Reviewing Figures of Speech

Hello guys!

Evandro asked me to post here some examples of the figures of speech from your group presentations, to help you studying! Don't miss it! ;)

Oasis - Up in the Sky

Hey you! Up in the sky (apostrophe)
Learning to fly (metaphor)
Tell me how high
Do you think you'll go
(...)

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance

I want your ugly
I want your disease (anaphora)
I want your everything
As long as it's free
(...)

Death Cab for Cutie - Soul Meets Body

I want to live where soul meets body (personification)
And let the sun wrap its arms around me (personification)
And bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing (polysyndeton)
And feel, feel what it's like to be new
(...)

Corinne Bailey Rae - Put your Records on

Three little birds sat on my window
And they told me I don't need to worry (personification)
Summer came like cinnamon, so sweet (synesthesia)
Little girls double-dutch on the concrete (metonymy)

U2 - I still haven't found what I'm looking for

(...)
I have spoken with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of the devil (antithesis)
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone (antithesis)
(...)

Evanescence - Bring me to life

How can you see into my eyes like open doors (comparison)
Leading you down into my core
Where I've become so numb
Without a soul (hyperbole)
My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold (alliteration)
Until you find it there and lead it back home

Bob Dylan - Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Knock, knock, knockin' on Heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on Heaven's door (onomatopoeia)
Knock, knock, knockin' on Heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on Heaven's door

AC/DC - Back in Black

Back in black, I hit the sack
I've been too long, I'm glad to be back
Yes I'm let loose from the noose (euphemism)
That's kept me hangin' about
(...)

Bowling for Soup - High School never ends

Four years you think for sure
That's all you've got to endure
All the total dicks (metonymy)
All the stuck up chicks
So superficial, so immature
Then when you graduate
You take a look around and say: HEY WAIT
This is the same as where I just came from
I thought it was over
Oh, that's just great (irony)

Bon Jovi - Always

This Romeo is bleeding
But you can't see his blood (paradox)
It's nothing but some feelings
That this old dog kicked up
(...)

Well, I think that's enough! You're doing very well in classes! :)

Group Presentations on Figures of Speech

So, the time has come you guys can bring your songs.

The dates are:

June 2nd:

Group 3: Mateus / Adriano / Manoela
Group 1: Ana / Marcelle / Irene

June 9th:

Group 2: Marina / Sophia / Yael
Group 4: Nina / Victor / Victor Eduardo

June 10th:

Group 5: Mariana / Thiago / Daniel / Daniela.

Need any help? Look for me in advance, feel free to e-mail as well.

Remember I expect nothing from you. Except the best. =)

The Sound of Silence

So nice, a song just filled with Figures of Speech...

Thanx for the work in class, guys. Great intelligent discussion. Lots of food for thought, plenty of fun.

THE SOUND OF SILENCE

Simon & Garfunkel

Hello darkness, my old friend,
I’ve come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
Beneath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of
A neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence.

Fools said I, you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you.
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon God they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the signs said, the words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.
And whispered in the sounds of silence.

SOME BEATLES’ SNIPPETS TO ILLUSTRATE FIGURES OF SPEECH

1)Happiness is a warm gun
Happiness is a warm gun
When I hold you in my arms
And I feel my finger on your trigger
I know no one can do me no harm
Because happiness is a warm gun.

2)I’m a loser, I and lost someone who’s near to me
I’m a loser, and I’m not what I appear to be
Although I laugh and I act like a clown
Beneath this mask I’m wearing a frown
My tears are falling like rain from the sky
Is it for her or myself that I cry?

3)In Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs
Of every head he’s had the pleasure to know
And all the people that come and go
Stop and say ‘Hello’.
On the corner is a banker with a motorcar
The little children laugh at him behind his back
And the banker never wears a mac
In the pouring rain – very strange.
Penny lane is in my ears and in my eyes
There beneath the blue suburban skies
I sit, and meanwhile back.

4)I wake to the sound of music
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
There will be an answer: let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom: let it be.

5)I read the news today, oh boy
About a lucky man who made his grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well, I just had to laugh
I saw the photograph.
He blew his mind out in a car.
He didn’t notice that the lights had changed
A crowd of people stood and stared
They’d seen his face before
Nobody was really sure if he was from the House of Lords.

