Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Alliterative Verse
In the comments section of this post, post your sample of alliterative lyrics or verse. And say something about them -- no matter how general (I like them because ... ; they're interesting because ... ; I chose them for ...). And go ahead and take a few moments to look at your classmates' other posts.
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Eric Benet "While you were Here"
(2nd verse)
Faded dreams of you and me
And of our little family
Are gone forever
My God in Heaven
Before the gift of clarity
We pay the price of misery
Why, please tell me why
Her mommy's gone away
But in her eyes I see you more each day
How can I repay
All your love unreturned
From so long ago
Now I know
I picked these lyrics because this a song that came out when I was probably in elementary school and it popped into my mind this morning.
"View from Heaven" Yellowcard
Feel your fire,
When its cold in my heart
And things sorta start
Reminding me of my last night with you.
I only need one more day,
Just one more chance to say
I wish that I had gone up with you too.
And I'm sure the view from heaven
Beats the hell out of mine here
And if we all believe in heaven
Maybe we'll make it through one more year
Down here.
I chose this song, because it is almost the 2 year anniversary of one of my highschool friend's dying , and the song has been stuck in my head the last few days.
Lupe Fiasco "I Gotcha"
(1st verse)
They call me Lupe
I'll be your new day
They wanna smell like me
They want my bouquet
But they can't they accented like the UK
Turn that ude Lupe to Pepe le Peu spray
Flagrantly fragrant and they can't escape it
My perfume pursued them
anywhere that they went
You don't want a loan leave my cologne alone
It's A Little Too Strong For You To Be Putting On
I picked these lyrics because I always liked the wordplay of the song and realized that there is a lot of alliteration within the verses
Mos Def "Brooklyn" (Part 3)
Brooklyn my habitat, the place where it happen at
Live sway and the sharp balance of the battle axe
Irons is brandished at, thugs draw they hammer back
It's where you find the News 2 crew cameras at
It's where my fam is at, summertime jame is at
They play Big and get you open like a sandal back
Hotter than candle wax, hustlin you can't relax
The crack babies tryin to find where they mama's at
It's off the handle black, wit big police scandals that
Turn into actions screenplays sold to Miramax
The type of place where they check your appearance at
And cats who know where all the high low gear is at
I chose these lyrics because I feel that mos def does a good job using alliteration within lines to compensate for the simple end rhymes.
Transplants, "California Babylon"
You can take away the nights with sights with bright lights
Seeks still ride, engage in street fights
Two to the head, pool of red, he's dead
Suspect fled, caught up with bloodshed
No sign of hope, we fight and sling dope
Junkies to our left, no fix, they can't cope
Violence won't cease, hand me the crow piece
No peace or sleep, we fight with police
I picked this song because it was what i was listening to when i decided to do this assignment.
Hear the sledges with the bells-
Silver bells!
What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
In the icy air of night!
While the stars that oversprinkle
All the heavens, seem to twinkle
With a crystalline delight;
Keeping time, time, time,
In a sort of Runic rhyme,
To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells
From the bells, bells, bells, bells,
Bells, bells, bells-
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.
I really like the way in which repetition and alliteration are used in this stanza to achieve its effect.
I forgot to mention in my previous post that the stanza's from Poe's poem "The Bells"
TV On the Radio, "Staring at the Sun"
cross the street from your storefront cemetary
hear me hailing from inside and realize
i am the conscience clear
in pain or ecstacy
and we were all weaned my dear
upon the same fatigue
staring at the sun
oh my own voice
cannot save me now
standing in the sea
I chose these lyrics because i like the sense desperation and nihilism that are conveyed in them as well as the imagery that is utilized.
Jay-Z "Renegade"
say that I'm foolish I only talk about jewels
Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it?
