Halaman
Exploring Poems
and Song Lyrics
Chapter
8
In This Chapter
167
Source
: On Nothing, 2005; Selected Poems, 2005; Life Sentences, 2004
Listening:
•
Listening and responding to poems
•
Listening and responding to song lyrics
Speaking:
•
Learning how to read poems
•
Expressing the meaning in poems and song lyrics
•
Practising and reciting poems and reading song lyrics
Reading:
• Reading texts and information related to poems and
English songs
•
Practising poetry reading
•
Identifying meanings in poems and song lyrics
Writing:
•
Learning how to write poems and song lyrics
•
Writing poems and song lyrics
168
Developing English Competencies
for Grade XII of Language Programme
Listening
In this section, you will learn how to:
•
listen and respond to poems;
•
listen and respond to song lyrics.
1. What do the pictures describe?
2. What are they doing?
3. Have you ever listened to a poem?
4. What was the poem about?
5. Did you like the poem? Why or why not?
Source
:
dwottawa.
fi
les.wordpress.com
Source
:
Publisher's Documentation
1
2
Look at the pictures and answer the following questions.
Listen to the tape. Fill in the blanks with the words
you hear.
Wings of Butter
fl
ies
Drifting low, above the
1
Upon a
2
bud is where I found
A butter
fl
y resting
3
, with wings
of gold and
4
rings
5
high up in the sky
Butter
fl
ies
6
, just right on by
My eyes are
7
, but I can see
the
8
of gold and purple wings.
Ann, Mtn. Grove, Missouri, Age 15
Activity
1
Activity
2
169
Exploring Poems and Song Lyrics
1. What is the title of the poem?
2. Can you guess what the poem is about?
3. Does the poem have an argument? Is it descriptive?
4. Is there anything special about the poem's language?
5. What might the poem image suggest or symbolise?
6. Do you like the poem? Why or why not?
Listen to the information about poetry and decide
whether these statements are true (T) or false (F).
The following questions are taken from the poem by
William Wodsworth that you are going to listen. Discuss
the answers with your friend
ˈ
s.
You are going to listen to another poem. Listen to it
carefully. Then answer the following questions.
Counting-Out Rhyme
by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Silver bark of beech, and sallow
Bark of yellow birch and yellow
Twig of willow
Stripe of green in moose wood maple,
Color seen in leaf apple
Bark of popple
Wood of people pale as moonbeam,
Wood of oak of yoke and barn-beam,
Wood of hornbeam.
Silver bark of beach, and hollow
Stem of elder, tall and yellow
Twig of yellow
1. Poetry is a kind of literary work to convey
ideas or emotion.
2. Poetry and prose have the same structure.
3. Poetry is easy to translate from one language
into another.
4. Poems frequently rely on their effect of
imagery.
5. The most vital element of sound in poetry
is rhythm.
6. Much modern poetry uses traditional
rhyme schemes.
7. Poetry is an art; language used for aesthetic
qualities.
Activity
3
Activity
4
Activity
5
170
Developing English Competencies
for Grade XII of Language Programme
Questions:
1. How many lines and stanzas are there in the poem?
2. Does the poem have the of the rhyme?
3. Can you describe the rhyme pattern of the line?
4. What is the theme of the poem?
5. What is the poem about?
6. How does the poet describe the 'rhyme'?
7. What does the line mean
'wood of people pale as
moonbeam'?
8. Do you like the poem? Why or why not?
Now,
fi
nd a poem and recite it while your friends are
listening. Try to guess what it is about.
Study the following information about poems and songs.
Then give your own comments on the relationships of
poem and songs.
Poems and Songs
Poetry is one used to crystallize our
emotional responses to life and ideas.
Many writers choose poetry as a way
of exploring human experience.
Human beings naturally respond
to patterns in language which appeal
to the sense, the imagination and the
emotions, it is hard to define what
poetry is but we have poetry in our
human repertoire because we need to
use language to express our imagination
and our emotion. Poetry draws on the
human imagination to express loss, to
express love, to explore ideas and to
put forward point of view.
Many people claim that they are
not interested in poetry but this may
be because they are thinking of just a
narrow category of 'poetry'- something
studied at school, or something remote
and inaccessible. The most common
source of poetry today is probably in
song lyrics.
