Poetry in The Antler's "Hospice"
It can be said that poetry is alive and kicking in America. Many records, films,
advertisements, posters, and dances are conscious efforts at poetry. Some of these efforts are
more successful than others, but all of them provide proof that poetry is not confined to the
printed pages of textbooks.
Select one of the above media that you consider poetic and explain what elements of
poetry it contains. Restrict your observations to a single recording or film, or consider several
advertisements or posters that you have studied. Make a connection between the medium you
have selected and poetry clear by mentioning specific elements such as imagery, figurative
language, rhymes, or rhythms.
If your imagination needs to be prodded, just think of the many figurative ways in which
dirt, evil, danger, pollution, good, popularity, success, and so on, are portrayed on film,
videotape, television, or the stage.
advertisements, posters, and dances are conscious efforts at poetry. Some of these efforts are
more successful than others, but all of them provide proof that poetry is not confined to the
printed pages of textbooks.
Select one of the above media that you consider poetic and explain what elements of
poetry it contains. Restrict your observations to a single recording or film, or consider several
advertisements or posters that you have studied. Make a connection between the medium you
have selected and poetry clear by mentioning specific elements such as imagery, figurative
language, rhymes, or rhythms.
If your imagination needs to be prodded, just think of the many figurative ways in which
dirt, evil, danger, pollution, good, popularity, success, and so on, are portrayed on film,
videotape, television, or the stage.
Poetry is prevalent in most forms of art, this is especially true when it comes to music. Hospice the acclaimed 2009 post-rock album by The Antlers displays poetry in all facets. Hospice tells the story of a relationship between a hospice worker and a female patient suffering from terminal bone cancer, their ensuing romance, and their slow downward spiral as a result of the woman's traumas, fears, and disease. The album gracefully dances around the topic of death using various forms of poetic language. The first lines of the second song "I wish that I had known in that first minute we met, the unpayable debt that I owed you. Because you’d been abused by the bone that refused you, and you hired me to make up for that. Walking in that room when you had tubes in your arms, those singing morphine alarms out of tune kept you sleeping and even, and I didn’t believe them when they called you a hurricane thunderclap." These incredible lyrics paired with great talent and production truly make Hospice a work of art and poetry.
Listeners describe the album to have the "power to emotionally destroy listeners." #tru |
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