Beauty by the Beholder: Have song lyrics developed to become a more creative art form than poetry? Art is subjective. Music and poetry are two of the most subjective art forms, as their beauty is based upon perspective and opinion. Both music and poetry have an extremely diverse collection of works, ranging from poor to excellent and everything in between. Although, compositionally, they are very different pieces, the song “Life is a Highway” by Rascal Flatts and the poem “Live Life to the Fullest” by Renee Alexandria Ho are similar in that they both discuss how life is a journey of ups and down. They illustrate the temporary nature of life in order to teach the audience to value the everyday little things. The incisive use of poetic devices,
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Throughout the song, Rascal Flatts compares life to a journey along a long stretch of highway, singing, “Life is like a road that you travel on / When there is one day here and the next day gone” (Flatts lines 2-3). The extended metaphor is repeated throughout the song, concisely stated by the phrase, “Life is a highway” (Flatts line 13). This metaphor is used to create an image in the listener’s head, comparing life to a journey of ups and downs, twists and turns. The simile comparing life to a road and the extended metaphor in the song provides a unique comparison which enables personal interpretation by the audience. While Rascal Flatts beautifully utilizes poetic devices in the song, it can be difficult to identify them, as they are not as prominent. As poet Michael Robbins writes, “You don't necessarily attend consciously to these elements in the song; you're not meant to. They're glue, holding the verse in your memory, sticking the words to your ears” (Robbins 1). The elements are not the main attraction of the piece. They play the background, working to ensure the audience really focuses on the lyrics to understand the theme. Repetition is another device used all through this song, the chorus being the biggest example. Not only is it repeated throughout the song, there is also repetition …show more content…
“Live Life to the Fullest” uses the “l” sound. This makes it roll off the tongue and gives the poem an unique, artistic flow. Also, the author compares how people value to life to the way they value a toy, saying, “Life is one thing we should all enjoy. / Not one thing we will throw away, / Just like a toy” (Ho lines 20-23). After emphasizing the value and enjoyment of life, this simile gives the audience a mental picture of the degree to which they underappreciated their life. It has artistic influence because through the poetic devices the audience comes to realize they need to appreciate life. While poetic devices are utilized well in the poem, it is nearly impossible to compare song lyrics to a poem based upon poetic criteria. This is agreed upon in the Boston Review which writes, “The biases inherent in such a widespread distinction do a disservice to both poetry and song. By holding poetry to a literary standard, and either granting or denying that standard to song lyrics, we locate the worth of an artistic endeavor in the most superficial qualities of language, ones that are actually peripheral to what makes a poem worthwhile” (Zapruder 1). Lyrics can be much more difficult to compose than a poem because the devices to
Throughout the song, Rascal Flatts compares life to a journey along a long stretch of highway, singing, “Life is like a road that you travel on / When there is one day here and the next day gone” (Flatts lines 2-3). The extended metaphor is repeated throughout the song, concisely stated by the phrase, “Life is a highway” (Flatts line 13). This metaphor is used to create an image in the listener’s head, comparing life to a journey of ups and downs, twists and turns. The simile comparing life to a road and the extended metaphor in the song provides a unique comparison which enables personal interpretation by the audience. While Rascal Flatts beautifully utilizes poetic devices in the song, it can be difficult to identify them, as they are not as prominent. As poet Michael Robbins writes, “You don't necessarily attend consciously to these elements in the song; you're not meant to. They're glue, holding the verse in your memory, sticking the words to your ears” (Robbins 1). The elements are not the main attraction of the piece. They play the background, working to ensure the audience really focuses on the lyrics to understand the theme. Repetition is another device used all through this song, the chorus being the biggest example. Not only is it repeated throughout the song, there is also repetition …show more content…
“Live Life to the Fullest” uses the “l” sound. This makes it roll off the tongue and gives the poem an unique, artistic flow. Also, the author compares how people value to life to the way they value a toy, saying, “Life is one thing we should all enjoy. / Not one thing we will throw away, / Just like a toy” (Ho lines 20-23). After emphasizing the value and enjoyment of life, this simile gives the audience a mental picture of the degree to which they underappreciated their life. It has artistic influence because through the poetic devices the audience comes to realize they need to appreciate life. While poetic devices are utilized well in the poem, it is nearly impossible to compare song lyrics to a poem based upon poetic criteria. This is agreed upon in the Boston Review which writes, “The biases inherent in such a widespread distinction do a disservice to both poetry and song. By holding poetry to a literary standard, and either granting or denying that standard to song lyrics, we locate the worth of an artistic endeavor in the most superficial qualities of language, ones that are actually peripheral to what makes a poem worthwhile” (Zapruder 1). Lyrics can be much more difficult to compose than a poem because the devices to