3 different approaches

If students use meaningless words to lengthen their papers, and one can truly believe that this has found its way to the presidential candidate promo, then Bernie Sander's video is the Fluff of a lifetime. He shows nothing important and says nothing important. All he shows is the "average American Joe" working and cheering for him. He believes that a country song and a video with hay and a barn in it will make him a brother to all the hard-working, country folk. I would find more rhetorical weaknesses in his speech, expect that he did not really say anything. He seemed to believe that just a video of him smiling and people cheering would convince all of America to follow him blindly.
Trump, on the other hand, dealt with a couple main issues. Instead of simply showing his face (like Bernie Sanders) he shows relevant videos. His commentator aptly used the phrase "until we find out..." including the audience by creating a sense of unity.
If Trump's was a blunt, forthright video, Obama's was the opposite. It was a "feel good" video, using "happy" words such as opportunity, equality, etc. He used alliteration by repeating "Yes, we can." He heightened people's sense of identity by listening to the song by singing "We won't change."

Politicians...

So honestly watching the Obama one, after 30 seconds, I skipped ahead a minute to see if anything changed. It didn't. I skipped to the end, same thing, only with more "passion." With Bernie, he was attempting to make supporting him look fun. That doesn't seem to be realistic. With Trump, he is blatantly promising stuff he cannot do. Build a wall and just make Mexico pay for it? What if they say no? He'll probably just cut their heads off. Just like Isis apparently. Bernie appeals to an emotional aspect I guess. Trump just likes making controversy, because if the spotlight is on you, its not on your opponents. Strategy. And Obama tried to remix his speech, throwing in Scarlett Johansson in there. Nice try.

Rhetorical politics

All of these political ads have pros and cons to them. The Bernie Sanders' ad was good in a video effect way. It highlighted the good parts of America and why people come here. But it didn't show any of Sanders' politics so while it was a good video, it was not an effective ad. Trump's video was straight and to the point, not shying away from any of his controversial ideas. However, I did feel that there was almost an element of fear tactic to it, bordering on terrifying the audience into choosing Trump. There was also a lot of negative campaigning, such as shaming the other candidates, which can turn voters off of his cause. Obama's ad had a very strong inspiration message in it throughout, which people tend to gravitate towards. The input of the celebrities also seemed to portray society's approval of his message. But the video was long, which could turn people off, and, in hindsight, whether he actually accomplished all of those things that he said he would is debatable. Making a great political ad isn't easy, but, has these videos have shown, you don't always have to in order to win audiences over.

Do what you gotta do

All three of these politicians used rhetoric to try to gain votes.  I dont have a problem with this as it is their job and it has become more and more acceptable to bend the truth in a presidential campaign.  However it was entertaining to see how each video matched the politicians personality.  Bernie sanders seems like a nice enough guy, lacking good political insight.  His ad was focused on him being nice and views of his supporters.  He said nothing throughout the ad. Donald Trump is aggressive in personality and has some radical political view.  His ad was an explanation on how to deal with one of the most controversial topics, ISIS, is an extremely controversial way.  Obama's ad was appealing to the musical nature of society.  Many people take well to music today. All three used the techniques they thought would most influence america.

Political Ads

Bernie Sanders tried to play a song about America and have pictures and videos of normal people on farms and people cheering for him, but it really had no point to it. I guess he tried to appeal to the emotions of Americans, but it just kind of feel short. Trump's was the more serious of the three. He talked about what he wanted to do in his presidency, which I kinda liked, even though he tried to appeal to the fear of the people to get his point across. While I like his focus on what he wants to do, like Camden said, we do not know if he will actually accomplish these things. Obama's was nice at first but after two minutes I was done. He used famous people to get people to vote for him and music and singing which was cool, but for 4 minutes just made it stupid. I couldn't pay attention to what he was saying hardly at all either. I only heard "Yes we can" the whole time, but I can see why some people would vote for him after that ad because he is advertising unifying America and change. 

Yes We Can!

Yes, we can plunge the country deeper into national debt, we can raise the unemployment rate, we can kill babies, we can socialise health care, we can get nuked by ISIS and Russia, we can become a part of the Chinese Commonwealth... I could go on, but the real thing here is that these three ads were unique in their own respective way. First of all I would like to congratulate the Democrats for winning the Pathos award for the day! Burnie's ad didn't really say anything about his socialist stances; however, it did have a super catchy background song with clips of average Americans doing average American things like carrying farm animals, doing science, smoking legal weed, going to college for free, and getting stuck at a permanent middle class due to the lowered glass ceiling. It pains me to say this, but Obama's ad would've been perfect save for the fact that the singing wasn't exactly aligned with his speech. Artistic, yes... annoying, yes... did I get a headache? yes. As I was furiously downing Tylenol to aid my imploding skull, I heard a good bit about the phrase "yes, we can" and my initial question was,"can what?" But don't worry, because they answered me. "Yes, we can change!" Awesome, I was just thinking about how I needed some spare change! You've got my vote, Obama! ROLL OUT THE CHANGE!!! But, guys, in all seriousness, we need to get serious, because it's time for serious talk... seriously. That's about the impression I got when I watched Trump's ad which featured gigantic walls, disgruntled illegals, ISIS, muslims, another holocaust, reality TV, and a surprising lack of toupees. Hey, but don't take my word for it, watch it yourself.

I think any further explanation about my opinion of Trump's campaign ad can be deduced through an understanding of dry sarcasm. 

Yay for Presidential Elections

I liked Obama's add. I liked the song. It was very interesting to me, and I enjoyed how they had different people sing his speech. Very intriguing although it was super long.
When I saw Donald Trump's add I was just like "Really?????" He only focussed on immigration and the problems with that. I know that situation can frustrate many people(@Gabbi Estrada) so I personally wouldn't have chosen that as my topic. But hey, you do you, man.
Bernie Sanders' was kind of weird. I did not see any specific purpose. All I saw was people walking around with him shaking their hands and other people dancing in front of a political poster.... Oh well.
All in all i found them entertaining, just weird. Sanders and Trump focussed on different people groups whereas Obama just straight up went for everyone.

