Dr. C. Carney English 1302 – Hybrid Week 5 and 6 Electronic Exercise
Literary Analysis Exercise:
Interpreting Spoken-Word Poetry
The “Spoken Word Poetry” folder contains four links for two poems by a brilliant artist named “Prince Ea.”. He is one of the most prolific and popular spoken-word poets out there today, with a significant YouTube presence. His poems are marked by a high degree of critical thinking and relevant insights into a number of issues we see and hear about today (plus, he’s from the same city in Southern California where I lived before we moved to Texas, so I’m somewhat biased ? ).
The two poems address the issues of technology (social networking) and race labels. One link for each poem is simply a performance of the poem recited and delivered (as spoken word poems should be), and the other link for each poem is a line-by-line transcript of the lines each poem contains. Watch both—ideally, more than once for both since they are quite complex and deep in substance.
Now, complete the following (typed) for both poems:
1. What are your first reactions (i.e. “gut reactions”) to the poem? Why? Explain.
2. What do you believe to be the poet’s claim? In other words, articulate and write a thesis statement (one concise sentence) that you believe the poet would agree is representative of the entire poem and the message (ARGUMENT) he is trying to convey. Now, explain why you agree or disagree with the claim you’ve just written on behalf of the poet.
3. What are the most effective images/descriptions/concepts expressed in the poem? Do you think these are just your personal favorites, based upon subjective reasons, or do you think they are objectively effective and/or appealing/impacting to other audiences? Explain.
4. The concept of “tone” in writing is somewhat abstract, yet it is vital for writers to be aware of the tone they are using. The advantage to spoken word poems in this regard is the fact that tone is actually expressed and heard. So, with that said, what is the poet’s tone in the poem(s)? Try to articulate specifically what the poet might intend to convey through the dynamic combination of tone and word choice found in this medium of poetry—in addition to body language and inflection. Also, do you see the poem losing any of it’s effectiveness as you just read it in the second link?
5. Celebrate some of the most powerful/effective word choices or phrases/statements in the poem (language usage)! List 4 or 5 for each poem, and briefly state what you like about them. Also, what symbolic/metaphorical language did you appreciate? Explain.
6. Who needs to hear this poem (i.e. target audience) in your estimation? Explain why. Now, discuss the strength (or weakness, if you see it as such) of the poem specifically in terms of the ethos, logos, and pathos appeals (ethos is hard to verify in poetry and/or this kind of exercise, but feel free to give it a try).
7. As an ARGUMENT, consider the Toulminic elements of grounds and warrant in argumentation; now, explain what those might be for each poem—keeping in mind that poems are not necessarily formal arguments; however, as we’ve discussed, arguments come in all forms! In fact, a billboard without a single word on it can very well be an argument!
8. What can you do with the question of backing, or evidence, in the poems? Granted, this one is somewhat more difficult to ascertain, since evidence lends itself to the citing of sources! But, with that said, go ahead and give it a go! What evidence does the poem offer to support the claim, grounds, and warrant?
9. Finally, consider qualifiers and rebuttals. How effectively does the poet at least seem to be aware of potential opposition to his claims?
2 PAGES FOR EACH POEM:
1:I am not Black
I mean, that’s what the world calls me, but it’s not… me
I didn’t come out of my mother’s womb saying, “Hey everybody, I’m… Black.”
No, I was taught to be black
And you were taught to call me that
Along with whatever you call yourself
It’s just a…. label
See, from birth the world force feeds us these…. labels
And eventually we all swallow them
We digest and accept the labels, never ever doubting them
But there’s one problem:
Labels are not you and labels are not me
Labels are just …labels
But who we truly are is not… skin… deep
See, when I drive my car, no one would ever confuse the car for…. me
Well, when I drive my ….body, why do you confuse me for my… body?
It’s…. my ….body….get it? Not me
Let me break it down
See, our bodies are just cars that we operate and drive around
The dealership will call society decided to label mine the “black edition,”
Yours the “Irish” or “White edition”
And with no money down, 0% APR, and no test drive
We were forced to own these cars for the rest of our lives
Forgive me, but I fail to see the logic or pride
In defining myself or judging another by the cars we drive
Because who we truly are is found inside
Listen, I’m not here to tell you how science has concluded that genetically we’re all mixed
And race in the human species doesn’t exist
Or how every historian knows that race was invented in the 15th century
To divide people from each other and it has worked perfectly…
No…. I’m not here to lecture
I just want to ask one question
Who would you be if the world never gave you a label?
Never gave you a box to check
Would you be White? Black? Mexican?
Asian? Native American? Middle Eastern? Indian?
No. We would be one; we would be together
No longer living in the error
Of calling human beings Black people or White people
These labels that will forever blind us from seeing a person for who they are
But instead seeing them through the judgmental, prejudicial, artificial filters of who we THINK they are
And when you let an artificial label define yourself
Then, my friend, you have chosen smallness over greatness and minimized your…. self
Confined and divided your …..self from others
And it is an undeniable fact that
When there is division, there will be conflict
And conflict starts wars
There-fore every war has started over labels
It’s always us… versus them
So the answer to war, racism, sexism, and every other -ism
Is so simple that every politician has missed it
It’s the labels…
We must rip them off
Isn’t it funny how no baby is born racist
Yet, every baby cries when they hear the cries of another
No matter the gender, culture or color
Proving that deep down, we were meant to connect and care for each other
That is our mission, and that it’s not my opinion
That is the truth in a world that has sold us fiction
Please listen, labels only distort our vision
Which is why half of those watching this will dismiss it
Or feel resistance and conflicted
But, just remember…
So did the cater-pillar
Before it broke through its shell and became the magnificent butterfly
Well, these labels are our shells and we must do the same thing
So we can finally spread our wings
Human beings were not meant to be slapped with labels like groceries at supermarkets
DNA cannot be regulated by the FDA
We were meant to be free
And only until you remove them all
And stop living and thinking so small
Will we be free to see ourselves and each other for who we….TRULY…. are
2: CAN WE AUTO CORRECT HUMANITY
Did you know the average person spends 4 years of his life looking down at his cell phone?
Kind of ironic, ain’t it?
How these touch-screens can make us lose touch
But it’s no wonder in a world filled with
IMac’s, iPads and iPhones
So many “i”’s, so many selfies, not enough “us”‘s and “we”’s
See Technology has made us more selfish and separate than ever
Cause while it claims to connect us, connection has gotten no better
And let me must express first
Mr Zuckerberg, not to be rude but you should re-classify Facebook to what it is:
An anti-social network
Cause while we may have big friend lists
So many of us are friendless, all alone
Cause friendships and more broken than the screens on our very phones
We sit at home on our computers measuring self worth by numbers of followers and Likes
Ignoring those who actually love us
It seems we’d rather write an angry post
Than talk to someone who might actually hug us
Am I bugging? You tell me…
I asked a friend the other day lets meet up face to face
They said alright, what time you wanna Skype?
I responded with omg, srs, and then a bunch of smh’s
And realized what about me?
Do I not have the patience to have conversation without abbreviation?
This is the generation of media over stimulation
Chats have been reduced to snaps
The news is 140 characters
Videos are 6 seconds at high speed
And you wonder why ADD is on the rise faster than 4G LTE
But, get a load of this
Studies show the attention span of the average adult today
Is one second lower than that of a gold fish
So if, you’re one of the few people or aquatic animals that have yet to click off or close this video, congratulations
Let me finish by saying you do have a choice, yes
But this one my friends we cannot Auto-Correct – we must do it ourselves
Take control or be controlled, Make a decision
Me?
No longer do I want to spoil a precious moment by recording it with a phone
I’m just gonna keep them
I don’t wanna take a picture of all my meals anymore – I ‘m just gonna eat them
I don’t want the new app, the new software, or the new update
And If I wanna post an old photo of myself who says I have to wait until Thursday
I’m so tired of performing in the pageantry of vanity
And conforming to this accepted form of digital insanity
Call me crazy but, I imagine a world where we smile when we have low batteries
Cause that will mean we’ll be one bar closer – to humanity)
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