6)I told that girl that my prospects were good
She said: baby, it’s understood.
Working for peanuts is all very fine
But I can show you a better time.
Baby, you can drive my car
Yes, I’m gonna be a star
Baby, you can drive my car
And maybe I’ll love you.
Beep beep beep beep, yeah!

7)You say yes, I say no
You say stop, I say go, go go. Oh, no.
You say goodbye and I say hello, hello, hello
I don’t know why you say goodbye I say hello.
I say high, you say low
You say why and I say I don’t know, oh no.

8)Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love
There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done
Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It’s easy!
There’s nothing you can make that can’t be made
No one you can save that can’t be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be in time. It’s easy!

9)Like a rolling stone / Like a rolling stone / Like the FBI and the CIA and the BBC… BB King / And Doris Day.

10) Oh, darling, please believe me / I’ll never do you no harm
Oh, darling, if you leave me / I’ll never make it alone
Believe me when I beg you / Don’t ever leave me alone.

11)Lady Madonna, children at your feet
Wonder how you manage to make ends meet
Who finds the money when you pay the rent?
Did you think that money was heaven sent?
Friday night arrives without a suitcase
Sunday morning creeping like a nun.

The form fits the content. But... always?

I guess this is one of the golden principles in literature: the form fits the content. We then learn that, actually, form is content.

But... always?

In a song like "Yer Blues", by The Beatles, this is clear.

In Suzanne Vega's "Luka" and 10,000 Maniacs' "What's the Matter here", this is not so clear...

Luka

LUKA
Suzanne Vega

My name is Luka
I live on the second floor
I live upstairs from you
Yes, I think you’ve seen me before

If you hear something late at night
Some kind of trouble, some kind of fight
Just don’t ask me what it was
Just don’t ask me what it was
Just don’t ask me what it was

I think it’s because I’m clumsy
I try not to talk too loud
Maybe it’s because I’m crazy
I try not to act too proud

They only hit until you cry
And after that you don’t ask why
You just don’t argue anymore
You just don’t argue anymore
You just don’t argue anymore

Yes, I think I’m OK
I walked into the door again
Well, if you ask that’s what I’ll say
And it’s not your business anyway

I guess I’d like to be alone
With nothing broken, nothing thrown
Just don’t ask me how I am
Just don’t ask me how I am
Just don’t ask me how I am

Blowin' in the Wind

And last class we had the opportunity to listen to a classic. A classic among classics. Ans we still learned what rhetorical questions are!

BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND

Bob Dylan
(The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan – 1963)


How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

No class on April 7th BUT...

Due to the heavy rains, we won't have class tomorrow (as you guys did not have today...).
HOWEVER, our test will not be postponed. So, it will be on Thursday, April 8th. If the situation goes back to normal, of course, and school opens.

In the meantime, do not only spend your time in front of the computer.

Look around and see what you can do to help.

Read.

Listen to good music.

Talk to your friends, parents, relatives.

You give me what I lack

After the drug project, a change of pace: the beautiful "Wind at my back", by one of the greatest progressive bands of the 2000's, the American Spock's Beard.

Is it a love song? The overused sentence "I love you" is not mentioned here...

WIND AT MY BACK

Spock’s Beard
(Snow – 2002)

How can you be
Like a sky stretched out before me
And the world is turning your way
Even darkness is better this way

Can it be true
That it all comes rushing from you
When my resistance is gone
And there's nothing that I can lean on

You are the wind at my back
You give what I lack
You're the jewel in my hand
You're like rain on dry land

You're the focus the beam
You're realities dream
You're the blue in my black
You're the wind at my back

All of the above
I'II have the lot for my love
And as we're becoming somehow
As we're changing the future to now

I just want to live
In the place that you have to give
I'll let the heat beat me down
Until the water comes down

You are the wind at my back
You give what I lack
You're the jewel in my hand
You're like rain on dry land

You're the focus the beam
You're realities dream
You're the blue in my black
You're the wind at my back

You are the wind at my back
You give what I lack
You're the jewel in my hand
You're like rain on dry land

And my soul has been kissed
Just because you exist
You're the dream that's a fact
You're the wind at my back

You're the wish that I make
You're the prize I might take
You're the gold that is free
You're the groom on one knee

You're the focus the beam
You're realities dream
You're the blue in my black
You're the wind at my back

Drugs

I like having modules. So here comes our first one: drugs. No doubt rock and roll has many many songs on this theme.