Cant even with these

All the ads/commercials were all pretty different from each other. Bernie Sanders had a huge focus on  connecting with everyone. It was very emotional, and he put a stress of wanting whats best for the people and country as a whole. He definitely used the rhetorical sense in appealing to the emotions. Donald Trump's campaign was actually very obnoxious. He did ok with explaining things and letting people know his opinion. He was very straightforward and made it seem "logical" for people to vote for him. He's Trump. He has money. Of course, everyone is going to vote for him. Barack Obama's campaign felt like 7 years of hearing the same thing over and over again. It was very drawn out over the same idea. He talked a ton about all of America uniting- but I feel like his presidency did the opposite. soooooooo......

Presidential Campaigns

I thought Sanders' video was kind of a waste of time. All it really told us was that he supported all the families and small business men and farmers of America. The only thing it had going for it was the somewhat emotional song that i think was attempting to gain sympathy for Sanders' and the people he represents.
I found Trump's video to be the best for it explained to us clearly what Trump wanted to do and it appealed to a lot of people who think very logically. For example, having Mexico pay for the wall that is to be built logically makes sense because its Mexico that is causing America's illegal immigration problems and not just because they border our country.
Obama's video was just plain awful. I didn't even finish the video because it was so boring and repetitive. The video stated that America can have change if Obama is elected. Well first off America has change every single time a new president is elected so that didn't really help Obama's case but also the video didn't even explain a single view of Obama's so we learned nothing about Obama from that video except how he likes saying Yes We Can.

Distractions

Of the three ads I watched, Bernie Sanders' ad was the least convincing. Simply saying people come to look for America means nothing. Obama's ad had music covering the entire video, making it hard to get any real substance out of it. Donald Trump's ad, while controversial in nature, at least stated his intentions and didn't just prey on the weak minds of people willing to vote for who entertains them.

The lesser of many evils

The one thing that Bernie Sanders and Obama had in common, was they wanted to look for the greater America. Obama made the appeal that under him the American people would become unified, and that they would become "The American People". In many ways Obama failed to live up to the promise that got him elected. Examples of this are the Ferguson Shooting and how it caused riots all across America, but more importantly the "black lives matter movement". This movement tries to identify the prejudice on African-Americans, when really no such prejudice exists. While of course there will be some people, this search managed to cause a rift between the American people.

The same thing I think applies to Bernie Sanders. His ad looked forward to the new horizon, a prosperous tomorrow, when really he wants to impose a socialist regime in America. If one was to really think that this "prosperous tomorrow" would rise from socialism, than they are fooled, but sadly some people really are.

And then there's Trump. Trump relies completely on logos in his ads, and it really does work. He tells the people exactly what they want to hear, and people believe that he really will solve the problems America has. Who's to say he won't though, while I personally wouldn't vote for Trump in the primaries, I would have no debate on whether I could vote for him if he received the Republican nomination. With that being said, I don't really like Trump and as said before I wouldn't vote for him in the primaries, but between him and Sanders, Trump is most definitely the lesser of the two evils.

(BTW if Obama were to run again, there is no doubt in my mind that he would get elected for a third term)

Propoganda

I enjoyed watching those videos. I had not seen any of those. All three used logical fallacies to support their cause. Donald Trump used appeal to fear. Barak Obama used appeal to doubtful authority. Bernie Sanders didn't have anything good to say, so he just had an emotional song playing to pictures of his fans. I guess you could say Bernie Sanders used appeal to emotion or appeal to pity (because everyone feels bad for the little old socialist).

Im just glad Obama can't run again..

Bernie sanders used a lot of Pathos in his ad. He tried to appeal to the peoples emotions by showing comfort, animals, and children. He showed that he really cares for America and created a family vibe. He also used Ethos. He tried to create trust by showing he cares and takes the time to focus on the people. This ad annoyed me because it didn't show us anything about him politically and just showed that he has a lot of supporters and likes to show videos of goats.

Trumps ad mainly used Logos. He focused on the logical side of everything and gave real information. He used Pathos to create fear of terrorism and ISIS but he shows that he is trustworthy and is going to fix all of these problems. He uses Ethos to show that he is more trustworthy than other politicians and that he's not afraid to actually do something.

Obama used a lot of Pathos by having a song in his ad. It is emotional and has many different kinds of people in it. he uses a little bit of Logos to make change seem logical. He shows that a lot of people want change and makes the people who watch the video feel like they should want change too. He uses Ethos to show trustworthiness and that he is on the peoples side. He uses celebrities to help him. People watch this video and see that one of their favorite celebrities supports Obama and that could help sway their opinion. This ad was very annoying because it was much longer than it needed to be and the song wasn't even good. It was just a bunch of people randomly singing parts of his speech to any tune they wanted and it didn't even go together well.

Trump, Sanders, Obama...

First off I would like to say that I have lost what little respect I had for those celebrities in the Obama ad and I hope they like what they have done to America. That being said, I will now delve into these ads' rhetoric.Each of these ads has their own different strategies of rhetoric and they each appeal to different crowds.

 First off the Bernie Sanders ad attempt to appeal to the average families. It does this by playing a nice patriotic song and showing video of families and regular people. Then it slowly adds Sanders into the mix and by the end of the ad you are watching Sanders on the campaign trail. This strategy works for those that do not really know much about politics or those that like Sanders, however most non-supporters would not fall for the simple rhetorical strategies.

Secondly, Donald Trump's ad attempts to appeal to those that want to fix our country, patriots, and those more knowledgeable about politics. His ad starts off with Trump approving the message and then it delves straight into the objectives of Donald Trump's presidency. These objectives include, destroying ISIS and taking their oil, building a wall on our southern border and making Mexico pay for it, and making America great again. Donald Trumps is about doing thing and this is very appealing to the conservatives and some republicans. In my opinion Trump's is the most appealing by far because of his doing attitude.

