Comparing Sunburn And Unrequited Love

“There are a number of different lyrics used in songs that have been derived from poetry” (Kumar). Poetry is an older form of art and song lyrics have evolved from the art. However, it is a great debacle over which one can be considered the higher art form. The underlying question is if song lyrics have evolved past poetry, or has poetry remained artistic and intellectual. Despite bearing some superficial similarities, the differences between “To a Daughter Leaving Home” and “Never Grow Up” in imagery, message, and point of view are prevalent causing poetry to be considered a higher form of art.

The first poetic device Allen used is metaphor. In the second verse of the song, there is a sentence and it says, “Buy my heart lies waiting over the foam.” This shows that Allen lied directly to himself everyday thinking that it’s alright to not be home. This is a metaphor because the verse mentioned shows two things were compared to the object without using as or like. The second poetic device Allen used is rhyming.

She also presents a slight rhythm to the reading that allows for smooth reading. In keeping with her open form, there is no set scheme to the rhyme pattern. However, there is a single ending sound constantly repeated without a set pattern throughout the work. She also connects pairs of lines at random just for the sake of making connections to make that particular stanza flow. At the same time, she chose blatantly not to rhyme in certain parts to catch the reader’s attention.

Another technique this poem takes use of is alliteration. The alliteration used helps to express the themes importance through repletion of sound devices. A specific example of alliteration

The poem also uses end rhyme to add a certain rhythm to the poem as a whole. And the scheme he employs: aabbc, aabd, aabbad. End rhyme, in this poem, serves to effectively pull the reader through to the end of the poem. By pairing it with lines restricted to eight syllables. The narrator creates an almost nursery-rhyme like rhythm. In his third stanza however, his last line, cutting short of eight syllables, stands with an emphatic four syllables. Again, in the last stanza, he utilizes the same technique for the last line of the poem. The narrator’s awareness of rhyme and syllable structure provides the perfect bone structure for his poem’s rhythm.

Shallow lyrics that fail to evoke much thought can be detrimental to a listener's intellectual health. Many developed countries have seen declines in reading proficiency and the superficial

A common theme among many scholars is modern poetry lacks poetic merit. The modern version of poetry is more often than not, found as music and more specifically as lyrics opposed to stanzas. “Traditional” poetry is known for its poetic merit; however, modern poetry, music, also has elements that can be found in traditional poetry. Poetic merit usually refers to the use of numerous poetic elements: figurative language, imagery, symbolism, allusions, etc. Though scholars may regard music as lacking in poetic merit, the song “Glory” by John Legend and Common proves otherwise through its use of symbolism, alliteration, and allusions to put forth its emotional lyrics that depict the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement.

As a growing number of teens use technology on a daily basis, teenagers are reading less poetry. Accordingly, they are listening to more and more music. Numerous examples of poetic merit can be found in music at their fingertips. Thus, it is safe to argue that song lyrics are today’s main form of poetry. “Rocky Mountain High” by John Denver and Mike Taylor is an excellent example of this, for it includes figurative language, imagery, and a thematic statement. All of which are elements of poetic merit.

Many of the small details may fly over our heads, but if one truly takes the time to inspect a song the reader will get a deeper understanding of the message the songwriter is conveying. In,

The controversy about songs being a form of art has been talked about for ages, even during the middle ages, an unknown poet wrote, “What we now know as poetry, then, began as a song, though the tunes and the music have been lost beyond recall” (Williamson xi). The controversy is being put to the test with the poem, “Don’t quit” and the song “Hall Of Fame”. Both are about the idea of perseverance but have different speakers and audiences. “Hall Of Fame” is about a coach talking to his players saying if you push through the hard times and work that you can achieve your goals. Whereas “Don’t Quit” is a psychologist talking to their client about not letting the challenges that life throws at them for achieving the goals in life.

The Poetic Device is Repetition.This poetic device impacts the song by giving you an image what are the people doing. Evidence

The purpose of this is so the audience can relate to the poem in their own personal way. These emotions are created through particular phrases and poetic techniques such as imagery, assonance, and consonance to bring across the tone of the poem. The use of assonance is a strong device within the poem, for example, in the fourth line of the first stanza it says, “From corners here and there”. The assonance is used in the ‘E’ sound which drags the words, slowing down the poem. This line enables me to imagine an individual exhausted of being hurt multiple times, either mentally or physically.

Throughout the history of music, lyrics have been used to express different feelings, such as pain, heartache, joy, and love. Songwriters often use their lyrics to show a deeper meaning and message. Oftentimes, people just hear the music, and never actually listen to it. They hear the beat of it, and possibly get a catchy tune stuck in their heads, but never listen to the words, and the point that the songwriter is actually trying to get across. Most of the time, song lyrics are written to spill one’s heart and all of it’s emotions and/or feelings.

Imagery and Figurative Language are essential elements of poetry. Simile, metaphor and hyperbole help bring the words to life. In the simplest of terms, it is the language that is used that appeals to the senses. More passionately, and perhaps a much better explanation, it’s putting feelings to paper.

Lyrics have the ability to tell a story in a way different than any other. People often argue songs have no real meaning, simply filled with useless words. Despite these arguments, many songs are sometimes even more artistically written than poetry. Different poetic devices help the writer discuss their ideas in an artful way. The song “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” by John Mayer and the poem “Never give all the Heart” by William Butler Yeats are both sad pieces describing heartache and loss.