Leonard Cohen By Bryna Walkey

His life  Born on September 21,1934 in Montreal  Born into a Jewish family  78 years old (still alive and still performing)  Father died when he was nine  Mother died when he was 44  Had 2 children; one boy and one girl  He battles severe depression

His career  Cohen started writing in his teen years  Mostly writes about love, religion and politics  Was disappointed with his lack of success in writing  Moved to the US to pursue a career with folk music  In 1967 he released his first album “ Songs of Leonard Cohen”  12 albums released London 2009

Why he’s great  Leonard Cohen writes from his experiences  His poems are relatable  He uses clever metaphors, similes and symbols in his writing  He isn’t just a poet  He’s 78 and still going on tours and producing albums

Poems  Three of his best poems are Tower of Song, Bird on a Wire and Nightingale

Nightingale I built my house beside the wood So I could hear you singing And it was sweet and it was good And love was all beginning Fare thee well my nightingale 'Twas long ago I found you Now all your songs of beauty fail The forest closes 'round you The sun goes down behind a veil 'Tis now that you would call me So rest in peace my nightingale Beneath your branch of holly Fare thee well my nightingale I lived but to be near you Tho' you are singing somewhere still I can no longer hear you

Content  He fell in and out of love with a woman.  In the beginning she was very beautiful but as time went on he lost interest in her.  He knows that she never actually changed, but he still doesn’t feel the same as before.  He lets her go in the end.

Analysis  No specific meter  Rhyme scheme A,B,A,B, for most of the poem  Uses more indirect words such as “wood” instead of “the forest”  Uses words like “thee” rather than “her” to support the symbol.

Sources  en en   en_discography en_discography  hen/nightingale.html hen/nightingale.html