Lastly, Obama's ad uses familiar faces to support his ideas and campaign. This ad appeals to the fans of the celebrities and the fans of Obama. Frankly this ad probably worked because Obama was elected president not once but twice by the American people.

Obama's ad was longg

First off, Bernie Sanders...the title is America (which is ever so original). The ad deals with the people, America's voice and how Bernie connects with them. All the families, farmers and business men and women are there for America, and Bernie "represents"America. The music too is "inspirational" and somewhat emotional. This appeals to the emotional crowd, or people influenced by numbers as it offers no political logic to support him. Nothing about his views except for connecting with the people is shown. I would say moderately effective with some of the population. Even though I don't Bernie, I can't say I am annoyed by the ad, so he scored there. 

Donald Trump on the other hand...His ad is straightforward with his views and plans. It is also very extreme, which might turn some people away or make his opponents angry at his views. It is dark and forceful, but effective because it explains everything. Although some of the plans he mentions are rather extreme, it is more logically founded than Sanders add. I liked this one more, and it appeals to a more logical group, offering what his plan is, why, and how.

Obama's ad was long, good grief. I did not like. All it did was basically repeat "Yes we can" for 4+ minutes. The song idea wasn't great either, it just didn't sound right to me. He basically is playing the unite together card. A bunch of America's different demographics are shown, and "yes we can" is their rally cry. It sort of shows his views or plans in the song, but it was more of a show than an opportunity for stating political beliefs. 

Mad Men

Presidential elections afford us a great opportunity to examine the use of rhetoric in the American public sphere. Political ads are especially fun to analyze. I'm going to provide you with two ads from this season's election and one from a previous one. Comment on the rhetorical techniques used; the audience for the ads; the audio/visual elements; the message the ad tries to convey. How effective do you think the ads are? Think in terms of how supporters or opponents would view the ads. What is really annoying to you might be inspirational to someone with differing political views!

I'm sure most of you need no encouragement, but feel free to identify what you consider rhetorical weaknesses in these ads.

1. Bernie Sanders: America

2. Donald Trump

 

 3. Barack Obama (2008) Yes We Can

Prophetic Poems

There are several parts of the this poem that are prophetic about 9/11. The stanza...

Into this neutral air
Where blind skyscrapers use
Their full height to proclaim
The strength of Collective Man,
Each language pours its vain
Competitive excuse:
But who can live for long
In an euphoric dream;
Out of the mirror they stare,
Imperialism's face
And the international wrong.

Seems to speak of the two towers, what they stood for, and why they were brought down. And the stanza...

All the conventions conspire 
To make this fort assume
The furniture of home;
Lest we should see where we are,
Lost in a haunted wood,
Children afraid of the night
Who have never been happy or good.

Seems to talk about the world after 9/11, how we were forced to pretend that the new level of fear and tension in the world was normal and that we were not actually floundering in the world. 

The world during WW2 and after 9/11 were similar in that there was a lot of extra protection and fear that had not been present beforehand. But there are two lines in the poem that sum up how to deal with the evil in the world...

The lights must never go out,
The music must always play,






We must never let the darkness of the world shut us down and we should always continue in doing what is right despite the evil of the world. 

9/11 jet fuel? bush? maybe.

The poem did seem to hearken towards 9/11 despite being written so much earlier. The most clear example of this being the line a bout blind skyscrapers reaching into the sky. The poem also feels referential in other places. the poem has an overall sad tone and just feels melancholy all around. 9/11 was a terrible tragedy and it continues to affect many people even to this day. 

Two Septembers

The author of the poem, Auden, was used to war time violence, living during World War II. The war was an obvious inspiration for his poem, yet the similarities between the two September nights are unmistakable.
He mentions "waves of anger and fear," a sentiment shared by the world after 9/11. An even more somber line follows: "The unmentionable odour of death offends the September night." He ends the poem with a startling conclusion, writing, "Defenseless under the night Our world in stupor lies; Yet, dotted everywhere, Ironic points of light Flash out wherever the Just Exchange their messages:...Negation and despair, show an affirming flame."
While these verses seem insanely similar to 9/11, they might have been inspired by the attacks on London. German planes would fly over the city, dropping bombs down. The "ironic points of light" could symbolize gun fire between the two sides; the affirming flame could be the fires ignited by the bombs.
Auden is telling his audience that they must join together and love another as a society.

Seeing the light

Defenceless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame.

I love this last stanza. It is filled with so much hope! I think that when something terrible happens, people are sort of forced to look for the good, for little glimmers of hope. The fact that the author is noticing the good points in this dark time reminds me of this quote by Fred Rogers: "When I was a little boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, in times of disaster, I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers-- so many caring people in this world."

These things inspire me to remember that there is good in this world, even amongst the bad, and even in the scariest and saddest of times.

Light in a Dark World

Auden's poem reflects truth about the world we live in. The devastating event he wrote about in particular, WWII, and the darkness that accompanied it can be related to many tragic events in our world's history. However, this poem, in an almost eerie way, seems to foretell what would happen many years later on September 11, 2001. The constant reference to skyscrapers and their imminent destruction obviously can be related to the twin towers, and the image of people coming together and pulling each other through heartbreak parallels the connections between people affected by 9/11. Auden observes that war stems from hatred, and hatred, from a lack of love. He acknowledges that every single person longs to be loved and that the darkness of the world is the cause of a lack of love. In the same way, the horrible terrorist act on September 11th was the result of hatred in the hearts of human beings. Human beings who experienced hate their whole lives and knew no other way. The love, however, that they lacked was evident in the hearts of those victimized by this horrible event. For these people, the idea of returning to "every day life" was no longer an option, but life took on a new meaning. This would be to love one another, as Auden relates in his poem regarding the world during WWII. In any and every situation, the answer is love. And this was obvious during these times of loss and tragedy... the only way to overcome evil is through goodness. And, as Auden believes, goodness is light!