Adapted from
Creative Writing Skills
, 2000
Activity
6
Activity
7
171
Exploring Poems and Song Lyrics
It's My Life
by Bon Jovi
This ain't a song for the
1
-hearted
No silent
2
for the faith-departed
I ain't gonna be just a face in the
3
You're gonna hear my voice
When I shout it out
4
Chorus
It's my life
It's now or
5
I ain't gonna live
6
I just want to live while I'm alive
(It's my life)
My heart is like an open
7
Like Frankie said
I did it my way
I just wanna live while I'm
8
It's my life
This is for the ones who
9
their ground
For Tommy and Gina who never backed
10
Tomorrow's getting harder make no mistake
Luck ain't even
11
12
make your own breaks
back to Chorus
My heart is like an
13
highway
Like Frankie said
I did it
14
I just want to live while I'm alive
'Cause it's
15
Listen to the song lyric and
fi
ll in the missing words.
New Horizon
Song and Poetry
Some writers believe that
poetry has its origins
in song. Most of the
characteristics that
distinguish it from other
forms of utterance–
rhythm, rhyme,
compression, intensity of
feeling, the use of
refrains–appear to have
come about from efforts
to
fi
t words to musical
forms.
Adapted from
www.wikipedia.
com.
Activity
8
172
Developing English Competencies
for Grade XII of Language Programme
1. Do you want to change everything about your life,
or do you only want to change a few things?
2. Does he want to move to a different area?
3. Does he require a different circle of friends?
4. Does he feel your life is being wasted?
5. Does he feel capable of achieving something bene
fi
cial
to yourself?
6. Does he feel capable of achieving something bene
fi
cial
to others?
7. Draw up a list of advantages and disadvantages to
starting a new life.
8. How much control do you have over your life?
(Percentage.)
9. What skills do you want to develop?
10. What do you think of the song? Do you like it or not?
Give your reason.
Listen to a song once again and answer these questions.
All the questions are related to the song lyrics.
1. The title of the song
2. The singer
3. The lyrics, rhymes/rhythm
4. What is it about?
5. What is the purpose of the song?
Listen to a song you like and identify the following parts
of the song. You may
fi
nd the lyrics from music books,
magazines, or the Internet.
Activity
9
Activity
10
173
Exploring Poems and Song Lyrics
Speaking
In this section, you will learn how to:
• read poems;
•
express meaning in poems and song lyrics;
•
practise and recite poems and read song lyrics.
Answer these questions brie
fl
y.
1. What do you see in each picture?
2. What are they doing?
3. What is the expression of the students in each picture?
4. Have you ever read poetry?
5. Do you like reading poetry?
6. What do you know about poetry reading?
1
2
Listen to the tape. Pay attention to the way she/he
reads the poem.
I Heard a Fly buzz
Emily Dickinson
I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air—
Between
the Heaves of Storm—
The Eyes around—had wrung them dry—
And Breaths were gathering
fi
rm
For that last Onset— when the King
Source
:
Publisher's Documentation
Source
:
Publisher's Documentation
Activity
1
Activity
2
174
Developing English Competencies
for Grade XII of Language Programme
Read the explanation about poetry reading.
Language with Rhythm
English is a stress-timed language.
This means that, when we speak, we
cluster the sounds of the language into
groups which we call syllables. Some
of these syllables are said with more
emphasis which call stress. Stress in
words can be marked like this:
Can
I come
with you?
No I'm sorry you
can't
W
hen the stress patterns of
language are regular in some way, then
we have poetry or as it is sometimes
called verse. In Henry Kendll's poem
'bell-bird' the syllables are stressed in a
regular pattern which gives the lines a
rhythm as shown by the highlighting:
By
channels
of
coolness
the
echoes
are
calling
,
And
down
the dim
gorges
hear
the
creek
falling
:
it
lives
in the
mountain
where
moss
and the
sedges
.
Touch
with their
beauty
the
banks
and
the
ledges
.
Taken from
Creative Writing Skills,
2000
Be witnessed—in the Room-
I willed my Keepsakes—Signed away
What portion of me be
Assignable—and then it was
There interposed a Fly—
With Blue—uncertain stumbling Buzz—
Between
the light—and me—
And then the Windows failed—and then
I could not see to see—
When we read this poem, we pause at the end of each
three-beat lines. We pause because we tend to hear beats
in pairs. The
fi
rst line of the poem has two pairs of beats,
and so we expect the following lines to repeat this pattern.
Thus, we pause after the three-beat lines for the expected
fi
nal beat in the second pair of beat.
Activity
3
175
Exploring Poems and Song Lyrics
Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind
by William Shakespeare
Blow
, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh-ho! sing heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho! the holly!
