Lyrical Essay Assignment | Online Assignment
lyrical essay must be 1500 words ill have the instructions in uploaded file
Essay 4 (Lyrical/Poetry) Assignment
Analyze a song of your choice as if it were a poem (You can choose a poem if you’d rather)
- Incorporate a minimum of 7 different poetic devices within your analysis. Do not use the same device twice. You can incorporate more if it helps you reach the required word count. I’ve provided a list, but many more can be found online.
- Analyze the tone. Sad, depressing, happy, etc.? (There can be more than one tone!).
- Discuss the intended audience. This song was written for someone to listen to. Who do you think that is and why? (You have no way of knowing. You’re just making an educated guess based on what the lyrics say. You could also discuss unintended audience—those who listen even though the song wasn’t meant for them).
- Discuss the speaker. What can you infer about he or she based on the lyrics? (You can only discuss what you know about the speaker based on what the lyrics say, not on what you know about author or what a secondary source says).
- Discuss the relevance in today’s world. What are the moral and/or societal implications? (Did the song cause something to happen in the world or did something happen in the world that made the artist write the song? -same goes for poetry). Here’s an example: The 9-11 terrorist attacks led many singers to write songs about the attacks. OR The rap group N.W.A. wrote songs with explicit lyrics that led to Congress creating explicit lyrics labels for albums. These are extreme examples though. Your song may not be this clear cut. All I’m asking is why the song or poem matters.
- Discuss the structure of the song. (Is there capitalization, end punctuation, how many stanzas, quatrains, tercets, couplets, end rhyme, open/closed/free form, etc.).
*These 6 requirements do not need to be in any particular order in your essay. Part of the assignment is to make your analysis of these 6 things flow seamlessly together. You may want to discuss intended audience along with relevance to today’s world in the same paragraph, or you may want to discuss tone and speaker at the same time. It’s up to you. Keep in mind that some of structural things of the song or poem are also considered poetic devices (such as end rhyme, quatrain, open form/verse, etc.), so when you’re discussing these things as the structure, you’re ALSO pointing out these as poetic devices, so you’re doing two things at once.
*You MUST provide a copy of the lyrics with your essay.
*This MUST be no less than 1300 words.
*This essay is worth 15% of your total grade.
*Secondary sources are NOT required or permitted. Focus only on the lyrics or poem.
*The final draft is due on Turnitin/Moodle by 10 am (the start of class time) on May 21st.
*Obviously, late submissions are not allowed since this essay is being submitted so close to the end of the quarter.
*You’re only allowed to submit once, so be certain of what you’re submitting before doing so. I deduct 5 points from the essay if asked to resubmit on your behalf.
