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The Pynk Q.U.E.E.N and poetry

This analysis is looking at..

The “otherworldly, otherhumanly,” (Bascomb 2016:61) Janelle Monae, and her songs Pynk and Q.U.E.E.N, in particular how thematically similar both songs are to poetry. We will be looking at how sex, sexuality and religion weave their way into these songs and how these lyrics include themes that hark back to “religious poetry of the early to mid eighteenth century,” (Parisot 2013:51).

“Hey brother can you save my soul from the devil?

Say is it weird to like the way she wear her tights? (But I like it)

And is it rude to wear my shades?

Am I a freak because I love watching Mary? (Maybe)”

In this first stanza we see the use of the “devil,” (Monae 2013) and “Mary,” (ibid) in reference to Mother Mary, two very clear icons within several religions.

Throughout this stanza we also see the another theme that is of sexuality, and it does so by using the line “say is it weird to like the way she wears her tights,” (ibid) the implication being that it could be considered weird as she is viewing her as a sexual object rather than an aesthetic one, as the following line affirms “but I like it,” (ibid) as Monae gaining some sort of pleasure from seeing “Mary,” (ibid) like that. Contextually we also know that Janelle Monae identifies as…

“Hey sister am I good enough for your Heaven?

Say will your God accept me in my black and white?

Will he approve the way I'm made?

Or should I reprogram, deprogram and get down? (Queen)”

With the continued use of religious iconography such as “Heaven,” (Monae 2013) and “God,” (ibid) it affirms the song’s religious theme and by continuing to talk about sexuality in relation to religion we see a conflation of sexuality and religion which harks back again to poetry and “the casual relationship between poetry and passion as a conduct for religious and moral instruction,” (Parisot 2013:53).

“ Pink like the lips around your, maybe

Pink like the skin that's under, baby

Pink where it's deepest inside, crazy

Pink beyond forest and thighs

Pink like the secrets you hide, maybe, ”

Despite the change in song, we see the theme of sexuality continue and the the link between “poetry and passion,” (Parisot 2013:53) continue too. “Pink,” (Monae 2018) as we know is a colour traditionally associated with the female gender and by alluding to the “skin that’s under,” (ibid) and “the lips,” (ibid) of the vagina, that drives Monae “crazy,” (ibid) we not only see the associated passion but also the implied non heterosexual reality of the song

Finally, if these lyrics were considered poetry would they then be able to be considered canon? As other canon poems like “John Donne’s ‘The Good Morrow’,” (Rainsford 2014:15) are considered canon because they are “well-known,” (Rainsford 2014:15) and “not quite like any other poem,” (Rainsford 2014:15) and arguably by being songs these are both “well-known,” (Rainsford 2014:15) and “not quite like any other poem,” (Rainsford 2014:15)

References

Bascomb L.T (2016) ‘Freakifying history: remixing royalty’, African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal, 9(1):57-69

Batromanoff (7 June 2021) Janelle Monae [GIF], Tumblr, accessed 20 September 2021

Daninunez (1 March 2021) Janelle Monae turning her head [GIF] , Tumblr, accessed 20 September 2021

Monae J (2013) ‘Q.U.E.E.N,’ [song], The Electric Lady, Atlantic Records

Monae J (2018) ‘Pynk,’ [song], Dirty Computer, Atlantic Records

Parisot E (2013) Graveyard Poetry : Religion, Aesthetics and the Mid-Eighteenth-Century Poetic Condition, Taylor & Francis Group, London

Poisons-ivy (June 28 2021) Janelle Monae on Sexuality [GIF], Tumblr, accessed 20 September 2021

Rainsford D (2014) Studying Literature in English: An Introduction, Taylor & Francis Group, London

#thanks for reading!

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