See I'm influenced by the ghetto you ruined
That same dude you gave nothin', I made somethin doin'
what I do through and through and
I give you the news - with a twist it's just his ghetto point-of-view
The renegade; you been afraid
I penetrate pop culture, bring 'em a lot closer to the block where they
pop toasters, and they live with they moms
Got dropped roasters, from botched robberies niggaz crotched over
Mommy's knocked up cause she wasn't watched over
Knocked down by some clown when child support knocked
No he's not around - now how that sound to ya, jot it down
I picked this song because I love the flow of the lyrics and how effortlessly he moves from one idea to the next using the beat and stresses.
Last verse in "Biter's Block" by Gym Class Heroes
Wow congratulations on your new purchase
I heard you bought a crib on biters block downtown plagiarism’s paradise
You’re not a movement
You’re purely amusement
The poster boy for Xerox and the role model for parasites
You serve no purpose
You’re purely decorative
And bore use to death with your auditory sedatives
Oh they don’t see
No, we don’t sleep
And hog tie your runaway bride with cold feet
We built this city on lock and load logic
I chose this song because its not just another love song, but about the industry of music and how its become superficial. Also it reminded me a lot of how Dirty Harry sounded in class because the chorus is children singing and I thought that was interesting.
"You Got Me" by The Roots
She studying film in photo flash focus record/Said she working on a flick and could my clique do the score/She said she love my show in Paris at Elysée Montmartre/And that I stepped off the stage and took a piece of her heart/We knew from the start that things fall apart/Intense and shatter, she like, that shit don't matter
This is one of my favorite songs bc of its urban (Philly!) laid back vibe. I like the storyline--young couple falls for each other but aware that relationships can turn people ugly so they're talking about the importance of trust and support in each other and maintaining their independent goals to come up in life...no drama. Maybe it's conviction of independence and trust or maybe it's fear of getting hurt; I'll leave that for the analysis.
However, the reason why I fell for the song is simply bc of the line "She studying film in photo flash focus record" which coincidentally is demonstrative of alliterative verse! PS--Hey guys, isn't the example only supposed to be 6-8 lines?!
William Shakespeare Sonnet 30
When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
I summon up remembrance of this past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
Then can I drown an eye, unused to flow,
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love's long since canceled woe,
And moan the expense of many a vanished sight:
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
But if the while I think of thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrows end.
May,
The paper says it needs to be "6-12 lines of alliterative verse"...
I added the last two lines of Shakespeares sonnet because it's the turn and figured I probablly shouldn't cut it out, but because he said 6-12 I'm considering just doing the first 8 lines.
I was reading over some of your posts, and found myself looking for the alliteration. I assume I am just looking to hard and making this out to be a lot harder than it really is, but can anyone clarify alliteration for me? I know it's repetition of initial sounds at the beginning of words, but when do you see alliteration within words? Is internal rhyme within a line considered alliteration? If alliteration is within words (such as saying and playin) than its the vowel/consonant sound and it has to have something to do with beat or meter correct??? Do end rhymes count as alliteration too?
Help would be appreciated...Thanks!!!
De La Soul
The Magic Number
Difficult preaching is Posdnuos' pleasure
Pleasure and preaching starts in the heart
Something that stimulates the music in my measure
Measure in my music, raised in three parts
Casually see but don't do like the Soul
'Cause seein' and doin' are actions for monkeys
Doin' hip hop hustle, no rock and roll
Unless your name's Brewster, cause Brewsters are Punky
Parents let go 'cause there's magic in the air
Criticising rap shows you're out of order
Stop look and listen to the phrase Fred Astaires
And don't get offended while Mase do-se-do's your daughter
"O Where are You Going" by W.H. Auden
"O where are you going?" said reader to rider,
"That valley is fatal when furnaces burn,
Yonder's the midden whose odours will madden,
That gap is the grave where the tall return."
"O do you imagine," said fearer to farer,
"That dusk will delay on your path to the pass,
Your diligent looking discover the lacking
Your footsteps feel from granite to grass?"
"O what was that bird," said horror to hearer,
"Did you see that shape in the twisted trees?
Behind you swiftly the figure comes softly,
The spot on your skin is a shocking disease."
"Out of this house," said rider to reader,
"Yours never will," said farer to fearer,
"They're looking for you," said hearer to horror,
As he left them there, as he left them there.
White and Nerdy, Weird Al Yankovich
First in my class here at M.I.T.
Got skills, I'm a Champion of DND
MC Escher that's my favorite MC
Keep your 40
I'll just have an Earl Grey tea
My rims never spin to the contrary
You'll find they're quite stationary
All of my action figures are cherry
Steven Hawkings in my library
My MySpace page is all totally pimped out
I got people begging for my top 8 spaces
Yo I know Pi to a thousand places
Brother Ali - Forest Whitiker
I'm not mean and got a neck full of razor bumps
I'm not the classic profile of what the ladies want
You might think I'm depressed as can be
But when I look in the mirror I see sexy ass me
And if that's somethin that you cant respect then that's peace
My life's better without you actually
To everyone out there, who's a little different
I say damn a magazine, these are gods fingerprints
You can call me ugly but cant take nothing from me
I am what I am doctor you ain't gotta love me
I chose these lyrics because I feel that they are words of strength from a person who doesn't have the advantages that his colleagues do, and because I enjoy the overall message of the song.
P.S. For those that may not know, Brother Ali is a white, albino, blind rapper
I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you
Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
-----------
I chose these lyrics because my roommate was playing this song when I got home from class on Tuesday. I not only enjoy this song, but I think it has good moments of alliteration and repetition to establish moments in the song.
The Missing
Now as i watch the progress of the plague,
The friends surrounding me fall sick, grow thin,
And drop away. Bared, is my shape less vague
--Sharply exposed and with a sculpted skin?
I do not like the statue's chill contour,
Not nowadays. The warmth investing me
Let outward through mind, limb, feeling, and more
In an involved increasing family.
Contact of friend led to another friend,
Supple entwinement through the living mass
Which for all that i knew might have no end,
Image of an unlimited embrace.
Oh forgot to leave my reasoning behind that poem--actually there's no specific reason, the poem just seemed to have a lot of emotion behind it and i wanted to look into it more.
"Shame" by Matchbox 20
What we lost here is something better left alone
Second steps have been forgotten, will you tell me how
They go
Set yourself, situate, like a fool try again
There's no one around you can remember being good, for you
So
Shame, shouldn't try you, couldn't step by you
And open up more
Shame, shame, shame
Shame, shouldn't try you, couldn't step by you
And open up more
Shame, shame, shame
i love this for multiple reasons, one of which is because the music is wonderful. but i also like the repetition of the "s" and "sh" in it, which is subtle, but creates an interesting effect when it keeps cropping up in the song.
Megan--
I know that D specified that alliteration is the repetition of the consonant and vowel sounds. I ran into the same questions you had, but after reading over what we did in class I think internal rhymes are included in alliteration...
"Dirty Harry"
/a /a
In my back pack
...so based on that I think it might not be a matter of either or when scanning for both.
I have 2 questions--
If what D said is true, then why did we mark the following line in "Dirty Harry" as so? Aren't the s's and m's just repetition of consonant sounds??
f f/ e f/ e /
Some are seekin and searchin like
g/ g/
me, moi.
And my last question...who's going to class tonight??
disregard the scansion, didn't translate right on the blog, but you know what i mean, right?? back pack??
hope that helps (and didn't confuse you anymore!)
May,
Thanks for your help. It wasn't confusing, and I get what you are saying. I understood in class when he helped, but when I read other students lyrics/poems I can't seem to see a lot of alliteration.
And I'll be in class...
Megan
Alicia Russell
DMB- Loving Wings
My heart was made of broken bones
My soul a bag of stick and stones
Then you along this dusty road
Have come, my love, to take me home
And I give to you my everything
Because you've given me these loving wings
And angels have all gathered 'round
To hear me sing my love out loud
A DAUGHTER OF EVE
by: Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)
A fool I was to sleep at noon,
And wake when night is chilly
Beneath the comfortless cold moon;
A fool to pluck my rose too soon,
A fool to snap my lily.
