of thousands of poems exist, each portraying a unique emotion coming from the poet’s personal experiences. An example of a well-known poet who used his poetry to convey his emotions and experiences in an abstract way is Edgar Allen Poe.
Authors also use literature to express emotions. A well-written book can make you laugh, cry, or even both. Readers are able to connect with the character more and find the story more realistic through the infusion of emotions.
Sadness
Sadness, an overwhelming feeling of sorrow that can range from just feeling down to the depths of grief. No matter the degree, everyone experiences these lows. The following song, poem, and book beautifully demonstrate this excruciating feeling.
Song Example:
Lovely by Billie Eilish & Khalid
This song, which was featured on the official soundtrack of the mental health-based show 13 Reasons Why, describes the constant low that comes with depression, a sorrow that feels never-ending. The lyrics “Oh, I hope some day I'll make it out of here/Even if it takes all night or a hundred years/Need a place to hide, but I can't find one near/Wanna feel alive, outside I can't fight my fear” depict how those who struggle with depression want to get out of the cycle of these dark feelings and want to be able to live without being held down their mental illness.
Poem Example:
Spring & Fall by Gerard Manley Hopkins
In this short poem, Margaret, a young girl, grieves over falling leaves, the narrator mentioning that this is part of being human, and she will continue to grieve as this gets over. Hopkins eloquently depicts how morality and grief are a part of living through the lines “Ah! ás the heart grows older/It will come to such sights colder.” This shows how the older you get, the more sorrow you will experience, a symptom of the human experience.
Book Example:
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Fault in Our Stars follows the story of two teens with cancer, Augustus and Hazel, and their developing and complex relationship. This book is known for being a heart-wrenching and emotional story. It is an excellent example of how sadness can be conveyed through literature.
Happiness
Happiness, an emotion that feels like a warm ray of sunshine. This contagious sense of joy can light up a whole room, spreading positivity to others. This song, poem, and book highlight the beauty in the highs of life, which make it worth living.
Song Example:
So American by Olivia Rodrigo
In this song, Olivia Rodrigo describes the bliss she feels due to her boyfriend, Louis Partridge, who is English. The lyrics “Drivin' on the right-side road/He says I'm pretty wearin' his clothes/ And he's got hands that make hell seem cold/ Feet on the dashboard, he's like a poem I wish I wrote” make references to her boyfriend’s nationality and depict how joyous he makes her feel.
Poem Example:
The Flower at My Window by Lucian B. Watkins
In this poem, Watkins describes the sense of joy he experiences due a flower in full bloom that is at his window. The lines “Nature has so clothed it in such glorious array,/And it does so cheer our home, and hearts illume;/Its dear mem’ry I will cherish though the flower fade away—” demonstrate how joy can come from the small things, like nature providing the narrator with bliss.
Book Example:
The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin
The Music of Bees is a joyous and happy story about three strangers, Alice, Jace, and Harry, who come together and find healing on a honeybee farm. This story explores the complex relationship between people and speaks about themes such as finding hope in others.
Fear/Anxiety
Fear is a feeling of impending doom or trouble, anxiety being an extreme form of it, characterized by excessive worry. These uncontrollable feelings can be scary, and the following works of media provide relatable accounts of these experiences.
Song Example:
Overwhelmed by Royal and the Serpent
In this song, the narrator describes their experience with anxiety, feeling overwhelmed by their thoughts. The lines “I get overwhelmed so easily/My anxiety creeps inside of me/Makes it hard to breathe/What's come over me?/Feels like I'm somebody else” describe how excruciating panic attacks are and how debilitating anxiety can be.
Poem Example:
To be or not to be by William Shakespeare (speech)
To be or not to be goes into Hamlet's thought process about the themes of life, death and mortality. This poem is written in a way that radiates anxiety throughout the readers. It touches on emotions and thoughts that every single person has faced at least once in their life.
Book Example:
Turtles all the way down by John Green
“Turtles All the Way Down” is a book written by John Green that follows the main character Aza’s challenges with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and anxiety. It dives into her feelings and experiences while navigating OCD and anxiety. It also shows her progression in dealing with it. It educates readers about the often misrepresented issue about OCD and anxiety while inspiring them, showing Aza’s overall progression despite still struggling with her mental health.
Anger
Anger, an overwhelming negative feeling. Sometimes this may come when you are feeling a little bit stressed or overwhelmed, but there is no need to stop yourself from feeling this way; learning to navigate it in order to not harm others is incredibly important to navigating this tough emotion.
Song Example:
Bad Blood by Taylor Swift
In this song, Taylor Swift discusses the anger she feels towards a friend who betrayed her. She conveys this through lines like “Did you think we'd be fine?/Still got scars on my back from your knife/So don't think it's in the past/These kinda wounds, they last and they last” These lines display the fury that Swift feels towards that friend, getting stabbed in the back from someone she thought she could trust.
Poem Example:
I am angry, by Michael Rosen
I am angry that Michael Rosen wrote a short poem about a cat who is having a bad day. While this book is a bit goofy, it is also great at conveying the feeling of anger and frustration.
Book Example:
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Moby Dick by Herman Melville follows the story of Captain Ahab and his journey to get revenge on a whale who took his leg. This story follows the themes of mania and revenge.
Final Thoughts
Writing is a fun and healthy way for people to express their emotions. Whether it is through song-writing, books, poems, etc., writing is a tool many people use to express emotions and talk about experiences. We see this in everyday life in the songs we listen to, the poems we read, and the books we read. Emotions are best represented through creativity and anyone can let them out through writing.
