Discovering poetry in music

Budding poets in Randi Beckley’s English class at Thurston Middle School learned recently that the music they listen to every day is, in itself, a form of poetic expression.

“I don’t think they realize how their lives are full of poetry,” Beckley said. “They just aren’t aware of it.”

The students brought in songs of their choice “” from country to heavy metal “” to class over the course of a week.

Each presenter distributed a sheet of lyrics to their classmates, and then went over the poetic devices in their chosen song, from personification to rhyme scheme.

Their classmates were asked what kind of music they expected the song to have, based on their reading of the lyrics.

The presenter then played the song on a radio. Students listened to the song while they read the lyrics and caught even more poetic nuances.

Some students were surprised when the melodies didn’t match their expectations; others smiled when their belief was met.

Sean Hampton’s alternative rock choice, “Learn to Fly” by the Foo Fighters, caught Beckley’s attention “” the teacher is a die-hard Foo fan.

Students pointed out the song’s rhyme scheme, use of repetition, and their interpretation of the lyrics’ meaning.

Their opinions of how the song would sound were all over the spectrum.

Many kids circled things they caught as the song played, then shared additional thoughts afterward.

“Obviously on the first reading you don’t catch everything,” Beckley told the students.

Spencer Donovan chose the song “Through the Fire and Flames” by DragonForce.

The song’s lyrics read like a Tolkein novel, with phrases like “On a cold winter morning, in the time before the light/In flames of death’s eternal reign, we ride towards the fight.”

Students pointed out poetic elements including rhyme, alliteration and metaphor.

Several students said they expected a slow, ballad-like melody.

When the song’s heavy metal intro began, many girls’ heads shot up. As they looked around, wide-eyed, many of the room’s boys nodded to the music.

They carefully read along as the song played and said the knowledge of the lyrics added to the experience.

“I haven’t heard it in awhile, and it sounds totally different,” one student said.

The song became an instant hit after its release in the Guitar Hero III video game.

James Cockrell played another popular song, Linkin Park’s “In the End.”

The hit’s lyrics featured multiple elements of personification in phrases like “Watch the time go right out the window.”

Beckley asked James to share what he thought the song’s meaning was.

He found it to be the story of two friends fighting, but a female student thought it was about a romantic relationship.

The small handful of students who weren’t already familiar with the song were asked to describe how they thought the music would sound.

One student received extra credit for pointing out the use of apostrophe in the song.

In apostrophe, nonliving things are given human qualities when the writer addresses them like they are a person, such as Shakespeare’s “brave new world.”

“When you’re just looking at the lyrics, you can’t really tell if it’s a poem or a song,” Cody LaTendresse said.

Since beginning the project, students said they are much more likely to listen for poetic elements in music.

“I interpret it differently now,” Megan Cavanaugh said.

“I just noticed so much more than I did the day before,” Cody said.

“When you first listen to music, you don’t think it’s poetry,” Spencer said.

“Who knew that there could be so many poetic elements in a song? It makes it even more interesting.”