We played Radiohead's "Bones" and Cranberries' "Salvation".

BONES

I don't wanna be crippled and cracked
Shoulders wrists knees and back
Ground to dust and ash
Crawling on all fours

When you've got to feel that in your bones
When you've got to feel that in your bones

Now I can't climb the stairs
Pieces missing everywhere
Prozac painkillers

When you've got to feel that in your bones
When you've got to feel that in your bones
And I used to fly like Peter Pan
All the children flew when I touched their hands

You've got to feel that in your bones
You've got the feel that in your bones

SALVATION

To all those people doing lines,
Don't do it, don't do it.
Inject your soul with liberty,
It's free, it's free.

To all the kids with heroin eyes,
Don't do it, don't do it.
Because it's not not what it seems,
No no it's not not what it seems.

Salvation, salvation, salvation is free.
Salvation, salvation, salvation is free.

Ah, ah, ah, ah

To all the parents with sleepless nights,
Sleepless nights.
Tie your kids home to their beds,
Clean their heads.

To all the kids with heroin eyes,
Don't do it, don't do it.
Because it's not not what it seems,
No no it's not not what it seems.

Salvation, salvation, salvation is free.
Salvation, salvation, salvation is free.

Salvation, salvation, salvation is free.
Salvation, salvation, salvation is free.

Ah, ah, ah, ah

**************************************

The cool thing is: even though they deal with the same difficult subject, their approach is very different (though both are critical)! Similarities and differences were discussed in class.

Radiohead's piece is far more elusive, so hardly ever students "get it".(But I'm glad no one said it is about arthritis). On the other hand, "Salvation" is very straightforward (maybe too straightforward?)

The Logical Song

One of the most used songs in the history of teaching English as a Foreign Language (is it actually in the Guinness???), Supertramp's "The Logical Song is a jewel: amazing lyrics, superb rhythm and wonderful vocabulary, full of false cognates. Last, but not least, it is perfect to review adjectives (interesting X interested) and adverbs. I wonder if the band members know how many students have benefited over the years....

THE LOGICAL SONG

When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
a miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees, well they'd be singing so happily,
oh joyfully, oh playfully watching me.

But then they sent me away to teach me how to be sensible,
logical, oh responsible, practical.
And then they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
oh clinical, oh intellectual, cynical.

There are times when all the world's asleep,
the questions run too deep
for such a simple man.
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
but please tell me who I am

I said now watch what you say they'll be calling you a radical,
a liberal, oh fanatical, criminal.
Won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're
acceptable, respectable, oh presentable, a vegetable!

But at night, when all the world's asleep,
the questions run so deep
for such a simple man.
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
but please tell me who I am.

Not only songs, uh?

Our workshop has two main goals: analyse the songs as if they were (they are!) literary pieces and review grammar contents learned in Middle School (Ensino Fundamental).

So, at this first moment, using Nirvana's song and a word search, we made a review of Irregular Verbs. But as we also intend to, occasionally, introduce new grammar points, we went through the pronunciation of the final -ed of the regular verbs. So, if you guys thought there was nothing to worry about the regular verbs, here we are! Remember, there are three ways of pronouncing the final -ed:

1) the extremely wrong and ugly way;
2) the not so awful but still wrong (because a new syllable is made);
3) the good and perfect way you learned in class and will use the rest of your life.

Depending on the last phoneme, it is going to sound like /t/, /d/ or /Id/.

Our First Song or "E-E-Evandro, I've bingoed it!"

Our first song was Nirvana's "The Man Who Sold the World", actually an old song by David Bowie covered by the Seattle band in their MTV unplugged show. This gig was a surprise. Everybody was expecting the guys to play their big hits, but, instead, they came up with many unexpected and somewhat obscure covers. I think this was nice.

Expect the unexpected.

I've been using this song for years. The lyrics are smart, not very difficult to catch, in spite of Kurt Cobain's hoarse voice, and it is perfect to review Simple Past, so I always have a bingo along with the listening. After making the grid with irregular verbs, the students are supposed to get four verbs in a row. The first one to accomplish it has to raise his hand and say: "E-E-Evandro, I've bingoed it". He can say only this. I will pay no heed to things such as "I bingoed" or "Finished" or "Here".

First Post

Hey, here we are!