Poetry Terms/songs

Tone- Al Green, Lets Stay Together

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAOOFk549fw

tone: gleaned from the poet's overall diction, tone becomes the attitude the poet takes toward the subject and theme.

I'm, I'm so in love with you
Whatever you want to do
Is alright with me
'Cause you make me feel, so brand new
And I want to spend my life with you

This song illuminates the poetry term of tone because of how it gives off a feeling of love right from the get go. There is a strong love tone to the song, and it lets us know that the song is about love. The reason why Al Green made the tone like this is because he wanted to make a song that would show the feeling of a man when he sees the girl that he loves.

Imagery- James Taylor, smiling face

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoJNCk6Zudk

Imagery: language of sense experience; must to be concrete, rather than abstract; the mental pictures experienced by the reader of the poem--not just visual; the sense details which are vital to evoking emotion in poems.

Whenever I see your smiling face
I have to smile myself
Because I love you (Yes, I do)
And when you give me that pretty little pout
It turns me inside out
There's something about you, baby (I don't know)

This song illuminates the poetry term of Imagery because of how when we listen to the verse that is shown above, we cabn almost get an image in our head of a man seeing the smiling face of the girl he loves. The reaason why this song is like this is because it is a love song to show how a man loves a girl so much, that the thought of her smiling makes him smile himself.

Connotation- Switchfoot, meant to live

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72FkCoJfhgU

connotation: the overtones or suggestions of additional meaning a word gains from context.

We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside
Somewhere we live inside
We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves?
Somewhere we live inside

This song shows connotation because there is much more meaning to the words of this song then it shows. The verse shown above does not have a dictionary meaning, but rather a thoughtful one. This verse means that if it were not for sin in this world, we would be much happier and have much more to live for. It is a song that shwos a groups faith in christianity. The reason why they made this song like this is to show people that there is sin out there, and if it was not for this sin we would be much happier.

Paradox- Jimmy Soul, If you want to be happy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh9ZZgDqzAg&feature=related

paradox: an apparent contradiction or absurdity that is somehow true. May be either situation or statement. See also oxymoron. Can indicate a contradictory emotional state.

If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life
Never make a pretty woman your wife
So from my personal point of view
Get an ugly girl to marry you

This verse shows the paradox of this song because if you think about what is being said in this song, it is true. A lot of times, the prettiest people do the ugliest things. So when a girl is pretty and you wanjt to marry her, it does not mean she is going to make you happy. However, if you marry someone who has a great personality and is compatable, but she is not as good looking, she will make you more happy then the woman who is attractive. The reason why this song was written is to give listeners a reality check of something that happens often. Many men only judge a book by its cover, and dont look what is on the inside, but they pay for it in the end.

symbol- Frank Sinatra, That's Life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc1fu4RHDi0

symbol: a figure of speech (trope) in which something means more than itself. A symbol may be read both literally and metaphorically. The term symbol is derived from the Greek symballein which means "to throw together." This suggests the essential quality of a symbol--that is, the drawing together of two worlds. A symbol defines an area, or a range of meaning.

I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate,
A poet, a pawn and a king.
I've been up and down and over and out
And I know one thing:
Each time I find myself, flat on my face,
I pick myself up and get back in the race.

This song shows symbol because of how the words in this verse symbolize how life can be. It is telling us that no matter who you are or what you go through, you have to get back up and keep moving forward. This song was written to tell people to never give up and to stop feeling bad for themselves when something bad happens to them. Frank is telling everyone to make the best of a bad situation, and if you feel bad for yourself, wel....."Thats life".