Hotel California

Music is a very important when it comes to writing songs, but before it grows into a song, it is born a poem. "Hotel California" was a poem that became a song which was written in 1976 by an American Rock band that went by the name of "The Eagles." It wasn't released as their single until 1977. It is a narrative poem told in first person of view of a traveler who becomes enticed by this hotel. At first it seemed to be very inviting and luxurious, only to become a nightmare where one can check out, but never really leave. The origins of the lyrics were written mostly by Don Henley. "All of us kind of drove into LA at night. Nobody was from California, and if you drive into LA at night... you can just see this glow on the horizon of lights, and the images that start running through your head of Hollywood and all the dreams that you have, and so it was kind of about that," says band mate Don Felder. Henley stated the lyrics to be "an interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles" The use of narrative, first person point of view, and use of consonance in this piece brings the words together and paints a picture that anyone that reads this may have their own interpretation of what it really means; because of that, many people today know these words very well.

Narrative poems have a beginning, middle and end; it tells a story using many details throughout it. "Hotel California" begins with a person driving on a dark desert highway. It is unknown to the reader as to what the person is looking for or where they are going. He describes the "warm smell of colitis," which are desert flowers and up ahead he sees a shimmering light. "My head grew heavy/ and my sight grew dim/I had to stop for the night/there she stood in the doorway/I heard the mission bell ring." This is where the middle of the story takes place and when the reader begins to put the details together. Here we assume that he has pulled up to a hotel to rest the night before continuing on his journey. A woman meets him at the door and leads him to his room. As he is led through the corridor he begins to hear voices saying "welcome to the hotel California/such a lovely place/such a lovely face/plenty of room at the hotel California/anytime of year/you can find it here." It ends with him waking in the middle of the night from the voices that seem to repeat the same thing over and over again. "And still those voices call from far away/wake you in the middle of the night." The woman who showed him to his room earlier later tells him "we are all prisoners here/of our own device." Looking around he begins to notice odd things around the hotel. He sees mirrors on the ceiling and pink champagne in ice. "Last thing I remember/I was running for the door/I had to find the passage back to the place I was before/relax said the night man/we are all programmed to receive/you can check out any time you like/but you can never leave." Even though the traveler leaves the hotel, he still hears these voices calling after him.

This is written in a first person point of view using me and I through out the entire piece. The story is presented to the reader from the viewpoint of a character in the story; in this case it is a weary traveler. It is introduced in the second line where he says, "cool wind in my hair." He also says things like "she showed me the way/I thought I heard them say." Using this form of writing makes the story more personal. It is being told through his own experience and not someone else's. Using this technique allows the reader to identify with the character and experience their deepest thoughts and feelings. If another point of view were chosen for this particular piece it would only distance the reader, where as first person allows the reader to enter the world of the narrator. First person is often used to pull the reader in and intrigue them with suspense or personal emotions. It allows the reader to connect with the character. First person point of view also allows a strong connection to the storytelling process as opposed to using second or third.

Throughout this piece readers come across consonance between lines such as, "On a dark desert highway/cool wind in my hair/warm smell of colitas/rising up through the air/up ahead in the distance/I saw a shimmering light/my head grew heavy, and my sight grew dim/I had to stop for the night." Dark desert is a consonance but so are the words; air, hair, light, and night. These are non-vowels used throughout the poem. Also in the 31^st line another good example of consonance would be "sweet summer sweat." Using this style or technique helps with the flow of the poem.

"Hotel California" is a very well put together work of writing. Readers are able to explore the mind of the character and picture everything that he was able to see. They are also able to feel what he was feeling. This poem also enables readers to use their imagination and explore what these words mean to them.