This life is most jolly.
Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
Thou dost not bite so nigh
As bene
fi
ts forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remember'd not.
Heigh-ho! sing heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho! the holly!
This life is most jolly.
Now, read the following poem aloud. As you read the
poem, try to hear and see the sounds made by the
words at the end of the each line.
Pronounce the following words taken from the poem.
Then
fi
nd their meanings.
1. wind
/wɪnd/
2. unkind
/ʌnkaɪnd/
3. keen
/ki:n/
4. seen
/si:n/
5. rude
/rud/
6. ingratitude
/ɪnˈɡrætətud/
7. folly
/ˈfɒli/
8. heigh
/ˈhaɪ/
9. holly
/ˈhɒli/
10. jolly
/djɒli/
11. feigning
/feɪnɪŋ/
12. freeze
/friz/
13. sky
/skaɪ/
14. nigh
/naɪ/
15. warp
/wɔrp/
16. sharp
/ʃarp/
New Horizon
The word "rhyme" can
be used in a speci
fi
c and
a general sense. In the
speci
fi
c sense, two
words rhyme if their
fi
nal stressed vowel and
all following sounds are
identical; two lines of
poetry rhyme if their
fi
nal strong positions
are
fi
lled with rhyming
words. A rhyme in the
strict sense is also called
a "perfect rhyme".
Examples are sight and
fl
ight, deign and gain,
madness and sadness.
Taken from
www.englishclub.com
Activity
4
Activity
5
176
Developing English Competencies
for Grade XII of Language Programme
Angel
I sit and wait
Does an angel contemplate my fate
And do they know
The places where we go
When we're grey and old
'Cause I've been told
That salvation lets their wings unfold
So when I'm lying in my bed
Thoughts running through my head
And I feel that love is dead
I'm loving angels instead.
And through it all she offers me protection
A lot of love and affection
Whether I'm right or wrong
I know that life won't break me
When I come to call she won't forsake me
I'm loving angels instead.
The Angel
I dreamt a dream! What can it mean!
And that I was a maiden queen,
Guarded by an angel mild.
Witless woe was ne'er beguiled!
And I wept both night and day,
And he wiped my tears away,
And I wept both day and night.
So he took his wings and
fl
ed;
Then the morn blushed rosy red
I dried my tears, and armed my fear
With ten thousand shields and spears.
Soon my angel came again.
I was armed; he came in vain,
For the time of youth was
fl
ed,
And grey hairs were on my head.
Determine which of the following texts is a poem and
which is song lyrics. Put forward your arguments to
the class.
Study the following information and answer the
questions that follow.
Poetry is like a song. Both involve creativity in the
expression of ideas and feelings. Read this verse from
the song "A Time for Us" which was sung in the
fi
lm of
"Romeo and Juliet"
A rose will bloom
It then will fade
So does a youth
So does the fairest maid
Questions:
1. Do you think it is a poem?
2. Do you know other songs which, when recited, sound
like poems?
Activity
6
Activity
7
177
Exploring Poems and Song Lyrics
1. What is the theme of the song?
2. What does the song tell you about?
3. Does the song have rhyme or rhythm?
4. Can you identify the chorus of the song?
5. What is your interpretation to the chorus of the song?
6. Do you
fi
nd any patterns within the language of the
lyrics?
7. If yes, do the patterns affect the way you respond to
the songs?
Now, read the lyrics and discuss the following questions
with your friends.
Since U Been Gone
(Kelly Clarkson)
How
can I put it? You put me on
I even fell for your stupid love song
Yeah yeah since you been gone
How come I never hear you say
I just wanna be with you
Guess you never felt that way
But since you been gone
I can breathe for the
fi
rst time
I'm moving on yeah yeah
Thanks to you now I get
I get what I want
Since you been gone
You had your chance you blew it
Out of sight, out of mind
Shut your mouth I just can't take it
Again and again and again and again
Work in groups and read the following song lyrics.
Discuss what it is about. Use the questions in Activity 8
for your guidelines.
Your Project
Find song lyrics from
a CD or cassette cover.
You may choose your
favourite song. Then
read it to the class and
make a short report
about the lyrics (words,
language features,
rhyme, rhythm,
meanings, passage, etc).
Activity
8
Activity
9
178
Developing English Competencies
for Grade XII of Language Programme
Answer the following questions.
Reading
In this section, you will learn how to:
•
read texts and information related to poems and English songs;
• practise poetry reading;
•
identify meanings in poems and song lyrics.
