I have collected some references that support my decision to pursue with a poem. These references cover some of the sonic effects that spoken word can have, as well as similar themes of self.

The first references is Kendrick Lamar’s poem in his 2015 album ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’. The poem is read in parts across the whole album, with songs across the tracklist revealing more and more of the poem as the album goes through its runtime, before being revealed in full on the final track ‘Mortal Man’. I was very moved and inspired by this poem, as it enhances the content of the album and grows meaning the further the album goes. For example, the introduction of the poem first appears on the fifth song ‘These Walls’ – “I remember you was conflicted, misusing your influence…sometimes I did the same”. These lines are spoken very intimately with finger clicks in the background, before a sombre and painful moan enter the song. In isolation this song captures the temptation of lust and sex, and the idea that lust can divert you from the right path. At the end of the song, the same lines are spoken with no other sound, with the additional lines “…abusing my power full of resentment, resentment that turned into a deep depression…found myself screaming in the hotel room”. The next song, “u”, then immediately begins with Kendrick screaming desperately before the instrumental swirls into a dark and uncomfortable cacophony of horns and piano. This decision to extend the poem by just a couple of lines to introduce the next song shifts the context of what he is referring to in the poem, as the next song contemplates Kendrick’s depression. This minimal but effective use of sonic signifiers enhances what is being said, and the placement within the tracklist also emphasises the point he is making and makes it relatable to people with different experiences.

William Butler Yeats, an Irish poet, published his poem “The Second Coming” in 1920. I wanted to use an excerpt of this poem as a reference point because I feel it deals with themes of going in a spiral and events circling around a central point, themes that are quite similar to my own in this project.

The Second Coming

“Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.“

I really resonate with the final two lines “the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity”. Considering my research into the dead internet theory, I feel that these two lines articulate that notion very effectively – the loss of self-identification and the struggle with self-acceptance plague the most brilliant of minds, while the people that are obscenely destructive take advantage of this and create this world where doubt, anxiety and fear are planted into people’s minds and their intelligence or passion are stripped away, being replaced with mindless content that begins to consume and detach us from our self in every way – identity, ideas, individuality.

Yeats’ concise framing of these concepts through literature evokes the power of words to communicate deeply personal and uncomfortable topics. Words, when communicated in such a way, can resonate deeply with people and ultimately spoken words can enhance the subject matter, translating written ideas into physical vibrations. This makes me want to really focus on the delivery of my poem.

Date: 1920 November, Periodical: The Dial, Article Title: Ten Poems, Poem: The Second Coming, Author: William Butler Yeats, Quote Page: 466, Publisher: The Dial Publishing Company, New York. (Google Books Full View)