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Ronia Ali
Ms. Lacey
English 112
14 March 2015
Lang Leav: The Girl Who Cries Ghost
Lang Leav, a contemporary poetess, uses the core theme of love and loss in most of her
writings. A contemporary poet is an artist that began writing after the 1920s and during the 20th
century, currently lives today, and inspires those around them. New York literary agent, Al
Zuckerman, from Writers House currently represents Leav for her love of poetry, art, and books
(Leav par. 2). Leavs poetry collection, Love and Misadventure, was a hit and quickly became
Amazons number one bestseller in 2013 (Leav par. 6). Her passion for her work is shown in the
amount of readings she has completed in multiple cities and this has allowed her to build a
family of loyal international fans worldwide. Additionally, her boyfriend, Michael Faudet, is a
poet as well which has allowed both of them to inspire each others work; according to Leav,
Michael helped her come to the realization that publishing her work was essential (Pastor par.
14). Aside from writing, she is known for her other artworks, such as paintings, and is said to
have learned and practiced her skills at the College of Fine Arts (Kinski par.2). Further, Leavs
poem Soundtracks is one of her many poems that went viral and is featured in her collection
titled Lullabies. In her sonnets Soundtracks and Ghosts, one could not only observe the
evident connection and theme of nostalgia and emotional suffering, but also the difference
between the perspectives from which each poem is told.
Firstly, in Leavs sonnet Soundtracks, the speaker introduces us to a man with a broken
soul and her desire to analyze why he is so haunted with pain and tragic endings in regards to

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relationships. In the beginning of the sonnet, she wonders about his character and past and by the
end of the sonnet, she questions whether she had become one of the ghosts that drifts in his
playlists and mind. The opening lines, He once told me about his love for lyrics / how the words
spoke to him like poetry (Leav 1-2) indicate that music keeps him sane in the same way that
poetry has the healing power to speak to an individual. This line can also be interpreted to
represent the importance of certain songs and lyrics to the character and the beauty of how they
can create a comforting effect. Additionally, aside from having a healing power, certain songs
can bring back nostalgic feelings and this is more clearly represented when the speaker states, I
would often wonder about his playlists and the ghosts / who lived there (Leav 3-4). She
metaphorically uses the idea of ghosts living in his songs as a symbol of the individuals he is no
longer connected with; she suggests that their ghosts and memories still linger in the songs that
they once bonded over. This lingering is caused by the brains emotional center, amygdala, that
works with the hippocampus to retrieve the memories we wish to connect with through certain
songs, smells, or senses (Bailey, par. 1). Leavs poems are prime examples that portray the
psychological reason behind why memory association and emotional responses work together to
create a deep-rooting effect on an individual. One can connect this with real world experiences
and how society uses music as a tool to express themselves to another individual, relive certain
memories, or even heal emotional suffering.
Similarly, in Leavs sonnet Ghosts, the theme of lost love and nostalgia is seen again
when she metaphorically uses the shadows, rather than music, to represent past lovers. Although
used in different settings, the parallel idea of "ghosts" being used in both poems impresses the
manifestation of the past on the reader. In Soundtracks, the ghost represents the everlasting
presence and memories of former lovers within music. On the other hand, in Ghosts, the

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memories are held within a place. In lines 1-4 of Ghosts, the speaker states, His voice in this
room / like shadows on walls / I imagine him / on the other side of the door (Leav). Rather than
analyzing a broken man as the speaker in Soundtracks did, the perspective has shifted to the
woman analyzing herself in regards to a man that has led her to feel broken. Being that she is
analyzing her own emotional suffering in Ghosts, the audience of the poem are given
straightforward and one-sided feelings about the relationships ended. In contrast, the speaker of
Soundtracks battles with her thoughts about the mans emotional being and tries to figure out
what his individuals tragic endings were; rather than being given the emotional state of the
individual in the poem, this allows the reader to relate to the speaker and be equally as curious.
Furthermore, a similarity regarding hallucinations is shown between both sonnets. In
Soundtracks, the speaker states The faces he saw and the voices he / heard. The soundtrack to
a thousand tragic endings / real or imagined (Leav 4-6). One can understand the idea that
missing an individual at a broken state leads to an accumulation of internal images of formal
lovers because of the imprint they may have left on ones soul. Similar imagery is used in regards
to the idea of persistent thoughts about formal lovers; this is shown in Ghosts when the speaker
states, His words / his hands / his touch (Leav 5-7). These lines can be interpreted to convey
the high levels of admiration an individual may still feel towards a past lover. Additionally, in
Soundtracks, a similar idea of admiring excessively until one feels empty is shown in line
seven when the speaker states, The first time I saw him, I noticed how haunted his / eyes were
(Leav). She metaphorically uses the word haunted to convey the idea that ghosts, former
lovers, frequent his eyes. In contrast, the speaker states that she Was drawn to him in the way a /
melody draws a crowd to the dance floor. Pulled by / invisible strings (Leav 8-10). This line
allows the reader to understand the ironic idea that she is becoming drawn to him in all aspects

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while he is not drawn to anyone or anything because of the high level of admiration he offered
someone who has drained and left him.
In both sonnets, the tone of the speaker begins to change towards the end. In the ending
lines of Soundtracks, she begins to wonder if she has become one of the ghosts, or past lovers,
that the individual thinks about when he listens to his playlists. One can sense a hostile tone of
voice when she states I hope whenever my song plays, I am there / whispering in his ear (1314). She went from wondering about the playlists and the ghosts who lived there to the desire of
wanting to become the reason behind why his eyes were haunted because of the emotional
suffering he faced in regards to no longer being with his former lovers. In contrast, towards the
end of Ghosts, one can interpret that the tone of voice is melancholic rather than hostile: At
the start, the end, / and in the middle. / Strange how it mattered so much when now it matters so
little (Leav 8-12). These lines demonstrate the idea that a relationship or bond can matter, but
can also gradually become not as important to an individual. In comparison to Soundtracks, the
attitude shown in these lines is more accepting towards the situation.
Conclusively, both sonnets draw attention to the underlying themes of dealing with the
emotional suffering that comes with ending relationships and experiencing nostalgia of lost love
through daily things. The symbol of ghosts as past lovers is represented in both poems to
represent the everlasting existence and memory of the lost relationships and the haunting and
devastating feelings of loss. Further, while both poems share more similarities than they do
differences, the main differences are the perspective from which each poem is written and the
resulting feelings at the end of each sonnet. These differences are used to illustrate both sides of
the relationship and two paths or feelings that one may have when dealing with loss.

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Works Cited
Bailey, Regina. "Hippocampus." About Education. About.com, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
Kinski, Klaus. "Interview with Lang Leav." Design Federation. Wordpress Development, 17
Mar. 2008. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.
Leav, Lang. "About." The Girl Who Cries Wolf. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2015.
Pastor, Pam. "In Love with Lang Leav." In Love with Lang Leav. INQUIRER.net, 15 Feb. 2014.
Web. 14 Mar. 2015.