Coincidence

The poem September 1, 1939 was written by W.H. Auden right before World War 2 began. This was a stressful time not just for the people of America but the whole world as it moved closer and closer to war. What is interesting is all the correlations to the terrorist attacks on September 11. First, the poem takes place in September, but that alone is not too weird. As Auden begins describing skyscrapers, that's when the similarities come to light. His poem mentions death in the second to last stanza and ends with fire and dust. All of these amount to a concerning amount of similarities between the attacks and the poem. It is obviously just a coincidence though.

Perspective on War

“September 1, 1939” by W.H. Auden is a comprehensive poem about war and humanity. It was a response to the outbreak of World War II, and focuses on a shift of historical failures to a possible transformation in the future. Auden’s use of allusions and imagery in this poem gives the reader a sense of time that is occurring and also a vision of the actions that are taking place. The general mood is negative and criticizing overall dictatorship, such as Hitler. This poem is trying to explain the causes of war and how they are brought about psychologically. Germany wanted revenge from being put down at the end of World War 1, “those to whom evil is done do evil in return,” so they started to take over in Europe; but America did not want any part of it, which eventually brought them into war anyways. Which leads us to the message that he wants people to be aware of what is happening around them today. His writing allows you to understand his frustrations of what has happened in the past and then the enlightenment of what could be done in the future. Overall, this was a very well written poem that allowed readers to understand Auden’s perspective on what he was living through on September 1, 1939.

Sing song poetry (from last week)

Rich Mullins song “If I Stand,” is beautifully written, and I can see how the rhythm of the poem can tie in with the melody to make it a nice song. Every four lines there are words that rhyme, such as moon and room, sing and things, tide and side. I think the persona is himself (a man) saying how much greater God is than anything on this planet. He talks about God’s grace, joy, and love. The first line, “there is more that rises in the morning than the sun,” can be taken very literally. Of course when it is morning, everything rises to its wake. But the last line of the 1st chorus can have a literal and non-literal meaning. “And if I weep let it be as a man who is longing for his home,” literally means that he misses his home, but non-literally home can mean heaven as his rightful and permanent home. 

A September Night

 When Auden wrote "September 1, 1939," he wrote this poem for the people during this time. At That moment in time World War II was just about to kick off.  People were scared, he was trying to tell the people to come together. It is interesting how the poem does describe the scene of 9/11, and how people felt. I believe it just coincidence that poem is reminiscent of 9/11, not that it was not a prediction of what was to come on that day. The poem does get its point across in both situation. 

Twinsies

W.H. Auden's "September 1, 1939" is in close resemblance to that of the happenings on September 1, 2001. The horrible events of this day strangely reflect this poem, written 62 years before. He writes during the tremulous times of World War II, not knowing the disturbance of 2001. Auden describes a large city with skyscrapers. On a "September night", people's lives are taken and describes them as "defenseless to the night." But, he also describes the people of the nation coming together. In both events in history, we see that America truly collected itself and bore the burdens of war united.

9/11

This poem is powerful in the way it almost seems to predict 9/11. I particularly enjoyed the part where the poet said,"Those to whom evil is done do evil in return." This calls to 9/11 and WWII, typically these wars are started by some evil being committed on one side and then the other side returns out of vengeance.

9/11

This poem written by Auden was very similar to the events on 9/11.  It talks about the tragedy that was taking place during WWII. Lots of people were scared and sad about the events that were happening during this time. A lot of people felt the same about the 9/11 event and how devastating it was on America.

9/11

Auden's poem is creepily similar to the events of 9/11. The poem takes place in a similar setting to the twin towers and the symbolism of sky scrapers make us think of 9/11. During the time that the poem was written there was a lot of similar emotion in America. Americans were facing a lot of difficulty and loss. Although the poem was actually written about WWII it shows how history repeats itself and that Americans will always be able to push through hard times. The poem shows how Americans were trying to group together and stay strong. During these hard times everyone was grouping together and even other countries gave America a lot of support.

September 1, 1939

Auden's poem is oddly similar to the events on 9/11. While he was writing about World War II, the poem sounds like he was writing about 9/11. He starts out by describing a city and being on "Fifty-second Street" on a September night and later talks of skyscrapers. Auden them writes about how people "cling to their average day," which could explain how it started as a normal day for many people. After 9/11, our nation banned together, just like in WWII. While Auden did not mean to predict 9/11, his poem sounds like it did.

Keep on Truckin'

Auden's poem is not predicting the future, but an example of how similar World War II and 9/11 were. A powerful person, having faith in an evil cause, causes destruction and deaths of many. The poem encourages us to keep going with "an affirming flame". Letting tragedies cripple us is the last thing we want to do.

The Greatest is Love.

W.H. Auden's poem does seem to predict the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. The horrible atrocities that were four planes used as weapons to destroy civilians and wreck a country. The main thing that I got out of Auden's poem was the line towards the end of the poem that says, "We must love one another or die." This reminds me Alan Jackson's song "Where were you" in the chorus he paraphrases 1 Corinthians 13 by saying, "Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us and the greatest is love". Alan Jackson's response to 9/11 seems to echo the response of W.H. Auden in his prophecy of the tragic events. If you are not familiar with Alan Jackson's song, it is worth listening to. It puts American life in perspective.

9/11 & WWII

Auden's poem speaks of fires and skyscrapers, which makes many of us think of 9/11, but I do not think Auden was predicting anything. I do believe he was writing about the tragedies that occurred in Nazi Germany during WWII, particularly in Berlin. WWII was very similar to the time right after 9/11 in that people banded together as nations to support the families that lost loved ones. This type of action is what Auden is trying to inspire in his readers. However the details in his poem are eerily similar to what actually happened in 9/11, but if you think about it the details of 9/11 are very similar to those of WWII battles. For example in WWII bodies were burned just as they were during 9/11, and buildings burned from bombs and raids, similar to the way the planes were used as bombs during 9/11. I do not think that Auden was predicting anything, but I do think that history will repeat itself...possibly more than once.

9/11 predicted?

