Generic Criticism: Spoken Word

Spoken word is a form of free verse poetry that originated during the Harlem Renaissance era which took place between the 1920s to the 1930s. It is performed through speech on a stage to an audience, but today it is available through several media methods.  Due to its multifaceted nature, it exemplifies a genre that should be studied, and criticised through generic criticism.

Spoken word is an extremely unique from of poetry, and this is due to the structural guidelines that have to be followed when a rhetor is creating such a literary art.  Because there are no guidelines in the process of making the product, it makes this form of literary art very versatile, and perhaps to versatile that it could be argued to be a different genre. Comparing the genre of rap and spoken word, there are not that many differences between the 2 forms of art. While most rap focuses on being more rhythmic, and follows a generic verse-chorus structure, Spoken word does not have any guidelines. It is simply the presentation of ideas through speech. Thus spoken word can rhyme if the rhetor chooses to make it. Taking the example of Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus, there is a rhyming scheme present. Taking a different example, the song I get down  by Shad if striped down to its lyrical content can be considered spoken words due to the great similarities that are present between the two genres of spoken art. Because spoken word is so versatile, and has no guidelines, it does not have binding structure that has to be followed. This limitless form of art can be morphed into an abundance of different genres of poetry ranging from rap to haikus.

Shad-I Get Down:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQZ2g1s8e4s&feature=related

Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY

Where is the Love Music Video, Cluster Criticism.

‘Where is the love’ is song written and performed by a Hip Hop group called The black eyed peas. It was featured in featured in their third album, Elephunk,  which was released in  2003. This is one of their most acclaimed songs; hence it has a sum of 13 charts totaled worldwide. This music video possesses a well thought and developed lyrics coupled with visuals that are not only gratifying but also depict the song lyrics perfectly. There is a clear message conveyed through the song lyrics and illustration provided, which makes this music video exemplary as an artifact to be recognized, and studied through the method of Cluster Criticism.

Throughout the music video, you see the “?” mark in an abundance of occasions and in even more distinguished places. Furthermore the lyrics contain numerous fallacious and negative words such as ‘killing’, ‘dying’, ‘hurting’, ‘discrimination’, and ‘terrorism’. In addition to these key terms, we can add ‘love’ to them, but amusingly it is the only word hinting towards any positive to today’s society. We can group the words ‘killing’, ‘hurting’, ‘discrimination’, and terrorism’ together because they all express a form of hatred. There is also a cause and effect that is applicable towards these words because they all cause death, and hatred if they are applied, and there are several examples in our society today such as the tragic 911 incident, and the prevalent gang violence that is taking place in many North American cities today.

In the lyrics, the phrase ‘Where is the love’ is said several times, and is coupled with an illustration of a red question mark. As the music video plays we hear, and see these too things several times, hence it is the underlining theme of the music video. The purpose of this is to address a few of today’s contributing factors to our flaw society.  The song is structured such that in the verses, we are given examples of negative words such as the ones listed above, and in the chorus is where the audience is given the solution to these problems.

The music video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc&ob=av3e

Steven Jobs Addressing the 2004/2005 Stanford University Graduates

During the 2004/2005 Stanford University Graduation ceremony, Steven Jobs was invited to give a commencement speech to address all of the graduates present, aside from the fact that he is a former drop out, yet he stands proudly to address the graduates who he once visioned to be sitting beside. By the guidelines and principles established by the Neo-Aristotelian criticism, the speech delivered by Steven Jobs is exemplarily and is undoubtedly auspicious.

Due to the affective use of the invention, organization, style, and delivery of the speech, it has fulfilled its purpose. The rhetor uses artistic methods to prove his argument, and convince the audience. By using inductive reasoning he has established 3 life stories that have all ended similarly. These stories serve as a way to persuade, and influence the audience to thinking the same way he does. “Stay hungry, Stay foolish” is a general message that he emphasises at the end which is strongly supported throughout the stories. The content of the stories display several examples of pathos thought the telling. When he reveals that he is adopted, and his parents did not want to have a child, or when he tells the audience that had been fired from the same company that he has help built, the audience cannot help but feel great empathy towards him. Ethos is also evident through the real life persona he has created for himself throughout out his long life actions. He is regarded as one of the greatest men of our time, and is said to be the Leonardo da Vinci of our time. Thus it is easily to such an iconic figure to persuade the students because many of them look up to him as a role model.

The speech was divided into 4 parts. The first three parts was a way for the rhetor to establish a clear connection with the audience through the use of the 3 stories he tells. These stories follow a chronological order starting from his birth, and up to his late career as the CEO of Apple, and Pixar Animation. The 4^th and last part of the speech was very important because it unified the three stories with one common message, “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”. This is very affective because it had the greatest impact on the audience, and this is due organization of the speech, and the ‘events’ that occurred before. The rhetor spoke with a calm and a clear voice. As he reads his speech he uses colloquial language, thus it has helped him connect with the students more easily. The speech was very inspirational and affective, and in brief it has fulfilled its purpose.

The speech can be found here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc