After years and years of being told what poetry is by the education system drilling children's minds with Shakespeare Sonnets and the Romantics, it is sometimes hard to decide whether or not modern day music lyrics are acceptable as poetry. This topic is rather subjective, and I'd like to think the proper way to think of song lyrics is as being "poetic" rather than "poems". Remember, I said the definition of poetry is subjective, therefore my definition may not ring true with yours. Regardless, this being my blog, I guess I'll post my opinion. To me, poetry does not have music and melody accompanying it. Melody is key to music and requires specific pitches in a specific succession each and every time. This does not mean that song lyrics do not share poetic characteristics. In most scenarios, modern day songs spark more emotion in youth than Blake or Byron. Regardless, I'd like to share a song that has lyrics that are quite poetic in my own opinion. I guess it is up to you to determine if the lyrics are poetry or not. I'm not here to tell you some universal definition of poetry since if I did, it would only be a lie. Art needs subjectivity. Without it, it's not art. It's math, science, or business. None the less, here you go.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QFD-PhJRsk
Now if you have watched the video, you can see that it utilizes quite a bit of metaphor. If you try to take a direct approach to the song, you will find the lyrics to be kind of ridiculous. I'd suggest taking a semiotics approach to it and find the symbolism in the song and relate it to yourself. I doubt there is universal meaning to the lyrics. There may be a specific meaning to the singer himself, but I think it is up for interpretation to the listener. Whether or not you think it is poetry is another question. I'll stick to my opinion of keeping song lyrics in their own category, but I do think it shares some characteristics with a poem. This idea is not to take any of the validity and power away from lyrics. I think songs are just as important as poetry, and probably even more important to most of us. I just think it's deserving of its own category since it requires the usage of melody over meter to emphasize its meaning. Honestly, it doesn't really matter all that much. Just enjoy songs and poems and don't let the ramblings of an over analytical skeptic English major ruin it for you.
Its true at the end of the day there isn't a true definition to poetry other then the fact that it for the most part rhymes. You made me think though, with your comment of lyrics being "poetic" but not not necessarily poems. Many things can be referred to as poetic even an abstract painting and it doesn’t even have words. When it comes to writing and piece can become something more. A poem can be lengthened to become micro fiction maybe even a short story. A poem can be turned into a song. Words can transcend these boundaries, which is why it’s probably so difficult to categorize each one in specificity. I guess it’s our nature as human beings to label everything. I think that this same reason is why new genres of fictions have come about.
ReplyDelete