Need help with my commentary (on a poem)

There are different versions, here is the version i'm using:



I get no kick from champagne
Mere alcohol doesnt thrill me at all
So tell me why should it be true
That I get a kick out of you

Some like the perfume from spain
Im sure that if I took even one sniff
It would bore me terrifically too
But I get a kick out of you

I get a kick every time I see you standing there before me
I get a kick though its clear to see, you obviously do not adore me

I get no kick in a plane
Flying too high with some gal in the sky
Is my idea of nothing to do
But I get a kick out of you



Commentary on “I get a kick Out of You”



The poem “I get a Kick Out of You” describes a passionate love, one way love – the woman doesn’t love the speaker. The tone and mood are quite sad, depressing and desperate, as seen in line 12:“I get a kick though it’s patiently clear that you obviously don’t adore me.” The speaker feels desperate and sad that the woman doesn’t adore him. Some literary devices played an important role towards the understanding of the tone and mood, like the use of repetition, parallelism, rhythms and stanzas. These are very important in this poem.

From the very start of this poem, parallelism has already started to take place – “I get no kick from champagne” (line 1). This line will sound familiar later in the poem, let’s take a look – “Some get a kick from cocaine” (line 6), “I get no kick in a plane” (line 13). These are the beginning lines of 3 stanzas in this poem; they are different words, but express similar feelings. They also create a comparison between themselves and the last one or two lines of those 3 stanzas. For example, in the third stanza, the speaker said he gets no kick in a plane, and in the last line he says: “Yet I get a kick out of you” (line 17). This emphasizes the mood, tone and purpose – How much the speaker loves.

Repetition appears next. In the last lines of every stanza, the phrase “I get a kick” is seen. This repetition accentuates the purpose of this poem, and also, the tone and mood. If something appears many times, we can surely tell it is very important. It’s just like seeing “high voltage” signs everywhere that has a high electric hazard – we can tell that the signs must be there for a good reason. As in the poem, from that phrase the speaker shows how important the woman is to him, and how much he loves her.

The literary device used in an interesting way is the rhythm. Take a look at stanzas 1 and 4. They all have the same rhythm, except for the 4^th lines of each of those stanzas. This actually emphasizes the tone, mood and also purpose; if we sang a song with just the same structure of lines in every part of it, the same rhythm and just different words, we would be bored. With a bit of change, we don’t get bored, and the effect is quite apposite – We understand the song better. Just like in this poem, through a bit of change in a repetition, we understand the love, sadness and desperation the speaker wishes to express.

The last stanza is also an interesting one – stanzas. This poem consists of 4 stanzas. Stanzas 1 and 4 are parallel. They have the same number of lines, same purpose, same repetitions and same comparisons. Why is the 3rd stanza different, separating other parallel stanzas? There’s actually more to the stanzas than meets the eye – the structure of the stanzas is actually using a bit of psychology for emphasis, emphasizing his depression and his feelings.