Slam+poetry

media type="custom" key="7791293" 1. On your page discuss the use of poetic devises. Discuss the overall meaning of the poem (theme). Discuss why you choose this poem. Of course, use specific examples from the poem!


 * Totally like whatever, by Taylor Mali.**

In case you hadn't noticed, it has somehow become uncool to sound like you know what you're talking about? Or believe strongly in what you're saying? Invisible question marks and parenthetical (you know?)'s have been attaching themselves to the ends of our sentences? Even when those sentences aren't, like, questions? You know? Declarative sentences - so-called because they used to, like, DECLARE things to be true as opposed to other things which were, like, not - have been infected by a totally hip and tragically cool interrogative tone? You know? Like, don't think I'm uncool just because I've noticed this; this is just like the word on the street, you know? It's like what I've heard? I have nothing personally invested in my own opinions, okay? I'm just inviting you to join me in my uncertainty? What has happened to our conviction? Where are the limbs out on which we once walked? Have they been, like, chopped down with the rest of the rain forest? Or do we have, like, nothing to say? Has society become so, like, totally. . . I mean absolutely. . . You know? That we've just gotten to the point where it's just, like. . . whatever! And so actually our disarticulation. . . ness is just a clever sort of. . . thing to disguise the fact that we've become the most aggressively inarticulate generation to come along since. . . you know, a long, long time ago! I entreat you, I implore you, I exhort you, I challenge you: To speak with conviction. To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it. Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY. You have to speak with it, too.

For my poetry assignment i chose a video titled Typography. This poem is not really one with a whole lot of metaphors, similes, or personification, but I noticed some allegory. Usually allegory is used to describe stories, but I noticed that this poem has a literal meaning, and symbolic meaning. The last two sentences that say "it is not enough these days to simply question authority, you got to speak with it too," are aphorism i think, because they have a moral to them. I also noticed some satire, he is making fun of human vices in his poem, imitating it. I am not sure if this is a poetic devise, but I thought the statement "have they been chopped down with the rest of our rain forest," was a good, powerful way of using an example to get his message through. I also noticed it is slightly ironic how he tells people not to talk like that, and tries to convince people not to, but decides to do exactly that to get his point across. The theme/meaning of my poem is about how people talk informally, it makes you sound less intelligent, and gives your words less meaning. He also includes how using this sort of language is not very good, because it is just following the "cool" people, he used the word "inarticulate", at one point in the story to describe this, which means "Unable to speak distinctly or express oneself clearly." The poet ends his poem by challenging the listeners to try to speak with conviction, and say what they believe, he then gives another powerful statement "Its not enough these days to simply question authority, you got to speak with it too." I chose this poem, because I liked it basically, the moral was strong, the examples were good, I understood, and agreed with it. I think that people should try to do what the poem says, the poet himself is a smart person, however I think that it would be a hard habit to reverse...

GOOD CHOICE! 10/10