Motives and Thoughts - An Analysis of Ms. Lauryn Hill's Poem "Motives and Thoughts"

    Prior to her success as a multi platinum, Grammy award winning, hip-hop icon, Lauryn Hill performed live poetry on pertinent topics that manifested her socially-conscious outlook of America. For the most part, her work deals with underlying sociological pathologies that hinder the African-American community. Her poem Motives & Thoughts deduces the plethora of socially-constructed institutions that work against the prosperity of the black community. Her exquisite exploitation of internal rhyme, helps establish a rhythmic meter, so that her wisdom has melody. The syllabic pattern of each verse gives the poem a linguistic sound pattern, transcending the poem from mere words to didactic conversation, in which she begins an extensive discourse on the dilapidated state of the masses. Her poem also appeals to emotion and logic, as she embarks on a spiel that highlights the working injustices that stymie any chance of success. Primarily, imagery and allusion act as agents that convey implicit themes of redemption, strength, and black power.



    Ms. Lauryn Hill evokes a conscious criticism to conspicuous consumption. In America, especially in the black community, conspicuous consumption has prevailed as a medium for conveying one’s social prestige among the upper echelon. One shows their wealth by buying more expensive items that only their rich, privileged, and small group of associates can also purchase. This, for Ms. Lauryn Hill, is a recipe for disaster, because it perpetuates a wrongful assertion to indulging in the lifestyle of the rich and famous. To make this point fruitful, Hill cleverly incorporates a pun that shares the title of the Danish tale in which she refers to : The Emperor’s New Clothes. She states “Light shone in darkness/ Image(s) exposed/ Few can see through the Emperor’s New Clothes”. Ultimately, her subliminal message holds affinity with the themes and morals asserted from Hans Christian Andersen’s original work about two weavers who cheat the king out of his riches after they promise to hand tailor him a beautiful suit that they claim is invisible to those who are not deemed fit for the position. After tantalizing the king by reassuring that his clothes were of fine material, they successfully run away with a lump sum of cash. The Emperor parades proudly, naked amidst the eyes of his subjects. Hill draws a parallel between the king and her contemporaries whom she sees falling into the same psychological prison of thought. This may be the reason why she uses “Few” as opposed to they. Hill meticulously chooses her words when explaining the “Veil”, a theoretical concept championed in the early 20th century by W.E.B DuBois in “The Souls of Black Folk”. In a collection of his essays, DuBois establishes the theme of “The Veil”, a figurative representation of the institutions in society that hinder black people from their everlasting pursuit of prosperity. Ms. Hill touches on this subject matter with her meticulous wordplay: “While classes in government, set up the veil// And cultivate minds for mythical tales”. Hill’s use of the words “classes”, “government” and “Veil” emphasize the DuBoisian influence in her lexicon. Social-conflict becomes and prevailing theme in her poetry, setting forth a discourse of stringent sociological scathing of the minds of those without true awareness of societal injustices.


    Ms. Lauryn Hill’s poem extends its discourse by conferring on the societal importance of morality and ethics. Hill, coming from a strong Christian and Rastafari Movement background extols virtue and rectitude as chief agents of the salvation of society as a collective unit. By drawing on this religious and ethical appeal to values, Hill further builds her case for individuals to look within themselves and reanalyze conflictions within their ideology. Hill extends her exploration of religion as it pertains to its presence in the inner city. Morals and values become an underlying theme in the poem. Hill scapegoats society, however her diction suggests sympathetic sentiments. She suggests that we, society, have “Lied to your neighbors, so you get ahead” highlighting the pedagogical discipline of “practicalism” that was championed by philosophers of the past like Niccolo Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, and more. Ms. Hill, she thoroughly economizes her language, using words that extol spiritual healing and wisdom as holistic medicines to social ills. Ms. Lauryn Hill utilizes personification as a means of evoking clairvoyant imagery. By stating that “Modern day trickery is all that you’ve [society] has been fed”, Hill defuses any pretensions that racism is eternal. Instead, racism is “fed”, which warrants a serious consideration of its detrimental effects. If racism can be fed, Ms. Lauryn Hill asserts that if it is no longer fed, racism eventually dies from starvation. The imagery works to build a picture in the reader’s head so that the message becomes more dynamic and profound. In a compelling manner, Hill challenges us to change to grow and learn; Wisdom, in essence, is a universal medicine to societal ills.


    Hill compliments her derision of conspicuous consumption by tying its detrimental effect on self-identity to a human’s rationale amidst the societal pressure of “Keeping up with the Joneses”. She asserts that this “Lustful hustle” turns “Humans to Hoes” and “When the blind lead the blind [there’s] just more trouble and woes”. Here, blind acts as a figurative definition of ignorance by way of the psychological spell of consumerism. Hill is referring to the “blind” or unaware individuals who know not the true nature of humanity and instead following face-value of things before their eyes.


    The intellectual depth of the connections she makes, helps transcend her poem from mere words to a quintessential manifestation of the conscious mind and day-to-day demons battled by underprivileged communities. Irony paves the way for her scathing criticism of society. Although African-Americans and other minorities are the ones underprivileged and the ones economically disadvantaged, these “blind” individuals are usually the ones with the power.

    “Motives and thoughts/ Check your Motives & Thoughts” she says as she continues to sight sociological pathologies. The repetition embeds the urge in the reader’s head, embarking on an appeal to logic and reason. Essentially, Ms. Lauryn Hill urges us to wake up, and seek to find answers to the injustices that damage society and perpetuate the derisive conditions of the masses. Motives & Thoughts manifests a beautiful compilation of searing rebukes of society and formulates a set course of action to reverse the societal ills that hinder the black community.