"The Sound of Silence"A Formalist Criticism
             I have chosen to analyze the 1664 hit by Paul Simon, "The Sound of Silence." This song is filled with symbolism and can be interpreted in many different ways. I believe that it is a commentary on the way that people fail to communicate and understand each other, not only between cultures, and not only words, but emotions as well.
             The song begins with the words "Hello darkness, my old friend/I've come to talk with you again." I feel that this is an indicator that the author is in a dark place, talking to, basically, nobody. I think that use of the word 'again' is indication that going to a dark place and talking about his concerns is something that the singer does frequently, when he needs to get something off his chest.
             The song continues, "Because a vision softly creeping/Left its seeds while I was sleeping/And the vision that was planted in my brain/Still remains/Within the sound of silence." I believe that in this, the singer is saying that this is a realization that came to him in a dream. I think that even though the realization came to him in a dream, it is very valid, and has caused the singer so much mental and emotional distress that he has come to talk it out in the darkness.
             The next stanza describes the dream that the singer had: "In restless dreams I walked alone/Narrow streets of cobblestone/'Neath the halo of a street lamp/I turn my collar to the cold and damp/When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light/That split the night/And touched the sound of silence." I think that in this stanza, the singer is setting the mood for the coming realization. He is walking down a street, when suddenly there is a bright flash of light. I feel that it is significant that the singer says that the light 'touched the sound of silence.' I think that throughout the song, the phrase '...