The upcoming series, “Music Monday,” will feature rhetorical analyses of lyrics. My students at UTC must complete a rhetorical analysis in the first level of college composition, and typically they select songs because of the access to lyrics, background information on musicians available, and the potential for detailing music videos to further extract meaning from the song itself. I have learned so much from simply reading their papers and seeing how intricate lyrical content can be that I feel inspired to do the same.
So, what exactly does rhetorical analysis entail? Looking at the Greek appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos (and sometimes kairos), we can determine how a song appeals to the listener and what the artists utilize to captivate their audience. First, ethos — think “ethics” — relies on the character of the singer or narrator, the shared value system between those individuals and their audience, and a sense of credibility. Next, pathos — or emotions — attempt to elicit a particular emotion response from the listener; numerous examples of songs about heartbreak or romantic love should quickly provide good illustration of this concept. Of the three typically accepted appeals, logos — logic — uses reasoning to either inform or persuade the audience. Obviously, we do not all share the same values, nor do we always have the same emotion responses; however, we are creatures of reasoning, so utilizing logos can be incredibly effective. Finally, kairos is the timing — think of the music from the late 1960s through early 1970s when the Vietnam War occurred. Lyrical content captured the sentiment of many people protesting the war.
With this basic background of the rhetorical appeals, following along with this series should be fairly simple. In some cases, the music videos will be incorporated into the analyses although they will be excluded in cases where the lyrics provide sufficient content (or when the music video does not seem to align with the lyrics and/ or my tastes). The songs selected will attempt to avoid explicit language and content, but I must caution that strong language may be featured in some analyses. My students have had the opportunities to analyze a particular NWA song as well as rap songs, and I remind them that the language featured typically serves a purpose and sends a message just as much as academic/ professional writing. I do hope you will enjoy this series!
