Literary Sound In Lyrics

By Reina Connolly

Rhyme Slide

Just the Way You Are – By Billy Joel

Don’t go changing, to try and please me

You never let me down before

Don’t imagine you’re to familiar

And I don’t see you anymore

I wouldn’t leave you in times of trouble

We never could have come this far

I took the good times, I’ll take the bad times

I’ll take you just the way you are

Explanation of Rhyme

• These song lyrics consist of eight lines with a rhyme pattern of A,

B, C, B. In other words, the second and fourth lines rhyme with the

last syllable. For example, before and anymore rhyme. In addition,

far and are rhyme. These pairs of words have similar sounds

produce by the same vowels.

Onomatopoeia Slide (Old MacDonald Had A Farm By, Trent Steel)

• Old MacDonald had a farm

Ee i ee i o

And on his farm he had some chicks

Ee i ee i o

With a cluck-cluck here

And a cluck-cluck there

Here a cluck, there a cluck

Everywhere a cluck-cluck

Old MacDonald had a farm

Ee i ee i o

Explanation of Onomatopoeia

• The definition of onomatopoeia is “the formation of a word, as cuckoo or boom,

by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent.”

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Onomatopoeia%20) In Old MacDonald

Had A Farm, the words “cluck-cluck”imitate the sound that a chicken makes. The

song continues with other representations of animal sounds.

RepetitionYou Are Loved (Don’t Give Up) – By Thomas Salter Don’t give upIt’s just the wait of the worldWhen your heart’s heavy II will lift it for you

Don’t give up Because you want to be heardIf silence keeps you I I will break it for you

Don’t give up It’s just the hurt that you hide When you’re lost inside II’ll be there to find you

Explanation of Repetition• Repetition as a literary sound device is “The return of a word, phrase,

stanza form, or effect in any form of literature. Repetition is an effective literary device that may bring comfort, suggest order, or add special meaning to a piece of literature.” (http://library.thinkquest.org/23846/library/terms/index.html) Every stanza in the song begins with the line “Don’t Give Up.” In this case, “Don’t Give Up” provides a special meaning to the song along with a sense of order and comfort.

Alliteration Where Are The Simple Joys of Maidenhood (From Camelot) I won’t be bid and bargained for like beads in a bazaar.

Explanation of Alliteration

Alliteration is “the commencement of two or more words of a word group with

the same letter, as in apt alliteration's artful aid.”

(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/alliteration)

In this case, the words that begin with b represents consonance. For instance,

the words

bid, bargained, beads, and bazaar all begin with the constant sound b. “These

words

provide an interesting twist to the lyrics as well as flow.

Rhythm Slide

Mentor

By Timothy Murphy

Had I known, only known

when I lived so near,

I'd have gone, gladly gone

foregoing my fear

of the wholly grown

and the nearly great.

But I learned alone,

so I learned too late.

Explanation of Rhythm

• Rhythm, as a literary device is a regular pattern of long and short

sounds that produces a beat. In the poem, Mentor by Timothy

Murphy, rhythm is produced by arranging the words in lines with

syllables of almost equal length.

Honors Portion

• There are many sound devices which create richness within poetic pieces

and lyrics. However, with so many literary devices used in past and

modern-day literature, an individual might prefer one style of poetry over

another. In my opinion, the literary device that appeals to me is

repetition. The reason why repetition is my favorite sound device is

because it gives meaning to the piece of literary work or in music

especially. As a singer and a heavy poetry reader, repetition of words,

phrases, sentence patterns gives me a strong sense of understanding

when interpreting lyrics and poetry.

Honors Portion

• In addition, the repetition gives me a visual illustration of what the

poetry and lyrics are trying to portray such as a certain theme or

emotion. Therefore, repetition makes the poetry or piece of music

more personal.