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