Read and study the following information. Then, pay
attention to the explanation.
1. Have your ever performed poetry in front of other
people?
2. How did you feel when you read the poetry?
3. What do you know about narrative and lyrical?
4. Do you know the other forms of poetry such as epic
and ballad?
Different Forms of Poetry
Human beings have been expressing their
experiences in rhythmic language for many centuries,
and many forms of poetry have been developed and
still continue to be developed. For example the ballads-a
form of poetry which tells a story-developed in the
Middle Ages, at a time when people loved stories of
adventure and romance.
We can divide poetry into two broad categories:
• poems that tell a story or represent action
• poems that explore emotions and ideas
It is human to express how we feel. We do this
every day in simple statements such as: What a great
day! I had the best time! I'm so over it! All poems are
to do with emotion, but in some poetry this is the most
important motivation for writing. One of the most
common emotion explored through poetry is love.
Activity
1
Activity
2
179
Exploring Poems and Song Lyrics
Read and recite the poem aloud with the correct
pronunciation.
1. Can you guess what the poem is about?
2. Does the poem explore the writer's emotions?
3. What kind of emotions does the writer express in her
poetry?
4. How is the language used to explore this emotion?
5. Choose an emotion, for example fear or jealousy.
Write a short poem to explore an aspect of that
emotion. Then read it aloud to the class.
6. How does the speaker symbolise love and friendship
in the poem?
7. Can you describe what love and friendship are based
on the poet's point of view?
8. The conclusion of the poem is in the third stanza. Can
you draw a conclusion?
9. What is your view on love and friendship?
Love and Friendship
by Emily Bronte
Love is like the wild rose-briar,
Friendship like the holly-tree-
The holly is dark when the rose briar blooms
But which will bloom most constantly?
T
he wild rose-briar is sweet in spring,
Its summer blossoms scent the air;
Yet wait till winter comes again
And who will call the wild-briar fair?
T
he scorn the silly rose-wreath now
And deck thee with the holly's sheen,
That when december blights thy brow
He still may leave thy garland green
Work in pairs and read the poem once again. Then
discuss the following questions.
Activity
3
Activity
4
180
Developing English Competencies
for Grade XII of Language Programme
Read and study the following poem. You may ask
your friends or teachers if you have any dif
fi
culties
in understanding the poem.
Stopping by Woods
on a Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods
fi
ll up with snow.
My little horse must think it's queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy
fl
ake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Work in groups. Have a discussion about the poem in
Activity 5. Answer the following questions.
1. According to the
fi
rst stanza, where does the speaker
think the owner of the woods lives? What will the
owner not see the speaker do?
2. According to the second stanza, what does the speaker
suppose is his horse's reaction to stopping? Where
does the speaker exactly stop? Which evening is it?
3. According to stanza 3, what does the horse do? What
sound can be heard?
4. In the last stanza, what three adjectives describe the
woods? How far does the speaker still have to go?
Activity
5
Activity
6
181
Exploring Poems and Song Lyrics
Goodbye My Lover
Song by James Blunt
Did I disappoint you or let you down?
Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown?
'Cause I saw the end before we'd begun,
Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won.
So I took what's mine by eternal right.
Took your soul out into the night.
It may be over but it won't stop there,
I am here for you if you'd only care.
You touched my heart you touched my soul.
You changed my life and all my goals.
And love is blind and that I knew when,
My heart was blinded by you.
I know your fears and you know mine.
We've had our doubts but now we're
fi
ne,
And I love you, I swear that's true.
I cannot live without you.
Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.
Read the following song lyric of “Goodbye My Lover”
and answer the questions.
1. What is the song about? Does the song express an
emotion?
2. What emotion does the song express?
3. Identify the emotion which is being explored through
language.
4. What does the writer feel about his lover?
5. What does the line "you touched my heart you
touched my soul" mean?
6. Do you like the song? Why or why not?
Answer the questions based on the song lyric in
Activity 7.
Activity
7
Activity
8
182
Developing English Competencies
for Grade XII of Language Programme
Writing
In this section, you will learn how to:
•
follow the stages of writing poems and song lyrics;
•
write poems and song lyrics.
Answer the following questions.
How to Write a Poem
A poem starts with a thought, an
idea, or an emotion felt from the heart.
Poems can be happy, or sad, deep-
thinking or off the wall, humorous, or
even maudlin. The choice is up to you
and your imagination as to what you
will create.
The only other tools you will
need is paper and a pencil. You might
keep a rhyming dictionary on hand,
along with a thesaurus and a regular
dictionary to help you out.
