Lyric Poetry

What is lyric poetry?

Lyric poems have a musical rhythm, and their topics often explore romantic feelings or other strong emotions. You can usually identify a lyric poem by its musicality: if you can imagine singing it, it's probably lyric. In ancient Greece and Rome, lyric poems were in fact sung to the strums of an accompanying lyre. It's the word lyre, in fact, that is at the root of lyric; the Greek lyrikos means "singing to the lyre." (Excerpt from vocabulary.com)

So, can the songs that you hear on the radio today be considered poetry? After all, songwriters use poetic devices:

Artist

Song

Poetic Device

Lyric

Taylor Swift

Red

Simile

Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street

Katy Perry

Firework

Metaphor

Baby youre a firework

Macklemore

Same Love

Repetition

I cant change

Nicki Minaj

Super Bass

Onomatopoeia

Boom

Bruno Mars

Grenade

Hyperbole

Id jump in front of a train for you

All American Rejects

It Ends Tonight

Personification

The walls start breathing

Eminem

Without Me

Assonance

a shock when I get shocked at the hospital by the doctor when I'm not cooperating

Assignment:

Choose a song that means something to you. Make sure the song contains literary devices like the ones we have been discussing in class. To earn maximum marks, you will have to be able to identify at least four (4) literary devices in your song.

In a three (3) paragraph essay response, answer the following questions.

1. ChoiceIdentify the song, performer, and composer (note: the composer is usually not the performer). Why do you like this song? Out of all the songs you listen to, what is it about this song that made you choose it for analysis?

2. Meaning/ThemeWhat is the songs deeper meaning (not just the surface meaning)? What is the songwriter trying to tell the audience? Does it address certain emotions or issues? Whats the theme? What is the tone of the song and how does it relate to the theme? What is the significance of the songs title?

3. Devices and TermsWhich literary devices are used within the lyrics? Look for the devices that weve been talking about in class (similes, repetition, assonance, etc.). Your goal is to find four of these literary devices in the song you chose. Be sure to explain why the songwriter included them. What effect do they have on the message and emotional effect of the song?

Rubric:

Reason for choosing song is well-stated and thoroughly supported

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Songs meaning is fully analyzed with in-depth probing of the literal and figurative interpretations

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Four or more literary devices/terms are correctly identified, quoted, and referenced

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Spelling, grammar, and punctuation is not distracting; there are few errors

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