...ENGL 1023-016 September 3, 2014 “Poetry Makes Nothing Happen”? By Julia Alvarez Poetry is almost everywhere you look. Teachers use songs and rhymes to teach young children. Mothers sing lullabies’ to their children to calm them. To some people, sitting in a corner and reading a book is the best part of their day. Julia Alvarez writes about the effect that poetry has on our lives in “Poetry Makes Nothing Happen?” I believe that Alvarez is correct in saying that poetry is important, and that poetry affects people’s lives even when they do not realize it. Poetry is a very important part of most people lives, however, people do not always recognize poetry. For example, song lyrics are poetry, and play a big role in many people’s lives. People listen to songs in the car to help them stay awake. People sing and dance to them at weddings and other celebrations. Songs are often played at funerals in remembrance of loved ones. Song lyrics, or poetry, express deep emotions that are often at times hard to relay in any other way. Nursery rhymes and lullabies are also a good example of poetry that people do not recognize. These have been used for hundreds of years in many cultures to soothe and teach babies and young children. They have positively affected many people, and will continue to captivate and help children grow in future generations. All it takes is for someone to open there eyes and take a look around them to see that poetry can be found anywhere. It’s not where...
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...Structure of Chinese poetry The structure of Chinese poetry is very complicated. It is hard to learn but so beautiful to read. Chinese poetry includes various versions of Chinese language, including Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Yue Chinese. Some kind of Chinese language is so rare and old that I have not even learnt. And Chinese poetry has a long history which started from Western Zhou till now. So Chinese poetry can provides an exceptional platform for both public and private expressions of deep emotion, offering a rare vantage point for students and observers to view the inner life of Chinese writers across more than two millennia. Chinese poetry was divided to two primary types, which were Classical Chinese poetry and Modern Chinese poetry. Classical Chinese poetry is traditional Chinese poetry written in Classical Chinese which typified by certain traditional forms, or modes, and certain traditional genres. Classical Chinese poetry was divided to a lot of kind of poetries, which include Classic of Poetry, Chuci, Yuefu, Six dynasties poetry, Tang poetry, Song poetry, Yuan poetry. The poems of Classic of Poetry tend to have certain typical patterns in both rhyme and rhythm, to make much use of imagery, often derived from nature. The poems of the Chuci anthology are mostly of the seven-syllable form, and are formed in a unique way. Lines generally consist of three syllables. Yuefu are Chinese poems composed in a folk song style. Six dynasties...
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...Structure of Chinese poetry The structure of Chinese poetry is very complicated. It is hard to learn but so beautiful to read. Chinese poetry includes various versions of Chinese language, including Classical Chinese, Standard Chinese, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Yue Chinese. Some kind of Chinese language is so rare and old that I have not even learnt. And Chinese poetry has a long history which started from Western Zhou till now. So Chinese poetry can provides an exceptional platform for both public and private expressions of deep emotion, offering a rare vantage point for students and observers to view the inner life of Chinese writers across more than two millennia. Chinese poetry was divided to two primary types, which were Classical Chinese poetry and Modern Chinese poetry. Classical Chinese poetry is traditional Chinese poetry written in Classical Chinese which typified by certain traditional forms, or modes, and certain traditional genres. Classical Chinese poetry was divided to a lot of kind of poetries, which include Classic of Poetry, Chuci, Yuefu, Six dynasties poetry, Tang poetry, Song poetry, Yuan poetry. The poems of Classic of Poetry tend to have certain typical patterns in both rhyme and rhythm, to make much use of imagery, often derived from nature. The poems of the Chuci anthology are mostly of the seven-syllable form, and are formed in a unique way. Lines generally consist of three syllables. Yuefu are Chinese poems composed in a folk song style. Six dynasties...