My garden-plot I have not kept;
Faded and all-forsaken,
I weep as I have never wept:
Oh it was summer when I slept,
It's winter now I waken.
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore!"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!" —
Merely this, and nothing more.
Re: My Post
I have always associated the poem The Raven with Halloween, so I decided to concentrate on it for the paper. I chose the particular passage because I have an Aunt ELenore whose voice sounds pretty similar to a Raven's claws scratching on the window.
Mayrose: I love that song too! I was going to use it as my post, but changed my mind at the last minute. I like how the song almost paints a picture in your mind of how they met and fell for each other.
Christine: I like Renegade because when you listen to the song, Jay and Eminem (esp. Eminem) do a good job with changing the tone of their voices and stressing different parts of their verses.
David K.- I liked your post since it made you smile, but at the same time made you agree with what was being said. It's a different way of delivering a message of accepting yourself.
kerry,
i completely agree with you in your comment about the raven relating to halloween!!! words such as silence, darkened, and whispered in the poem give it an eery feeling provoking emotion( attridge) to readers!!!
alicia-
i think it is very interesting how your song has incorporated words such as "stick and stones" and "broken bones" with a fairy tale/nursery rhyme rhythm that we experience as children. i think this evokes emotions and memories for adults now listening to the song,in relation to other topics such as love. It just makes everything seem more related.
shane-
i think it is very funny that you chose to use the song white and nerdy. it is a song that im sure most people have heard, including myself, but i have never really noticed the songs use of elements such as alliteration to gain its effect! i think the use of alliteration and word choice enhnace the songs quality and comedic effect that it is trying to accomplish!!!
leanne-- i really like lyrics that you chose..i like the line about other lovers being northern starts pointing in the right direction.
falasade-- i love the lyrics you chose..it is so touching and heartbreaking, but there is more alliteration in there than i originally thought when i read it quickly the first time.
sarahz-- i love the poem you chose..i didnt realize at first that it is Poe..and i love Poe! you are right..the repetition is very intriguing.
Jamie-
You can definitely do a lot with the De La Soul song. While it contains a basic A-B-A-B rhyme scheme, there is a lot of internal rhymes within each line that also contain a lot of alliteration. I alos like how sometimes they start with a word they just ended the previous line with.
mayrose,
This is not only a good song but good in the sense that the alliteration is pretty clear in this, and most Roots song. Black Thought tends to use use alliteration and carry the same sound for multiple bars in a lot of songs and this song is a good example of that.
sara m,
In your verse (the missing) there is a lot of interesting aspects to the rhyme scheme. There tends to be a lot of virtual beats especially in the beginning. It also seems like the poem takes an interesting turn because it starts out morbid, and turns optimistic. At least thats what it seems like to me (I may be completely off base here).
Alicia Russell-
FPAULINO: I think that the internal rhymes in your lyrics create a feeling of activity that you get when visiting a highly populated area (like Brooklyn). The internal rhymes add to the business of the song.
SARAH G: Your lyrics are pretty graphic. I think that with the combination of rhymes draws the reader (or listener) into the song and makes him more attentive to what is actually being said.
LEANNE: I really liked your lyrics, they were very poignant in a way that is pretty unusual in my opinion. I feel as though love songs usually talk about the object of love in the song as the be-all and end-all of the narrator's life, and the narrator usually regards past relationships with others as mistakes, but here, the past relationships are looked upon in a positive light. I find that very refreshing.
Sean,
True story, back in late '89 early '90 I used to cry and fight with my older brother of eleven years to watch full house and not yo! mtv raps. The problem was I was 5/6 and he was 16 so needless to say, I was always forced to watch videos by public enemy, krs-1, de la soul etc. If only I knew old school hip hop would be taught at rutgers...
Anyways about your lyric...
