Killswitch Engage is a metal band out of Massachusetts that formed in the year 1999. They have four band members and a large fan base. Killswitch Engage has received numerous honors including opening for Slayer and securing spots on major package tours like Taste of Chaos and Ozzfest. They even earned a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance in 2005 and made an appearance on the popular television show Jimmy Kimmel Live. They released their latest album in 2013 and fans anxiously await for more. "Rose of Sharyn" is one of many songs by Killswitch Engage that can have many different interpretations. Treating this song as a poem, it can be implied that the artist's sound, rhythm and meter, and diction lead to an interpretation of sadness from the loss of someone dear.
The artist uses repetitive sound to portray a picture of loss and sadness. The artist writes, "Wondering what were the last words I said to you" (Killswitch Engage 2). The common use of the letter w in these lyrics create a sound that may be meant to help the listener share in the sense of loss and sadness felt by the artist. The extensive use of w's continues in the line, "It won't be long, we'll meet again" (Killswitch Engage 11). The words that use the w's give even more emphasis to the feelings of sadness brought on by a loss here. These feelings continue to develop when the artist writes, "I mourn for those who never knew you" (Killswitch Engage 20). The artist again uses the sound of w's in this line to incorporate the feelings of a loss and sadness. Again in the quote, "the rising sun will always speak your name" (Killswitch Engage 14-15) the artist uses the letter w to help further paint a picture of loss and sadness. It may be difficult to see how the artist's sound can imply the sense of sadness caused by a loss, but the artist uses other ways to create this picture as well.