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...Song Style Sheets: English Songs Composer: Stephen Foster Date: 1826 – 1864 Song: “Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair” Melody: • Phrases are short and strophic • Range: C4 – F5 Tessitura: D4 – D5 • Melody is very tonal • Lyric Recitative Harmony: • Harmony is very tonal and remains in the same key • Song is in the key of F major Rhythm: • Tempo is Moderato • In common time 4/4 • Uses a lot of dotted rhythms especially in the melody Accompaniment: • 4 measure prelude, 4 measure interlude, and a 4 measure postlude • Uses primarily block chords during verses, but uses running eighth notes on the prelude, interlude, and postlude • Linear texture with contrapuntal texture on certain areas Poet/Text: • Poetry written by Stephen Foster • The song was written for his wife during their separation and then was published when they got back together Composer: Stephen Foster Date: 1826 – 1864 Song: “Beautiful Dreamer” Melody: • Phrases are fairly short • Range: D4 – F5 Tessitura: Eb4 – Eb5 • Melody is tonal minus the use of the E natural in the melody • Lyric recitative and strophic Harmony: • Song is in the key of Eb major • Primarily tonal and voice hangs with the accompaniment Rhythm: • Tempo is Moderato • In triple compound meter 9/8 • Uses dotted rhythms but not as a stutter rhythm, just as extended notes ...
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...Tacoma Community College Keanu Wong Real Rap is Poetry English 101- Essay 3 5/18/13 Money, girls, cars, drugs, and diamonds are all subjects that seem relative to the music artists known as rappers. Some people say rappers aren’t even artists, simply because rap music “celebrates the accumulation of status, and always has: chains, cars, and yes, women, who are treated like objects obtained through success” (Complex Magazine 2012). But maybe the rappers of today cannot avoid those subjects. After all, what good is the influence or subject of a song, if none of the content is true??? This method of song writing only seems fair to use if all of those materialistic subjects are a part of a rappers daily surroundings. The truth is that rap music has always been materialistic and subjective to drugs since it first became popular with the release of Sugarhill Gang’s song “Rapper’s Delight” in November of 1979. Big Bank Hank, just one of three members in Sugarhill Gang, made it very clear in Rapper’s Delight that he owned “a Lincoln continental and a sunroof Cadillac… and a color TV to watch the Knicks.” (Lyricsondemand.com) and that he was also “Feelin the highs.” (Lyricsondemand.com) Then another song released recently in 2013, named “Bugatti” by rapper Ace Hood, can easily be compared to the same idea behind the lyrics of Rapper’s Delight. In the first verse alone, Ace hood raps about “One hundred K, I spent that on my wrist. Two hundred dollars, spent that on your b****…copped...
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...Three impressive civilizations, from different time periods, have managed to influence each others cultures through the literature works of poetry; from Ancient Egyptian song: “I Am Your Best Girl”, to the glorious Greek love poems of the beautiful Sappho, and the monotheistic Hebrews Song: “I Am the Rose of Sharon.” Over the course of thousands of years, each of these great civilizations had countless views on poetry; all represented inspiration to their own citizens to become successful in life’s endeavors. All forms of literature, art, scripts and artifacts had a wide effect on these societies. By comparing these key examples of poetry, matters of passion for personal integrity, search for eternal love, admiration for greater quality of life and powerful affection towards dear ones, can give us a better understanding towards the emotional and dignifying experiences each culture portrayed. In the first Love Song: “I Am Your Best Girl,” there are many contrasts between the authors theme of powerful affection towards a beloved and the authors self-definition of ones own society. To start, the author sets a personal tone of desire and devotion to ones beloved. She shows ones worth in the first few lines of a simile “I belong to you like an acre of land which I have planted,” here the poet doesn’t mind becoming a part of mans property, she is deeply devoted to him. Nevertheless, it can also bring meaning into a hard days work of maintaining the land and applying that to her...
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...them there were Germanic tribes, Angles, Saxons and Jutes; it was these invaders who created the Anglo-Saxon England. The Anglo-Saxons had no written language when they conquered Britain, but they had letters called runes which they carved on wood and stone. The songs, stories, and poems they made up to be memorized and were handed down from generation to generation. One Saxon poem called “Beowulf” has reached our days. We can call this period the dawn of English literature. The greatest writer of this period was Geoffrey Chaucer, who was the first truly great writer in English literature and is called “the father of English poetry”. Chaucer’s literary work began in 1373, he wrote such poems as “The House of Fame”, “The Parliament of Fowls”, “The Legend of Good Women” and others. In the year 1384 he started writing his masterpiece “The Canterbury Tales”. Chaucer died in 1400 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. His death was a great blow to English poetry. Though there was hardly any written literature folk poetry flourished in England and Scotland. Folk songs were heard everywhere. Songs were made up for every occasion. There were harvest songs, mowing songs, spinning and weaving songs. The best of folk poetry were the ballads. A ballad is a short narrative in verse with the refrain following each stanza. The refrain was always one and the same. Ballads were often accompanied by musical instruments and dancing. They became the most popular form of amusement. Some ballads...