It is very eerie looking at the similarities between this poem and the events of 9/11. Even though we are certain this poem isn't a prediction of 9/11 it certainly could be one with all the similarities. Just the setting of the poem is similar to 9/11. When the poem is being written, WWII has just started and the world is in a state of distress and shock just like after the events of 9/11. In WWII roughly 418,500 Americans were killed and that's including both military and civilian deaths. For 9/11 roughly 3,000 Americans were killed mostly civilians but also a good bit of first responders. So there was a significant loss of life in both situations. One event that was very similar in WWII to 9/11 was the attack on Pearl Harbor. In this situation and 9/11, America had no warning whatsoever and as a result we were completely defenseless to these attacks. Both of these attacks sparked America into a war. 9/11 started America's war on terrorism and Pearl Harbor brought America into WWII. I think that Auden is proposing that the world band together for support, especially in times like these. Because if one country stands alone through events like these, that country is almost sure to fall.

Well that's kind of sketch...

Auden's poem is not about 9/11, or so we thought. As we compare the WWII life to the life after 9/11 we find that they're almost too similar. It's prophetic because it's talking about an "affirming flame". The twin towers erupted into flames, and nationalism burned, too. "Lights that never go out, music must always play" are quotes that could describe what happened after 9/11. Everyone was showing their support in some way or another. One of my favorite lines of this poem would be "Strength of men strong like a skyscraper." It shows that no matter what happens, men and women will come together to be strong for our nation.
I believe that Auden is trying to get everyone to come together during WWII. This could be read the same way for 9/11.
All things considered, I think it's pretty sketch how the two events connect so well as to have a poem written about one that matches with the other(around 50 years later).

Be the ironic light

If one reads this poem with 9/11 in mind, it is almost as if the author knew beforehand what was coming. Many parts of the poem can be taken to symbolize events and feelings during 9/11, but also, show the author's feelings after WWII.

Starting off with fifty-second street, this indicates that we might be in a bigger city, later confirmed by "skyscrapers". Death in September, with a brightened and darkened city points to those dead within fire and smoke, in both 9/11 and battlefronts. "Driven a culture mad" could be representative of the sect of terrorists that performed 9/11 or German Nazis."Those to whom evil is done do evil in return" can now refer to the war on terror or Arabic nations. They started terrorism, and we are not taking any more chances. The "enlightenment driven away" is fitting for both 9/11 and WWII, for crisis was at hand and war and protection were all that was focused on. There was no time for books.
The tall skyscrapers represent the strength of the U.S., but more importantly the strength of man collected, as it was the world trade center. "Each language pours" in contribution, but the "euphoric dream" of peace can only end. The "faces along the bar", or the everyday people doing their jobs in the city, we must never forget. Their lives were changed. We can't let them die for nothing, "their lights must never go out". And remembering them in key, for the "music must always play". More people within the tower, or dense commuters, along with the helpless governors, or Pentagon workers, were changed that day. They were shocked, "the world was in stupor", and everyone stood by to support.

Auden wants for hope and encouragement through the dark times, to be that light. Be ironic amid the darkness, because even though there seems to be so much despair and doubt and wickedness, defy them and cleanse the portion of your world that your light shines upon. Use your goodness, and perhaps the wind amid the smoke will carry your hope and light throughout the world, we need only try.

A beautiful September morning

It's beyond believing that 2016 marks the 15-year anniversary of 9/11. In the days and weeks immediately following the attacks, everyone struggled to make sense of the unthinkable, to see the tragedy in some context. On the day after the attacks, newspapers from across the globe showed shocking pictures that are rarely published today and were reticent to name the perpetrators. Most memorable to me was the editorial headline from the French newspaper Le Monde, which said, "Nous sommes tous Americains": We are all Americans.

It wasn't long before I came across a poem by W.H. Auden, "September 1, 1939." There were eerie similarities between this poem written before the beginning of WWII and the events of 9/11.

Read the poem: 

September 1, 1939

I sit in one of the dives
On Fifty-second Street
Uncertain and afraid
As the clever hopes expire
Of a low dishonest decade:
Waves of anger and fear
Circulate over the bright 
And darkened lands of the earth,
Obsessing our private lives;
The unmentionable odour of death
Offends the September night.

Accurate scholarship can 
Unearth the whole offence
From Luther until now
That has driven a culture mad,
Find what occurred at Linz,
What huge imago made
A psychopathic god:
I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return. 

Exiled Thucydides knew
All that a speech can say
About Democracy,
And what dictators do,
The elderly rubbish they talk
To an apathetic grave;
Analysed all in his book,
The enlightenment driven away,
The habit-forming pain,
Mismanagement and grief:
We must suffer them all again.

Into this neutral air
Where blind skyscrapers use
Their full height to proclaim
The strength of Collective Man,
Each language pours its vain
Competitive excuse:
But who can live for long
In an euphoric dream;
Out of the mirror they stare,
Imperialism's face
And the international wrong.

Faces along the bar
Cling to their average day:
The lights must never go out,
The music must always play,
All the conventions conspire 
To make this fort assume
The furniture of home;
Lest we should see where we are,
Lost in a haunted wood,
Children afraid of the night
Who have never been happy or good.

The windiest militant trash
Important Persons shout
Is not so crude as our wish:
What mad Nijinsky wrote
About Diaghilev
Is true of the normal heart;
For the error bred in the bone
Of each woman and each man
Craves what it cannot have,
Not universal love
But to be loved alone.

From the conservative dark
Into the ethical life
The dense commuters come,
Repeating their morning vow;
"I will be true to the wife,
I'll concentrate more on my work,"
And helpless governors wake
To resume their compulsory game:
Who can release them now,
Who can reach the deaf,
Who can speak for the dumb?

All I have is a voice
To undo the folded lie,
The romantic lie in the brain
Of the sensual man-in-the-street
And the lie of Authority
Whose buildings grope the sky:
There is no such thing as the State
And no one exists alone;
Hunger allows no choice
To the citizen or the police;
We must love one another or die.

Defenceless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame.

*****************************************

After you read the poem, post your response to it. What details do you think seem prophetic
of 9/11? Auden is writing about the great struggle of his lifetime; what were the similarities between 
the world during WWII and the world after 9/11? What do you think Auden is proposing as a response to the 
hopelessness and tragedy?  