Your
fi
rst step is to write down
that idea or thought that you have
and want to turn into a poem. Next,
we are going to turn that thought
into a free verse poem. There are two
different types of poems, and they are
structured and free verse. One example
of a structured poem is a limerick. Free
verse is much easier to write as there
are no steadfast rules to writing them.
Some free verse doesn't even have
any rhymes or meters to them. Meter
is de
fi
ned as a rhythm in verses, or a
pattern of syllables.
So, now, rewrite your thoughts
into lines. Don't worry about spelling
or punctuation at this point in time,
just change your thoughts to lines.
Don't worry about how long or short
each line is either. Now is the time to
look at your lines and remember that
the poem should have a beginning, a
middle, and an end, just like a story, a
book, and a movie has.
Adapted from
en.wikipedia.org
1. Have you ever written a poem?
2. What was the poem about?
3. What did you feel when you wrote the poem?
4. Do you like writing poems? Why or why not?
5. Do you think writing poems is dif
fi
cult?
6. Do you have any tips for writing poems?
Study the following information about how to write a
good poem. Take notes of any important information.
Activity
1
Activity
2
183
Exploring Poems and Song Lyrics
Match the key terms of poetry with their meanings.
1. lines
2. stanza
3. image
4. symbol
5. metaphor
6. personi
fi
cation
7. rhyme
8. rhythm
9. simile
10. metonymy
a.
a phrase in which one thing is described as being another
completely different thing
b.
a kind of metaphor poets use to give human characteristics
to non human things
c. any object, person, place, event, action which represents
or suggests something else
d. a short, vivid description which enable readers to visualise
what is being described
e.
row of words on a page
f.
the units of poetry like paragraph that have identical
lengths
g. the beat, or pattern, of stresses which is produced as you
read a poem
h. the echoing effect produced by matching sound at the end
of two different sentence
i.
the use of a word for a concept with which the original
concept behind this word is associated
j.
an expression that describes an item by comparing it with
something else
Te r m s
Meanings
Activity
3
Identify the similes and metaphor in the sentences
below. Then write "S" if it is a simile and "M" if it is a
metaphor.
1. My brother watches television all day, he is
a couch potato.
2. Can you swim like a
fi
sh?
3. The famous singer's voice was as sweet as
honey.
4. He looked as grave as judge.
5. My best friend is really short. Compared
to me, she's a dwarf!
6. My sister looks after me and helps me when
I'm in trouble. She is my guardian angel.
Activity
4
184
Developing English Competencies
for Grade XII of Language Programme
Work in groups and study the following poem. Then
discuss the poem and its elements. Write a report and
tell to the class.
Identify and take notes on the following.
1. How many lines and stanzas are there in the poem?
2. Identify the images and symbols in the poem.
3. Identify the metaphors.
4. Identify the personi
fi
cations.
5. Identify the similes.
6. Identify the rhyme and the rhythm of the poem.
Themes to choose:
1. a feeling/emotions
2. a place
3. a person
4. an animal
5. nature
6. a creature
Now, write your own poem on one of the following
themes/topics. Use the following steps for your
guidelines.
Englishclub.com
If you decide to
continue writing poetry,
it would be a good idea
to investigate some
books about creating
poetry, and to attend
some local workshops.
Check out the available
resources on the
Internet as well as what
is available at your local
public library.
(
www.englishclub.com
)
The Lost Bird
By Dorothea Rosa Herliany
a small and shabby bird was lost
in my heart. the branches prepared no place
for its nest. the falling leaves became a nest
for worms. the branches and trees became harsh
commands.
the song had no melody
they were like poems written in a nightmare.
beating in my soul. the sky carried no seasons.
there was nothing to wait for. and no need to go
children shoot at my heart
with their catapults.
the shivers
in fright.
Activity
5
Activity
6
185
Exploring Poems and Song Lyrics
1. Have you ever written a song?
2. What was the song about?
3. What were the lyrics?
4. How do you think a musician writes a song?
5. What do we need to write song lyrics?
6. Do you think song lyrics should be poetic?
7. Do you know how to be a good song writer?
Answer the following questions.
Follow these steps.
1. Decide whether your poem is going to rhyme, or be
in free verse.
2. Decide whether your poem is going to be humorous,
sad or happy.
3. Decide what the poem is about.
4. Write down words or phrases you think you may use
in your poem. Choose words that convey the right
feeling and that describe things vividly.
fame
curtain
fi
ghting
share
crime
dues
cruise
champions
losers
lose
world
challenge
Complete the following famous song lyric using the words
given in the boxes.
