Putting it together: Collaborative writing (20 minutes) I used another prompt I’ve used for poetry classes to get students started with metaphors and similes We also identified the rhyme scheme in sections of the song. I also used this as an opportunity to talk about song structure: Verse, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, Bridge and after we talked about the characteristics of each part of a song, I asked them to identify these pieces in “Firework”. For example: What does she mean when she says, “There’s still a spark in you?” What do we think of when we think of sparks (enthusiasm, light, energy, etc.)? What about this being paired with the word “still”? Maybe its been a hard time but she’s trying to say you still have light inside you. I passed out copies of Katy Perry’s “Firework” (a song I thought they would likely be familiar with).Īfter listening to the song, we broke down some of the metaphors in it and talked about what she was trying to say. Look at definitions and examples from songs and talk together about why the writer chose that comparison (handout in lesson plan attachment). I also passed out copies of lyrics and invited them to ask questions.

I talked about why I did that and what I was trying to get at. That’s how we make sense of complicated emotional experiences like those outlined in songs.įor this lesson, I played one of my songs that use metaphors of cages and walls to talk about someone who is emotionally shut off or unable to engage honestly. Description: Some of the most effective literary devices used in song lyrics are metaphors and similes.

Ashanti baby rhetorical devices