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...Israfel "Israfel" is a mesmerizing poem, the beginning of which was first set down by Poe during his days at West Point College. (Allen 233) The poem itself is a direct contrast to Poe's usual poetry, which usually deal with death and dark thoughts or other melancholy, Gothic ideas. Poe's idea of the death of beautiful woman being the most poetical of all topics is here, nowhere to be found. This proves that Poe, when so inclined, could indeed write about something other than opium induced nightmares and paranoid grieving men who are frightened to death by sarcastic, talkative, ravens. Besides "Israfel", Poe's other poetry, "To Helen", as well as "Annabel Lee" and others, are virtually unrecognizable to the everyday reader as being works by Edgar Allan Poe. His name is usually associated with his tales of horror and the macabre. His one poem, "The Raven", a work which deals with a mans steady decline into madness, is probably his most recognizable piece of poetry. A situation, which I feel is unfortunate, considering that the aforementioned are in most cases the equal to "The Raven." Scholars have bestowed upon Edgar Allan Poe, the mantle of "horror writer" a crown which does him a great injustice considering the great variety of works that he wrote and the passion which drove him during his writing. It is this passion that is evident in "Israfel." The Poem itself draws heavily on Arabian and Oriental literature, subjects which fascinated Poe.(Allen 249) Supernatural elements...
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...INTRODUCTION Oral literature of folk literature refers to the heritage of imaginative verbal creations, stories, folk believes and songs of pre-literate societies have been evolved and passed on through the spoken word from one generation to the other. As a relatively new field of study. The African literature is a produce within an environment in the predominant of mode of communication is oral. African writers have also been falling back on the rich oral tradition of their people. The extent to see a writer uses the oral tradition is always often determined by his closeness to the Africa oral tradition. The influence of African oral tradition on African poetry helps to authenticate or establish the authencity of Africa literary tradition Orality in Modern African poetry manifest itself in a number of ways. It has to do with both the content as well as the form of African poetry. The most obvious prove that contemporary African poets are indebted to the indigenous poetic tradition of their people is in their interest in rehabilitating and excavating traditional poetic forms. For instance Wole Soyinka ‘IDANRE’ is best understood within the Ijala poetic traditions among the Yoruba culture. The poem in a sense is a form of Ijala as it celebrates Ogun- the god of Iron Kofi Awoonor also models his poem on the traditional poems of abuse among the Ewe of Ghana. Niyi Osundare has also admitted at many of his poems are written in form of ‘oriki’. Each of these poets has been...
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...The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock With time poems may have lost their voice, but not their importance. Up to this day, poetry is still one of the greatest forms of artistic expression; Poems speak to emotions and capture feelings. There is no right format of a poem, but yet a world of possibilities. Instead being unchangeable poems are innately open to interpretation, they should be spoken out loud in order to be “heard”, convey truth and cause impact. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot is an extremely meaningful poem; it is one of Elliot’s best-known works and without a doubt a masterpiece (Hillis). T.S. Eliot introduces the poem with a quote from Dante's Inferno (XXVII.61-66), and with that sparks our curiosity. He then makes statements and questions that perhaps everyone has done, or will do at some point in life. The poem is a legitimate work of the modernist movement, the language used is contemporary; the verses are free and the rhythm flows naturally. All of the elements in the poem are in harmony and work together in order to set the tone making up a unique poetic style. “Let us go then, you and I, when the evening is spread out against the sky”. From its first lines, the poem is able to catch the reader’s attention by using very strong imagery. Eliot’s following verse says, “ Like patient etherized upon a table”. The reader is both amazed but also “shocked” by the author with the...