While I think that you have one of the easiest to analyze about alliteration, I have to admit i'm bothered by the line "They wanna smell like me" I cant seem to fit that line in any pattern. Perhaps I'm just confused, but I feel like that line should be reinforcing something. Is there something I'm missing...
falasade,
I really like your choice...the song has a lot of similar sounding words which is perfect for this assignment. The song also seems to hold lots of depth behind it-might be interesting to see people's perspective on the meaning
tamara,
I also really like your song choice. I'm sorry to hear about your friend but maybe having a personal reason behind picking the song might be useful when trying to break it down.
sarah g,
Your song is perfect for this assignment-so many similar words! nice
artfuldodger,
First off, it was nice to see this selection among mostly lyrics. Anyways when I first read it, i was really struck by the rhythm. The rhyming pattern and the repetition of hard consonant sounds intertwined with the alliteration really dictates an aggressive sounding poem. I especially love how the pattern changes in the final stanza, where fearer and hearer rhyme while horror sticks out in front of the last line, slowing the speed of the reading down and making you pause.
As much as I like the lyrics I posted earlier, I realized they arent as alliterative as should be, so I think Im going to write my essay on these:
Player I grind, my focus is crime
Raw with the rhyme, I'm slick with the slime
My words are diamonds dug out a mine
Spit 'em, polish, look how they shine
Glitter, glisten, gloss, floss
I catch a beat runnin like Randy Moss
Ride dat bitch off like a brand new horse
I'm rollin my stone, gatherin no moss
Mami I'm comin I hope you get off
Or rock your own boat like Aaliyah then talk
Back, back, forth, forth
Get that sailor on course, course
Make that track a corpse, corpse
These lyrics are from the Outkast song the Whole World. I picked these for their alliteration as well as because its a favorite song of mine
Whitney-
The imagery here is so intense. I really love your choice. It is a clear example of how alliteration can connect words and change their meanings. For example, the connection of chilly and lily changes what might be one’s initial reaction to a flowery word. Instead it provides us with the idea of the lily as something associated with death and loss. The moon and soon, connect the rose to the word cold because both “rose” and “cold” precede the “on” alliterated words. This also changes the meaning of the word rose and connects it to the meaning that might be suggested by the lily.
Also, in line one of stanza two, the word “garden-plot” might be connected to “Beneath” in line three of stanza one, through the “en” sound. This emphasizes the coldness that looms over her loss. You definitely made a really interesting choice!
Sarah Z- It is really fun to look at this poem when considering alliteration. I don’t know if it is just my sense of humor, but for some reason I always found this poem to be amusing. It might be suggested that the alliteration is actually the main thread of the poem. That being said, it is hard not to admire the man who coined the term tintinnabulation. Perhaps it is Poe himself who inspired comic book artists in their use of sound icons.
To The Artful Dodger- (it did not say your name)
It is interesting how the alliteration in this poem actually made me feel a little confused and unsure about what I was reading. It really connected me the madness and horror of the poem. I am still trying to contemplate what some of the meaning behind the symbols might be without getting lost in those words. I also like the way the last stanza connects all three preceding stanzas in a way that is still very confusing and questionable. I browsed the internet to see if this was the full version of the poem and found that the title of the poem is actually a line in another of his poems entitle “Oh What is That Sound.” Stanza Seven:
O where are you going? Stay with me here!
Were the vows you swore deceiving, deceiving?
No, I promised to love you, dear,
But I must be leaving.
I don’t know if this is an intentional repetition but I thought it was pretty cool since the meaning of “Oh Where are You Going” was so difficult for me to put a finger on.
Sarah Z- I like how the repetition of the words and sounds adds to the theme of bells. Saying the same sounds over and over, combined with the meter of the lines, creates a ringing, “jingling” effect.
Grace- Again I like the use of repetition in these lyrics, it emphasizes the theme of shame and creates a sound and tone that seems like an admonishment.
Kerry- I like this poem, the alliteration is very pronounced and it helps create a strong rhythm, which creates a frantic and somewhat creepy tone. It emphasizes the darkness and doubt of the poem very strongly.
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