Our God

Chris Tomlin's version of this song is very powerful. Tomlin uses a very repetitive technique in this song, if you look at the lyrics the phrase "Our God is greater" along with other similar phrases are repeated at a minimum of 7 time through the entire song. The use of this repetition sends a very strong and clear message that our God is greater, stronger, and so much more. In the song when Tomlin states that our God is healer. By this Tomlin is describing our God as not only a physical healer but a spiritual healer. Our God can not only save our lives on this earth but for the rest of eternity. The song also talks of a few of the miracles God preformed through his son on earth. In the very first line of the song it talks about how He turned water into wine. I believe this also symbolizes God's power to turn our entire life's around if need be. He can turn nobody into somebody just like he did with the water no one cared for into wine that everyone wanted.

There's so much MORE!

"If I Stand" is a beautifully-written song! It reflects our ultimate desire for God and the need of Him in our lives. Mullins acknowledges and praises God's beauty by comparing Him to His creation, saying He is SO much better than anything and everything! The repetition of the word "more" and other comparative words, like "higher" and "deeper," lends to the poetic feel of this song and its fluidity from verse to verse and on to the chorus. These words also express the meaning of the song... There is so much more to God's beauty than what we see. There is more to life than what we understand. And our hearts secretly, deeply long for God and long to know His goodness! Every good thing on this earth doesn't even come remotely close to how good our God is! In this song, Mullins expresses that all things on earth are nothing unless rooted in Christ. Whatever we do, it should come from our hearts' desires to be close to Him. There are a lot of non-literal phrases in this song, such as "stand on the promise" and "fall on grace," that provide images for eternal truths that may otherwise be difficult to convey. For example, "stand[ing] on the promise" most likely means being confident that God can carry us through everything, no matter what the circumstances are. Furthermore, this song is basically a compilations of metaphors, stating that God's love is all of these things (a mother's gentleness with her baby, the fierceness of the ocean, the sun that brings light to the earth) and so much more! Finally, the persona of this song could very well be Rich Mullins himself, or it could be any man (person) who's heart is after God's. I think Mullins wrote this with his own relationship with God in mind, so he would probably be the persona of this song. Overall, I love the lyrics of this song and believe they very well represent that God is the best there is, and nothing could ever compare! Earthly things and relationships vie for our full attention and love, but we belong to God and He deserves all of us... "The stuff of Earth competes for the allegiance I owe only to the Giver of all good things."

Beautiful Things

The song If I Stand by Rich Mullins is a beautiful song sang from the perspective of a man in a room with a campfire who is radically experiencing the omnipotence and vast love of God. Beautiful things by Gungor is one of my all time favorite worship songs. It is a somewhat repetitive song, however its lyrics have a cool poetic meaning. Or at least it has a very strong personal meaning to me. I'm not really sure if I can separate the two though. The persona is of a person who shares their outlook on the world before and after they are saved. Before being the first verse and after being the second.Or perhaps it is from the perspective of a person wrought with doubt before and after the answers are made clear. The song has many biblical allusions to the creation of man and how we come from dust. I love this song though, well worth a listen.
"Beautiful Things"

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

God Forever

It is obvious that poetic techniques play a big part in music, especially in hymns and worship music. In the specific example of "If I Stand" by Rich Mullins. In the first stanza he eludes that there is something more to the dawn, dusk, and home. I believe he is implying that God is present all throughout your life, Morning and night, he never leaves us. He also uses rhyme between room and moon to musically tie everything together. Through the whole hymn he refers to God's persistence in our lives and how he is always there.

If I Stand - Richard Mullins

I think any song, worship or not, needs to be poetic to be successful.  Richard Mullins wrote a great song in "If I Stand", it contains many poetic elements as well as meaningful lyrics.  Richard Mullins writes with the persona of a man putting his faith in God.  I think he wrote this song in a literal sense about Gods power and loyalty, and that man should have faith.  Although you wouldn't notice from the lyrics that this song has a poetic feel (There aren't many rhyming words), when sung by Richard Mullins, it sound very poetic.  He makes words rhyme the wouldn't normally rhyme.  Like many contemporary christian music, this song is poetic.

Poetry In Hymns

In this Hymn by Rich Mullins there are many elements of poetry. The persona of the hymn is a man who is longing for his home. In the hymn there is some alliteration with the words: more, moon, morning, etc. I do not think this hymn has any non-literal meanings because God can do thinks we cannot even imagine. However the literal meaning of the Hymn is that God is greater than all things and that he loves us so much that he will help us to get to him. This hymn is one that I would consider to be poetic but there are definitely some that are not.

More Light than the Sun or Moon

The start of the lyrics talk about how there's more than the light of the sun or moon. The light within us also shines into the world from the moment we get to when we get back in bed. Much of the chorus refers to relying on God no matter how hard it gets.

Instruments of Mercy

The persona taken on in "If I Stand" is a person who is in awe over the glory of God through creation and as such understands how God is greater than anything we can ever imagine. In the Chorus repetition is used in the phrase "and if I..." and in the verse we hear "there's more" repeated twice and "there's" with a word or statement portraying superiority used multiple times. In this way the writer shows how much more reliable God is than we are and as such we should lean on his grace. It's more or less uncharacteristic for Hymns (excluding a bulk of Psalms) and Contemporary Christian music to include metaphorical themes and this song is no different. However, this song is full of subtle similes especially in the verses when God is described simply by saying that He's like this but better (Hebrews anybody?).