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...do so, it must reflect an understanding and mastery 掌握of Western European literary techniques and styles. Necessarily excluded 排除by this decree规定, linguistically and thematically, was the vast amount of secular 长期的folk material in the oral tradition that had been created by Black people in the years of slavery and after. It might be pointed out that even the spirituals 圣歌or “sorrow悲痛的 songs” of the slaves—as distinct from their secular songs and stories—had been Europeanized to make them acceptable within these African American traditions after the Civil War. In 1862 northern White writers had commented favorably on the unique and provocative激励人心的 melodies of these “sorrow songs” when they first heard them sung by slaves in the Carolina sea islands. But by 1916, ten years before the publication of The Weary Blues, Hurry T. Burleigh, the Black baritone男中音 soloist独唱歌手 at New York’s ultrafashionable非常流行的 Saint George’s Episcopal 主教的Church圣公会, had published Jubilee大赦年 Songs of the United States, with every spiritual圣歌 arranged 编排so that a concert singer could sing it “in the manner 方式of an art song.” Clearly, the artistic work of Black people could be used to promote racial acceptance and integration only on the condition that it became Europeanized. Even more than比起…更 his rebellion反抗 against this restrictive tradition in African American art, Hughes’s expression of the vibrant充满活力的 folk culture of Black people established his writing as a landmark in the history of African American...
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...Ashley Wilson Brown English 152 OM3 6 November 2016 Read Between the Lines The anthology The New Census: An Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry captures a wide range of contemporary poems covering formal, social, and creative concerns. Although The New Census includes multiple poems from forty poets, there were two poems that both employ aesthetic traits and were the most engaging. The most intriguing literary piece presented in The New Census is “Coon Songs Must Go! Coon Songs Must Go on” by Tyehimba Jess. The second poem that wasn’t as engaging as “Coon Songs Must Go! Coon Songs Must Go on” but still possess interesting elements is “Tin Man” by Jericho Brown. Unlike “Tin Man,” the speaker of “Coon Songs Must Go! Coon Songs Must Go...
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...Song of Songs Rabbi Aqiba once said that “For in all the world there is nothing to equal the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel, for all the writings are Holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies.” (Davidson) This statement is made in regards to whether or not the book “Song of Songs” is to be included in the canon on the Bible. This book is a collection of songs and love poetry between two lovers. This book can be considered as an allegory of human sexuality, or divine love. However, there is no direct mention of the Divine Presence anywhere within the book. Even the Jewish Rabbis with the most understanding of biblical concepts regarding sexuality have trouble agreeing that a book of seemingly secular love poetry should be included in the sacred canon.(Davidson) When Aqiba said the Song of Songs was the Holy of Holies, he probably intended that to mean that the Song was detailed symbolism of the historical relationship between Yahweh (the Divine Presence) and the people of Israel from the Exodus to the coming of the Messiah.(Davidson) During the time, sexual feelings were considered pagan and evil. Some Christian allegorists believe that the author (or authors) of the songs wrote in a way that disguised sexual expressing as a yearning for God. Most scholars believe that the authors purposely wrote about yearning for God in an incredibly sexual way to further imply the strong emotions behind said yearning. These songs are regardless a type of sexual...
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...We find that many songs have a rhythmic poetry. Many ways this lives today is through indie and rock bands. These songs represent today’s popular topics, feelings, and emotions of the songwriter’s life. The songwriter represents his life and situations by his use of metaphors, idioms, and similes. The band, The 1975, is an indie rock band started in 2002 from Manchester, England. This band combines the dark yet youthful themes of sex, love, and fear with indie rock and pop rock music. This band took their musicality from people such as Michael Jackson, Rolling Stones to Brian Eno, and Boards of Canada. Their debut album The 1975 was released in 2013, was the number one album in the U.K., and reached 28 on the U.S. Billboard top 200. They soon came out with their sophomore album; I like It When You Sleep, for You Are So...
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...The method of socialist realism did not develop uniformly in all literary types. Scholars generally agree that poetry in Albania suffered a greater influence from socialist realism rather than prose, unlike Kosovo, where prose was more exposed to changes from this art-leveler method. 3.1 Development of poetry One of the main reasons why socialist realism influenced more the Albanian poetry was related to the fact that this literary genre was considered a follower of partisan songs. Since they were the strongest expression of liberation cause, partisan songs embedded in the recipient, thus conveying psychological and propaganda effects. As Milazim Krasniqi explains "lyrics of partisan songs written by Andrea Varfi, Fatmir Gjata, Kole Jakova, Qamil Buxheli, Shefqet Musaraj, and even Mehmet Shehu and Shefqet Peci, began the process of changing the function of the aesthetic text and promoted that as an exclusively ideological function" (Krasniqi, 2005, p. 164). This feature propaganda function spread through poetry prevailed in a powerful way,...
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