Post-Structural Analysis of Lacan and Derrida in Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody

Abstract

This journal examines Bohemian Rhapsody (1975) by Queen through a post-structuralist lens, explaining how the song’s shifting voices and fragmented storyline make it impossible to conclude with a single, fixed meaning. Using a qualitative descriptive method, the study analyzes the song as a literary text and explores its lyrics with an approach that breaks down and closely analyses their deeper significance, drawing on the ideas of Jacques Derrida and the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Lacan. The analysis identifies several key elements; the presence of opposing pairs such as life/death and guilt/innocence, the fragmentation of the lyrical subject, playful language that continually postpones definitive meaning, and the tension between free will and inevitability. The findings reveal that the song embodies Derrida’s concept of différance meaning that is endlessly differentiate and Lacan’s notion of a divided subject shaped by desire and symbolic structures. In conclusion, Bohemian Rhapsody is more than just a rock song; it is a complex cultural text that invites multiple interpretations influenced by the listener’s context and personal experience.