Visual Perspective English

Intro

For our second Narrative Unit, we were tasked with creating a Lyrical Essay. A lyrical essay is a literary hybrid of different elements including poetry, essay, and memoir. This is based don’t a class Mr. Greco took at Stanford which was inspired by the award-winning The American Lyric.

This project was pretty straightforward as we conducted our own research and Mr. Greco our English teacher was on paternal leave. In doing this I believe the point was not only to give us the space for artistic liberty but to further explore our skills as visual and auditory composers

Like with most projects at Freestyle, I focused on channeling the energy coursing in my life to inspire me. When we started off writing our lyrical essays by writing poetry, I knew it was the opportunity to study myself. My own behavior. To wrap my head around emotions and fears I myself couldn’t explain. In theory, the pink on this page makes it seem light-hearted. However, my topic is self-destructive behavior, hence the pink to balance it out.

Research Subject Poem

“A Glittering Truth“

By Miranda Hernandez 

At night I roam-
I am at an impasse with my mind. 
 
It no longer seeks to dig its one grave, but to wash itself of you. Of our sins.
 
-You’d love to know you’re my worst enemy.
 
When you lit the way on my darkened path, I didn’t think I’d become the moth, 
burning so close. To follow so blindly. 
 
When I looked back down, I was too high to be safe again. 

Too high on Whatever to notice I was in error. 
 
Ever the Clever- how I am fooled. Whenever you speak so beautifully.

For your tricks, I must pay.
After all, I could never say no.
Creation gave me power I never knew I could have.

Too bad Whatever made everything feel so good,
that I never knew stone could be so cold.

Drowning in seas of regret,
How I reminiscence that days I knew nothing
Of Power highs. Maybe everything would not be set on fire,
or cold as ice.


In the dead of the winter night,
perfection was never the enemy.
It was always you.
Destruction,
My heart.

Lyrical Essay Project

” Half Awakened Truth”

By Miranda Hernandez

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Lyrical Essay Citations

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Lyrical Essay Intention Statement 

“A Half-Awakened Truth” is a lyrical essay about my personal history with self-destructive behavior. I strive to create acknowledgment of this type of behavior. Early on I wanted to introduce the reader to my innermost thoughts. For the most part of my life, they are thoughts I have unconsciously developed and never learned to recognize or process healthily. That is the reason why I chose to write this lyrical essay in 1st person. I wanted to make sure the reader knew how I relished my self-destructive behavior moreover slowly reveal hints on why I did so.  

In the beginning, I used similes and rhetorical questions to depict cynicism. Through rhetorical questions, it becomes clear that hopelessness is the cause for it. As the realization occurs I use metaphors and repetition as I seek to emphasize how failure and the unknown self-satisfaction with destructive behavior. It reminds the speaker that they have driven down this path due to the lack of praise and inattention when they were doing well. Yet, as the speaker begins to make mistakes, the speaker begins to feel overwhelming pressure from expectations highlighted more than ever.  It also reveals my disillusion with the world by revealing my fears and dissatisfaction. My research sources were particularly helpful in determining the root causes of certain behaviors. This helped me to more objectively identify and reflect on what areas I need to improve on and work on. My other research sources were sources I could relate to and could gain inspiration from.

During peer review, my readers enjoyed my chosen topic and my use of emotion in my writing. My peers suggested that I should expand on my use of imagery. I did this by juxtaposing the hopelessness of drowning with the freedom of flying. I was inspired by David Foster Wallace’s creative use of footnotes in “Consider the Lobster.”  I realized footnotes could also hold humor and opinions. I emulated him in my own footnotes by adding tidbits of dawning realizations that provided a starting point for change. This was inspired by a suggestion that involved creating two different worlds. I modified it in my writing to instead depict emotions that begin to recognize that further work is needed to grow as a person.

Furthermore, I believe that once I have had more time to reflect, I might be able to provide an answer to the questions I have posed. Especially since some questions, I have answers to, while others situations I still need time to heal and reflect on with greater maturity. Consequently, I arranged my text to form a half-circle from start to finish to imply a circular cycle like that of life, specifically one that is yet incomplete. In other words, my truth-seeking has still to continue. In the future, I hope to come full circle and write a response to myself in the future.

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