"Real" by Kendrick Lamar - Essay Sample

Introduction

Poetry takes different formats and falls under different genres. A poem is classified according to how the poet arranges his words, the other sounds used, and its appearance. It is also classified according to the genre. This paper will analyze the song real and how the artist-Kendrick Lamar has used his lyrics' poetry features. In the song, the artist is talking about his personal life and what is considered real. He explains that where he comes from-Compton, everybody has a definition of what makes men real.

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Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in a series of words at the start of words in a sentence. It is mainly based on sound and not spelling. Words without the same letters can alliterate due to their sound. Kendrick has made use of this element in his song. Although it's not a widely used element, he has still used it in some of his stanzas. He says, "I'm real, I'm real, really real" this is wordplay in his chorus.

Assonance

Assonance is used to refer to the repetition of vowels in words in a sentence. The artist has used assonance widely to create musicality in his song. It creates a flow and gives the reader the eagerness to read more. The song has a lot of internal rhyme and is easy to flow. In his second stanza, a line goes, "and your plans can only pan around love" the line brings a form of musicality and a particular flow in the song. The artist brings focus to this line showing how dependent some people are on love in life. He has made use of assonance to emphasize specific topics such as happiness.

Stanza

As a song, it is grouped in stanzas that are separated by a chorus. The music starts with the hook as the first stanza then goes on into the second stanza. The song has eight stanzas, including the repeated refrain. After every stanza, the chorus is repeated. Every stanza is communicating a different message. In the first stanza, he talks of love and lifestyle. He explains about the life that people idolize and how people are dependent on love. In the second stanza, he focuses on life on the streets. The third stanza is about personal experience and responsibility that are thrown to him by life. The fourth stanza is about friendship, and the fifth is about lessons in life from the streets. Stanzas characterize poetry, and the artist has done this extensively; thus, the song can pass as a poem.

Rhyme

Rhyme uses the same consonants when ending a particular line so that the flow of the lines is seen, and it creates a specific pattern in the poem. Poets depend on rhyme to bring musicality in a poem. The artist has used the verse in his song. The rhyme scheme is irregular since he does not have a particular set of letters used; instead, he uses different letters to end other lines. However, his chorus uses a regular rhyme scheme where the lines end with the word real. For example, in the second stanza, he uses this element to end his lines with letters -ell or –ill.

Repetition

Repetition uses the same phrases or words to rhyme and emphasize the message in a stanza or a line. The artist has used repetition in his work, where he repeats his chorus after every stanza. The hook is used to emphasize the main topic, which is being real. After his stanza, speaking about a different matter, he goes back to say that he looks in the mirror, sees himself, and he is real.

Form

A poem may adopt a particular form, either using a certain number of lines in a stanza, a specific rhyme scheme, or a specific pattern. The artist, in this case, has used lyrics to pass along a particular message. He expresses his feelings and thoughts in his work. He has strong feelings about realness.

Figurative Language

Figurative language uses words or phrases that don't have a given meaning in real life; however, it has its literal meaning when interpreted deeply in the context used. Examples of figurative language used by the artist are metaphors, symbolism, hyperbole, and irony. The artist has used metaphors to refer to different actions. He refers to living a life with a plan A, a plan B, and a plan C. He has also used irony to refer to someone loving love so much and even loving love even when love hurts. In real life, it is close to impossible to love something that causes you harm. Using irony, he emphasizes how important love is to this person he is talking about in his work.

Mood

The mood in poetry refers to the emotions and the feelings that the artist evokes as one reads the poem. In this song, Kendrick evokes feelings of people sticking to being real to themselves. As you read through his experiences, he evokes thoughts of how different people are as some opt to idolize love while others are into the 'street' life. He inspires his listeners to be real to themselves.

Tone

The tone is the feeling expressed by the poet. The technique can be a variety of surfaces. In this song, Kendrick expresses a serious style as he talks about life. He explains in metaphors about life, and it is easy to tell that he is taking the matter very seriously. In the fourth stanza, he talks about the strelines' flowove for the street." you love the sreets, you love runnin', duckin' the police, you love your hood, might even love it to death, but what love got to do with it when you don't love yourself?"

Consonance

Consonance is the recurrence of consonants that sound the same in a line in the poem. Consonance brings about harmony in the given lines and creates a certain rhythm. It can be located anywhere and not necessarily the start or end of words and can be found in the beginning, middle, or end of the term. The important part is that it happens successively. Consonance brings about rhyme and emphasis on a specific idea.

The artist has used this feature throughout the song. In the fourth stanza, he uses runnin' and duckin', bringing a certain sense of rhyme in the stanza.

Conclusion

Thus, a song is a form of self-realization in religion, responsibility, family, and morality. He explains the different factors that have molded him into the man he is as he writes the song.