As Devin already said in his blog post, worship can be in all shapes and sizes including rap and hip hop. I've recently started listening to an experimental Christian rap group called Beautiful Eulogy and I have found some of their poetry to be superb. One song in particular caught my attention (mostly because it has an AMAZING chorus), the song is called Instruments of Mercy and it has a fun rhythm, an upbeat tone, and a deep meaning. Here are the lyrics

The same God who measured the waters in the hollows of His holy hands

Is the same God that uses broken man to expand His fixed plan
Sovereign, infinite, eternal, personal and intimate
Independently playing the harp with the various parts of our hearts instrument
A symphony of saints saved from sin singing spiritual songs
Pausing in awe, where all praise and all applause belongs to God
Stretching and bending, pitch, pruning tightening and tuning
It's the residue of His resin that's the evidence of His divine choosing
Using the weather and the storm to conform us into the image of our glorious Lord
Scorn to compose a score being stitched together in melodious chord
It's the strumming and pressing of strings that momentarily stings
But in the end it ultimately brings us to a place that causes hearts to sing

Chorus

With Your hands, play Your song
Use my life I'm Your instrument
Tune my heart to sing Your song
Use my life I'm Your instrument

God I thank You for Your grace and Your mercy in the face of adversity
I never went to college, never graduated but pain is a university
When I hold up my diploma there's no dilemma despite my lack of credits
Because Jesus paid it all, yeah that's my story when they roll the credits
A lifetime of suffering is nothing compared to the glory being prepared
And we could never find a stairway to heaven or climb up a ladder to get there
It's only by the merits of Christ that sinners inherit eternal life
So I pray we grow in dependency, strip away my self reliant tendencies
Organize and order my days according to Your ordinance
I'm an instrument in Your orchestra Lord and You are my only audience
Holding Your promises close and watching as Your plan unfolds
All for Your glory and praise playing the song that You composed

Chorus

With Your hands, play Your song
Use my life I'm Your instrument
Tune my heart to sing Your song
Use my life I'm Your instrument

In the first verse we get a description of how God operates as a creator and ruler of our hearts. Odd Thomas uses the imagery of an instrument being played and tuned to clarify the scrutiny and artistry God uses to rule over his domain. The second verse expounds on the metaphor of the first verse by explaining on a more specific level how God "plays our hearts string like an instrument" on a personal level. The Chorus is absolutely beautiful... the repetition and the continuation of the instrument metaphor carries as well as the amazing vocals provided by "Hello Abigail" really drives the point Braile and Thomas were trying to make this whole song.

    

More Than A Song

Rich Mullins is praised as one of the great modern praise and worship artists, who wrote many of the staple songs in our worship services. He applied poetic techniques to song writing, just as all song-writers have for centuries before him. Musicality is a technique that is clearly displayed in all songs, and songs probably display it better than any other form of poetry. The words are formed in a way that they roll of the tongue and are easy to say. The persona is definitely either Rich Mullins speaking for himself (which is logical compared to Emily Dickinson writing about her own death twelve different ways), or it could be any generic person wishing to praise God. There are lots of metaphors in this song as well. It sounds like all of the verse are using those things to describe God-  It's more than just this fire here That keeps me warm, In a shelter that is larger Than this room, And there's a loyalty
that's deeper Than mere sentiments, And a music higher than the songs That I can sing.  

Worship

As a songwriter, it is very interesting for me to compare old hymns with modern worship songs. There aren't really any specific rules to song writing so people tend to do what ever they want. Older songs and hymns have a lot more structure and technique. I think one of the reasons people don't like hymns is because they sound very proper and typically young people think they are boring. I think hymns are very underappreciated. A lot of time and effort went into writing hymns and they truly are beautiful. I think it is a very good idea for people to take old hymns and modernize them. Many hymns come directly from the bible and they have a lot of great meaning. The book of Psalms was written as poetry to be sung. Worship is songs that we sing to God. They should be the best that they can.

For the Glorification of the King

For me I would definitely agree with the statement that praise music gets looked down upon by its redundancy, but I think that when the song is redone differently than the original, it provides a new praise song. It's easy to write the song off, just because same title, you already know what it's going to sound like, but I feel that the instruments and the people playing can change the whole song entirely, while keeping most of the original song intact. Another thing that I think is important and can help attribute to praise music is that everyone kind of leaves their mark. While redoing a song can be great, eventually after being done so many times it can indeed get old or repetitive. But the main goal at the heart of every song should be the glorification of God the Father.

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace is one Hymn that comes to mind. This song has been sung for centuries and is still popular today. Although it has been modernized and resung in different ways, the song's main focus has been preserved over the years.

Amazing grace, How sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now I'm found,
Was blind, but now I see

These words are so powerful and I love the story behind this hymn. This song is inspiring because it reminds us of God's redeeming grace, that saves and changes the lives of even the most sinful souls.

We have talked a lot in class about metaphors, and this song is definitely a good example of spiritual metaphors. In the chorus, the author, John Newton, talks about being blind. Newton was not physically blind, but rather, he was blinded by sin, and unaware of God's goodness. God saved Newton on a stormy night at sea, and his life took a turn. Although Newton was once blind, God had saved him and caused him so see His light.

Worship

I haven't heard of Rich Mullins in forever. It's hard to believe he has a song other than Awesome God. In If  I Stand, the persona is either Rich Mullins himself or someone else. He is expressing how God is everywhere and in everything. He uses the chorus to focus on what Christ has done and how the speaker will only trust the Lord.

Worship music comes in many different sounds and styles. These range from psalms to hymns, praise and worship to contemporary, rock to rap. Yes, rap. I'm sure you all have heard of Christian Rap, although I know several of you are skeptical. I do not listen to most rap songs (trust me, my parents would never let me). However, I do really enjoy Christian Rap music. Lecrae, like several others, has great hymns written to a hip hop tune. For example, he are the lyrics from Lecrae's song, Tell the World.

I know one thing’s true: I don't even really deserve to know you
But, I-I’m a witness that you did this, and I'm brand new
So, I-I'm read’ to go, and I’mma tell the world what they need to know
A slave to myself, but you let me go, I tried getting high but it left me low
You did what they could never do
You cleaned up my soul and
Gave me new life - I'm so brand new
And that’s all that matters
I-I ain’t love you first, but you first loved me
In my heart I cursed you, but you set me free
I gave you no reason to give me new seasons, to give new life, new breathing
But you hung there bleedin’, and ya’ died for my lies and my cheatin’, my lust and my greed, (and Lord!)
What is a man that you mindful of him?
And what do I have to deserve this lovin’?