We Are the Champions
by Queen
Verse-1
I've paid my
1
, time after time;
I've done my sentence, but committed no
2
,
And bad mistakes, I've made a few.
I've had my
3
, of sand kicked in my face,
But I've come through
Activity
7
Activity
8
186
Developing English Competencies
for Grade XII of Language Programme
After you complete the song above, study the following
explanation about how to write a song and use the
content of this text to evaluate or explain the song.
Then, compare your evaluation with your friend’s.
How to Write a Song
Want to write a hit song? Join the
club! The problem with hits is that they
require a fair amount of talent and a
huge serving of luck. Almost anybody,
however, can write a really good song,
and the feeling you get when you do is
even better than the feel of cold, hard
cash. Whether you're a beginner or an
experienced songwriter, here's how to
tap your potential and bring out the
music inside you.
1. Stop thinking about it, and start
writing.
2. Listen actively to a lot of music. Good
writers read books. Good songwriters
listen to songs.
3. Don't write what everyone else thinks
would be cool, write what you feel!
4. Get technical. You don't have to have
a degree in music theory, but you
should have an understanding of
how songs are built.
7. Once you've finished your first
song, don't stop. Keep writing and
practicing, and you'll
fi
nd yourself
getting better and better.
Adapted from
www.wikihow.com
Chorus
We are the
4
, my friend
And we'll keep on
5
, to the end.
We are the champions (x2)
No time for
6
, 'cos
We are the champions of the
7
Verse-2
I've taken my bows and my
8
, call
You've brought me
9
, and everything
that goes with it; I thank you all,
But it's been no bed of roses, no pleasure
10
.
I consider it a
11
Before the whole human race -
And I ain't gonna
12
.
(Repeat Chorus x3)
New Horizon
Good writers read
books. Good songwriters
listen to songs. As you
listen, think about what
you like about a song,
or what you don't like.
Why do you or don't
you like it? Are the lyrics
unique? Do the song's
chord changes perfectly
capture a mood? Do you
like the transition from
one part of the song to
another? Study where
it changes, and where
it repeats. A song must
have enough repetition
to give it structure, and
enough change to keep
you interested.
Taken from
www.wikipedia.org
Activity
9
187
Exploring Poems and Song Lyrics
Thank You
by
Dido
It's
not so bad
I drank too much last night got bills to pay,
My head just feels in pain
I missed the bus and there'll be hell today
I'm late for work again
And even if I'm there, they'll imply
That I might not last the day
And then you call me and it's not so bad
It's not so bad and
I want to thank you
For giving me the best day of my life
Oh just to be with you
Is having the best day of my life
My tea's gone cold
I'm wondering why I got out of bed at all
The morning rain clouds up my window
And I can't see at all
And even if I could it'd all be grey,
But your picture on my wall
It reminds me that it's not so bad
Study the following part song lyrics and arrange them
into the correct order. Then compare your answer with
a friend.
Now,
fi
nd song lyrics from a CD, cassette or the Internet.
Then rewrite them using your own words.
Activity
10
Activity
11
188
Developing English Competencies
for Grade XII of Language Programme
1.
Language Functions
Expressing poems and song lyrics
2.
Poetry
Poetry can be differentiated most of the time from prose, which is language meant to
convey meaning in a more expansive and less condensed way, frequently using more
complete logical or narrative structures than poetry does.
3.
Poetry and Song
The development of literacy gave rise to more personal, shorter poems intended
to be sung. These are called lyrics, which derives from the Greek
lura
or
lyre
, the
instrument that was used to accompany the performance of Greek lyrics from about
the seventh century BCE onward.
Chapter Summary
After learning the lesson in this chapter, you are expected to be able to:
1. listen and respond to poems;
2. listen and respond to song lyrics;
3. express meaning in poems and song lyrics;
4. practise and recite poems and reading song lyrics;
5. identify meanings in poems and song lyrics;
6. write poems and song lyrics.
Now, answer the questions:
1. What do you know about poems, poetry and poets?
2. What are the similarities and the differences between poem and song lyric?
3. What are the elements of a poems and song lyric?
4.
What should we consider to make a poem and song lyrics ? Make a poem and song
lyric that explore your emotions. Then perform it to the class.
If you
fi
nd some dif
fi
culties, you can consult your teacher or discuss with your
friend.
Learning Re
fl
ection