Last Words of a Shooting Star/ Mitski

Theme: “life experiences define the acceptance of death”

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Love Interest:

Minor character

Perfectionist/Consistent, “You wouldn’t leave till we loved in the morning”

Narrator:

Major character

Resigned, “I am relieved that the turbulence wasn’t forecasted”

Others opinions are important to them, “I am relieved that I left my room tidy/ They’ll think of me kindly/ When they come for my things”

Biography:

Mitski’s mother is Japanese while her father is American.

When asked, Iggy Pop describes Mitski as “probably the most advanced American songwriter that I know.”

Mitski stated in an interview that as a teenager, she “[...] wanted to be dead.”She struggled with constantly being the new girl whenever she moved to a new state or even country as she often did.

According to Margaret Talbot, Mitski moved frequently as a child(1)

Mitski Miyawaki aka Mitski
Mitski is a “twenty-eight-year-old singer-songwriter” according to Jia Tolentino from The New Yorker(1).

Protagonist/Antagonist

The antagonist in this song is also the narrator. The narrator is their own worst enemy. This is demonstrated through the text as the narrator struggles and is against themselves and their own mind.

There is no protagonist in this song, though there is an anti-hero. The narrator, (anti-hero), is not particularly brave or heroic and is instead deeply faulted

Climax:

The climax of this story is when the narrator states “I am relieved that the turbulence wasn’t forecasted/ I couldn’t have changed anyways.” This powerful line comes right before the ending and captures the true essence of the song. Everything before this point is building as the turbulence continues and the narrator’s life “flashes before their eyes” and they have their thoughts on their relationship between other characters and themselves revealed.

Genre:

This song is a ballad of the narrator. The lyrics like poetry and first-person perspective allow the listener to identify is as such. This genre is used effectively in this song as it tells a story and brings out strong emotions in the listener.

Point #2: Conflict

Point #3

Point #4: Literary Devices

Point #1: Theme

“life experiences define the acceptance of death”

character vs. self

"I always wanted to die clean and pretty/
But I'd be too busy on working days"

Allusion/ "And did you know the liberty bell is a replica?"

Imagery/ "They'll never know how I'd stared at the dark in that room
With no thoughts"

Allusion/
According to the National Park Service, the Liberty Bell is a bell in Pennsylvania in Independence Hall. In 1846, the large crack in the bell was made wider in order to repair the bell. Instead, the repair permanently silenced the bell and no one alive today has heard it ring. This is important to the song because the narrator is feeling silenced like the bell( The Liberty Bell, 1) https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/stories-libertybell.htm

Pathos/
This line in particular draws the listener into the true thoughts of the narrator. The narrator confesses that they have often thought about dying but are constricted by their own hectic life, providing a feeling of duality in wanting to live and finish working and wanting to die and be done with the struggle.

Hyperbole/ "I couldn't have changed anyways"

Imagery/Pathos
Important because it introduces the listener to the living conditions of the narrator and provides a setting that is easily identifiable. Furthermore, it allows the listener to visualize a place they have probably been before: in a dark room, upset and alone. This example of pathos makes the readers sympathize with the speaker, often making them feel sorrow.

The narrator is using this exaggeration to emphasize how they feel stuck being the same person, unable to become better. This is untrue as anyone can change and become a better person, but the narrator is resigned to the idea that they are unchangeable.

character is wishing for death while wanting to stay alive

authors bio

teenage years

relatable

easily understood

adds meaning to the song experience

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recklessness

love like a movie

suicidal ideation

copied to song lyrics

direct correlation

narrator believes they cannot change

loss of belief in self

topic: suicide, death, life, love, resignment, fate

paradox

argument with self

self hatred