Imitation #5: Endless Journey by Mary Barnet

ENDLESS JOURNEY

Mary Barnet

Some journeys, I believe, are endless A
For what the mother does not find  B
One hundred years later  C
The great-grandchild discovers. D
Such is the nature of the animal.  E

Within the soul there is an endless journey also :  F
In search of love that lasts ;   G
Trying to find forever in one moment.  H

 

I had a hard time finding what these lines were exactly about. But taking a guess I believe it’s about the journey us humans take when we are trying to find something, whether it’s love or anything important. These lines were a critique. The rhyme scheme for these lines were A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H. There are some literal as well as figurative meanings. For example, in line five, human behaviors are being compared to animals and that’s an example of a metaphor. But line eight is an example of literal meaning. The meaning of the line is right out. There is no hiding the meaning. The tone is this poem is almost mysterious. It’s like there is something this poem is hiding.

Entry Number 4: Imitation

Entry 4: Imitation Music of the 80’s

Parents just don’t Understand

Will Smith

 You know parents are the same  A

No matter time nor place            B

They don't understand that us kids  C

Are going to make some mistakes    D

So to you, all the kids all across the land   E

There's no need to argue        F

Parents just don't understand      E

I remember one year        H

       The whole song is just about how parents sometimes don’t understand the experiences that their children face. And these lines do a really well in elaborating that. So the context is basically that he character is trying to explain that no matter how hard you try, parents just don’t understand. This song is a confession because it reflects on the character’s life and gives examples of the main context of this song. The rhyme scheme of these lines is A, B, C, D, E, F, E, and H. Some literary elements used in these lines, for example the tone is very persuasive. It gives examples about the contradictions between parents and children. There is also ending rhyme in lines 5 and 7 with the words understand and land.

Imitation #3 I Have Seen by Phri Thomas.

I Have Seen

By Plri Thomas

I'd rather be like lighting, for it has no earthly gate,    A       
It strikes the earth naturally, and not with deadly hate, A
I'd rather be like thunder, for that is children's shouts, B
I'd rather be a tear of sorrow than a smile of arrogance.  C

I know not which way my words will be borne by the wind, D
But I do know that I plant the seed E
Among all the people of my earth deep within, F
That all can stand with a loving hand G

 These lines from the poem are saying that the character would be peaceful and miserable rather than happy but arrogant. I will say these lines express a sense of confession. The text itself makes this clear, for example in the first four lines. The character says he wants to be like thunder, to me this means that even if he or she may be an element of danger but will hurt nothing or harm no one. The rhyme scheme for these lines will be A, A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. There are some literary elements used in these lines, for example similes were used in the first four lines comparing the character to lighting and thunder. Also there is ending rhyme in the first two lines where “gate” and “hate” are placed at the end of the line.

Critique #2: Chapter 6 of The Hip Hop Wars.

Critique of Chapter 6

   In this chapter of The Hip Hop Wars, it basically focuses on the phrases “keeping it real.” This phrase has been misused by many artists just because they want their album or song on top. Some artists sometimes use this phrase to describe their style of music because in their songs they describe where they come from, which most likely will be from the ghetto. These artists have so much power to with their words, but decide to use it to talk about the money, cars and hoes as well as the ghetto where they are from and make it seem like a horrible crime scene. They make the ghetto seem like it’s all bad, they don’t mention some of the people that have made it out the ghetto and got themselves a good education or about how many African American men are in jail while the women have to take on so much responsibility to support the family without a man there to help them out.

   Reading this chapter made me realize how much power hip hop has on our community. It also makes me wonder why anybody would want to be something they are not just to get their songs or albums sold. To me, it’s almost like they are being inconsiderate and it’s not hurting them at the end of the day because they still make their money. But instead it makes Americans think living in a ghetto means that your life is full of violence, and that the people living in the ghetto have built everything around them. Also that they are living that kind of life because they enjoy it which makes most African Americans look bad because that’s where most of them live.