Is poetry banal? I had always thought poetry was the most boring topic to study at school, I just hated analysing old poems and explaining their meaning. But one day, I was listening to one of my favourite artists, Ed Sheeran, and I realised that even songs nowadays contain poetry, conveying a myriad of feelings and emotions. They have deep meanings and by reading the lyrics can be understood and appreciated. The quote “sentiment and language are not defunct in the 21st century” by McFadden is absolutely correct. It is assumed that in the 21st century, people only care about the tune, rhythm and beat of the songs ignoring actual lyrics, assuming they lack depth and complexity. However, this is ludicrous. Modern day songs not only entrap people
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To prove that sentiments still exists in 21st century songs, I am going to conduct an experiment. I have chosen the poem “Metho Drinker” by Judith Wright written in 1946 and to compare with it the modern lyric “The A Team” by Ed Sheeran. Conclusively my analysis will prove that the poem and the song reflect the contemporary theme of addiction. Through the effective use of figurative language and sound devices the poignant meaning of the lyrics will easily prove that “sentiment and language are not defunct in the 21st century.”
As a teenager of this generation, I can reluctantly say that today’s youngsters get easily swayed into taking wrong decisions ending up being addicted to drugs, alcohol and smoking. By identifying the tone and theme of the poem “Metho Drinker” and the song “The A Team”, we are able to understand the profound message the poet or musician wants to convey …show more content…
However, in the poem written by Judith Wright and the song by Ed Sheeran both convincingly use figurative language to depict the meaning and emotions of the poem and song. The lyric “Metho Drinker” uses a variety of personification, metaphor and metonymy. In stanza 1, the poet uses personification writing that the homeless man ‘cried to Nothing.’ The poet personifies ‘Nothing’ showing that it is a person which is also indicated by using a capital ‘N.’ This further creates the idea of how real and tangible this ‘Nothing’ is, like a person who is always there but ironically cannot offer him any help at all. The methylated spirits has also been personified to be ‘his white burning girl, his woman of fire’ which keeps him warm by ‘creep[ing] into his heart and set[ting] a candle there.’ The alcoholic drink is stated to be a woman which also illustrates an image of heat and fire. This implies that the methylated spirits keep him warm through the cold night, but also slowly kills him by burning him inside. The poet also uses metaphor to signify his agony which makes him a ‘Metho Drinker.’ The metaphor ‘waterfall of ceaseless Time’ effectively highlights the never ending pain as time goes on and on just like a waterfall. The poem also utilises a type of metonymy called synecdoche in the line ‘the terrible night to be his home and bread’ where ‘home’ refers to shelter and ‘bread’ represents food. The
To prove that sentiments still exists in 21st century songs, I am going to conduct an experiment. I have chosen the poem “Metho Drinker” by Judith Wright written in 1946 and to compare with it the modern lyric “The A Team” by Ed Sheeran. Conclusively my analysis will prove that the poem and the song reflect the contemporary theme of addiction. Through the effective use of figurative language and sound devices the poignant meaning of the lyrics will easily prove that “sentiment and language are not defunct in the 21st century.”
As a teenager of this generation, I can reluctantly say that today’s youngsters get easily swayed into taking wrong decisions ending up being addicted to drugs, alcohol and smoking. By identifying the tone and theme of the poem “Metho Drinker” and the song “The A Team”, we are able to understand the profound message the poet or musician wants to convey …show more content…
However, in the poem written by Judith Wright and the song by Ed Sheeran both convincingly use figurative language to depict the meaning and emotions of the poem and song. The lyric “Metho Drinker” uses a variety of personification, metaphor and metonymy. In stanza 1, the poet uses personification writing that the homeless man ‘cried to Nothing.’ The poet personifies ‘Nothing’ showing that it is a person which is also indicated by using a capital ‘N.’ This further creates the idea of how real and tangible this ‘Nothing’ is, like a person who is always there but ironically cannot offer him any help at all. The methylated spirits has also been personified to be ‘his white burning girl, his woman of fire’ which keeps him warm by ‘creep[ing] into his heart and set[ting] a candle there.’ The alcoholic drink is stated to be a woman which also illustrates an image of heat and fire. This implies that the methylated spirits keep him warm through the cold night, but also slowly kills him by burning him inside. The poet also uses metaphor to signify his agony which makes him a ‘Metho Drinker.’ The metaphor ‘waterfall of ceaseless Time’ effectively highlights the never ending pain as time goes on and on just like a waterfall. The poem also utilises a type of metonymy called synecdoche in the line ‘the terrible night to be his home and bread’ where ‘home’ refers to shelter and ‘bread’ represents food. The