Lyrical Literary Analysis Numb by Linkin Park

Lyrical Literary Analysis:

"Numb" by Linkin Park

Poems are more like songs than stories or books--read the whole thing and get an overall impression before you start analyzing it closely.

Read the whole poem

You don't listen to a song pausing to think about each piece of it measure by measure, line by line, note by note.

Listen to the whole song

Get the big picture first

Open Ended

What's your first impression of the song? Did you enjoy it? How did it make you feel? Write your answer in a few words. You don't have to use complete sentences.

1st Verse

I'm tired of being what you want me to be

Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface

Don't know what you're expecting of me

Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes

Multiple Choice

What kind of figurative language is used in this first verse?

• Idiom - an expression or saying, a cultural inside joke.

• Simile - a comparison using "like" or "as"

• Alliteration - rhyming with the starting sounds of words instead of the end

• Onomatopoeia - when the sound of the word is its literal meaning.

"walking in your shoes"

This idiom most often means to spend time trying to consider or understand another person's perspectives, experiences, or motivations. In some contexts, it can also mean to inherit the role of someone before you.

I'm becoming this

All I want to do

Is be more like me

And be less like you

I've become so numb

I can't feel you there

Become so tired

So much more aware

​

Chorus

Open Ended

What do you think the singer means when he says he's numb?

2nd Verse

Can't you see that you're smothering me

Holding too tightly, afraid to lose control?

'Cause everything that you thought I would be

Has fallen apart right in front of you

Bridge

And I know

I may end up failing too

But I know

You were just like me with someone

disappointed in you

Open Ended

Who do you think the singer is addressing in this song?