Poetry in Music? Prove It!
Directions: Prove that there are poetic devices in modern day song lyrics. Find six examples of
the following in one or more songs, and explain what they mean:
 Simile
 Metaphor
 Irony
 Symbolism
 Personification
 Hyperbole
 Allusion
 Imagery (sensory detail)
 Universal Theme (love, death, greed, anger, loss)
 Tone
 Mood
Use the website www.lyricsondemand.com to view song lyrics. Note: Please make sure the
part of the song you are sharing is school appropriate!
Type or neatly write the following:
 the name of the song
 the name of the artist
 1-2 complete sentences that identify the poetic device you found, cite a specific
example from the song, and explain the meaning of the poetic device
Mrs. Dipert’s Example:
1. Song: “Love Story”
Artist: Taylor Swift
Example: Taylor Swift makes an allusion to the famous play Romeo and Juliet in “Love Story”
when she says “you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles and my daddy said to stay
away from Juliet”.
2. Song: “You Fight Me”
Artist: Breaking Benjamin
Example: “Life is sink or swim” is a metaphor in the song “You Fight Me” by Breaking
Benjamin. It’s comparing life to sinking or swimming in water. A person can be successful in
life and swim, or he can be unsuccessful and sink to the bottom.
3. Song: “Beautiful”
Artist: Eminem
Example: Eminem uses irony in the song “Beautiful” when he says “I just hide behind the
tears of a clown”. A clown crying is ironic because clowns usually symbolize happiness and
laughter—not sadness.
4. Song: “Hey Jude”
Artist: The Beatles
Example: “Hey Jude” by The Beatles has a universal theme of accepting love because it is
about opening yourself up and not being afraid to let love into your life. The lyrics say
“remember to let her into your heart”.
Poetry in Everyday Life? Prove It!
Directions: Prove that you can find poetry in simple, everyday tasks, such as baking, art, riding
your bike, sweeping a broom, etc. Can you feel the gooey texture of a chocolate chip cookie
fresh from the oven or smell paint drying on the wall? Can you hear the whirring of bicycle tires or
the swish, swish of a broom? Please complete the following steps by Tuesday, March 12,
and bring your notes to class. We will use your notes to create a poem.
Requirement for Notes:
1. Write down the task you have chosen.
2. Perform the everyday task that you have chosen to write a poem about. Note each step
that it takes to perform this task.
3. Be aware of your five senses: sight, taste, smell, sound, and touch. Document anything
you notice about these five senses.
Hint: I made my task steps and my sensory details at the same time so I wouldn’t
forget any of the sensory details!
Mrs. Dipert’s Example Notes:
1.
Task: Making (and Eating) Homemade Pizza
(This is an occurrence that happens at least once a week in the Dipert
Household…usually on Friday nights!)
2. Task Steps:
a. Take pizza stones out of pantry and preheat oven to 400 degrees.
b. Remove dough, pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni, broccoli, spinach, tomatoes,
olives, and mushrooms from refrigerator.
c. Stretch the dough out in my hands.
d. Spread dough on two different pizza stones.
e. Dip a spoon into the sauce and dump sauce onto dough. Spread the sauce
around with the bottom of the spoon.
f. Sprinkle pizza seasoning and Italian seasoning on the sauce.
g. Spread mozzarella cheese all over each pizza.
h. Cut broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, olives, and mushrooms.
i. Add oregano on top of the cheese.
j. Add pepperoni to one pizza and veggies to the second pizza.
k. Put in the oven for 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes when done.
l. Eat!
3. Sensory Details:
a. The pizza stones feel heavy and clatter against the counter as I set them down.
b. The oven beep, beeps as I preheat it.
c. I feel very hungry as I smell all the fresh ingredients.
d. The dough is soft and stretchy. I have to pull the edges and watch to make sure
there aren’t any holes in the dough.
e. I always eat the left over sauce from the spoon. Tomato flavors burst in my
mouth.
f. The seasoning smells like my Italian grandma. I miss her.
g. My knife chops against the cutting board and slides, scraping vegetables to the
side. Some of the tomatoes are slimy because the inside is spilling out.
h. My entire house starts to smell like pizza.
i. The timer on the oven goes off beeping loudly. It’s annoying and I rush to turn it
off. The oven opens and heat blasts into my face. I grab oven mitts, which feel
soft and fuzzy on the inside and lift the pizzas out of the oven.
j. Pizza feels like home to me. It is a time to relax with family and friends and eat
comforting food.