Tryna make the moments last
Holdin’ on to the past
But, like a hero in a dream
Christ came, and he rescued me

Now, I’mma tell the world,
Tell the world, tell ‘em
I’mma tell it everywhere I go
Tell the world, tell ‘em
Yeah, I’m a billboard
Tell the world, tell ‘em
And I’m broadcastin’ like a radio
Tell the world
You ought to know, I’m brand new

I can't offer you nothin’, but your care & kindness keeps comin’
And your love is so unconditional, I get butterflies in my stomach
I got the old me in the rearview, now the new me got a clear view
And I was so dead, I couldn't hear you, too deep in sin to come near you
But you drew me in, you cleaned me up, so take me home, beam me up
Before you do, just let me tell the truth, and let these folks know that I done seen ya’ love
And it's everlasting, infinite, it goes on and on, you can’t measure it
Can’t quench ya’ love, they can’t separate us from the love of God, there’s no estimate
My face look the same, my frame ain’t rearranged, but I’m changed; I promise I ain’t the same
Your love’s so deep you suffered and took pain, you died on the cross to give me a new name
Ain’t nothing like I've seen before, I got a beaming glow
I was low, down, and dirty, but you cleaned me, Lord
You adopted me, you keep rocking me
I'mma tell the world, and ain’t nobody stopping me!

Your Grace is Enough

In this song, I feel like he's truly expressing his feelings to the world about God and His love. I like the chorus where he's saying "If I stand let me stand on the promise that you will pull me through". That is a very powerful statement because oftentimes we can't stand, and we feel worthless. But he goes again to say that "if he can't stand, let him fall on the grace that brought him to You." This affected me a lot.... We were all brought to Christ by grace, and He continues to give us grace when we don't deserve it or we can't "stand." 

I really like the persona of how it's a man asking God to help him when he can't stand and when he can. Through the highs and lows of life we know God will be here for us. Bottom line, I believe that's what this poem is about.

"So if I stand let me stand on the promise That you will pull me through
And if I can't, let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home"

Cool poetry

In this song by Rich Mullins, the persona is clearly identified as a man telling of the emotions Jesus brings to his heart and life. He describes the majestic and powerful characteristics and happenings on earth. Explaining that, God is the powerful force behind it, and has his hand on all of creation. He uses end rhyme and alliteration (using "m" a lot) being very repetitive with certain words.

There is more, it is He

Rich Mullins uses this song to build up to God's greatness. He continually uses "there's more than" as well as "er" comparatives, or repetition reinforcement. These are referring to God, who is the one more than and greater than everything. He also uses opposites, to show God is there for us in all things good and bad. These are "stand" and "fall" as well as "joy" and "weep". "Fiercer" and "gentle" also. He also uses slang rhyme within the song, to tie it all together lightly with melody. Pairs include: "moon and room", "sing and things", "through and you", and "tide and side".

What Rich Mullins is trying to communicate is there is something (God) who deserves all allegiance of the world, and is greater than all we can see. The persona asks God to be with Him in all he does, for he knows God has a solution for all ways. Speaking of the persona, Mullins uses one we Christians can relate while we sing. He portrays a sinner caught in the awe of God, and so beaautifully thankful for all God has done around him he can't help but praise and love Him. 

Metaphorically, "there is more that rises in the morning than the sun", for Jesus rises over all. "There is more that shines in the night than the moon", for God's love shines on our sleep. God controls all so anything that he says "there is more" than one thing doing this, it is because God controls all things, and we can find Him everywhere to praise Him all our days.

The Poetry in Songs

The persona of the song is a man who has experienced the joy and relief a faith in Jesus brings to his life.
I believe that everything in the song is literal. He is describing powerful forces of the earth, such as the wind and the tides, the sun and the moon, loyalty and love. He then states that God is in each of these things, a force that runs beneath the current of the earth.
He utilizes alliteration throughout the song. For instance, in the first stanza, the letter m is repeated often in words such as more, morning, more, moon, etc. He also repeats certain words, the first time in a mundane use, the second time in an inspirational view of God's impact on that action. For example, "So if I stand let me stand on the promise that you will pull me through."
Rich Mullins also employs slant rhyme occasionally. He rhymes moon and room, sentiments and allegiance, and through and You, for example. 

Coming Back to the Art of Worship*

*I changed the title of my post because I thought of a cleverer one. 

In our discussion of poetry, we've noted that its musicality makes it similar to songs, in both its sound and its ability to elicit emotion. I believe that the poetry of spiritual songs--hymns, praise music, and classical pieces--is a critical component of worship. The words we are singing to our heavenly Father are our gift of worship and our sacrifice of praise.

Contemplating the words we sing can add to the worship experience. For example, we sang a song in chapel on Friday with these lyrics:

Oh, I'm running to Your arms
I'm running to Your arms
The riches of Your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

Those lines have poetic techniques of rhythm, meter, repetition, and alliteration. Consider the meaning: all but the last lines describe a personal relationship with Jesus: running to His arms, experiencing the riches of His love, feeling His embrace. This is our God as Father. The last line doesn't follow this theme. We praise the light of the world who will reign forever. At first glance, this may seem out of place, but instead, we recognize that our God is both the one who will lavish His love on us and who reigns over the universe.
 
Today's praise music gets a bad rap sometimes due to trite lyrics and repetitive melodies. I think when we compose worship songs we should try to make them the highest quality possible. When we create art, Tolkien said we are subcreators: we are imitating the creative power of God. The turn away from hymns in many churches has meant we no longer experience some of the most powerfully and beautifully written songs of our Christian past. Hymns can be updated, but we shouldn't discard them entirely. Listen to this hymn by Sufjan Stevens.

Listen to and read the lyrics to this praise song from an artist from the past named Rich Mullins. What poetic techniques do you see? Literal and non-literal meanings? Describe the persona and any metaphors. You can also analyze a praise song of your choosing in your comment.