"Both Sides Now" Analysis

Through the use of shifting (dual/dichotomous) perspectives, Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now shifts from naive and hopeful about life and love to being experienced but disillusioned by them in order to suggest that “something’s lost and something’s gained in living every day.” The author adopts various points of view throughout the song, and different lyrics represent different time periods in her own life. For example, she describes the clouds in the beginning as “ice cream castles in the air”, but later on she says that they “only block the sun / They rain and snow on everyone.” A significant motif in the song is the way our perspectives change throughout our lives. In addition, Mitchell uses a variety of literary devices to better convey her ideas to her audience. She uses clouds to symbolize certain aspects of life that can be viewed with different perspectives. The song is packed with imagery to help the reader visualize what is being said in the song. A great example of this is when the author writes, “Bows and flows of angel hair, and ice cream castles in the air” to depict a childlike perspectives. Another important device that Mitchell uses to portray conflicting ideas is a paradox. She talks about all of the different perspectives from which she has seen clouds, but then she writes, “I really don’t know clouds at all.” This is paradoxical because we would expect the author to know clouds well since she has seen them several ways, but in reality she does not know them well.

Personally, I can relate several aspects of the song Both Sides Now to my own life. When I was younger, I had a much more positive view on life than I do now, as is the case for many people. I was generally happy and carefree, and I really didn’t have much to worry about. As I got older, I began watching the news and learning about current events, and overall I became more aware of what was going on around me and throughout the world. As I became more exposed to these things, I learned that the world wasn’t made up entirely of kind-hearted people or happy people, and this was new for me. I tried not to let these things affect my positivity, and even today I would still consider myself an optimist. I like to believe that there are more good people than bad in the world, and that no matter how bad your situation is, something positive can still be found in every day. I have definitely taken on a more realistic view of the world since my childhood, but it is not a negative one, and I intend to stay continually positive despite tough times I might come across.