Within Martín Espada’s poem “Alabanza: In Praise of Local 100,” he commonly refers to or mentions music, giving music a seemingly significant feeling. Espada first mentions music as a way to make some tasks more enjoyable, like having music playing in the background or the sound of items banging against each other. Brings a feeling of calmness, peace, and relaxation to manual labor. Though just as the poem develops, so does the meaning of music, when the radio stopped after the strike on the World Trade Center that marked the turning point. The radio stopping conveys an intense, deafening silence that came after the strike on the World Trade Center. Which was continued by the quote “we have no music…music is all we have” (stanza 5), highlighting the true importance that music plays in people’s lives and liveliness.

Compare and grade this paragraph to this rubric: write a well-developed paragraph explaining the significance of either light or music in the poem ("Albanza: In Prase of Local 100") and how the author's treatment of that element evolves throughout the poem.