Can rap music be considered as poetry?

Though some rap is poetry, not all of rap deserves to be classified under the poetry umbrella. Mediocre rap songs tend to feature repetitive phrases and lyrics that are about avid drug use, misogyny and excessive partying. Rap that is considered poetry tends to highlight lyrics that are intricate and complex.

Can poetry be hip hop?

Hip hop poetry is a style of poetry that embraces words and phrasings akin to those of hip hop music lyrics. As with traditional poetry, rhythm and rhyme are important in the hip hop genre, though the styles are significantly different. Both art forms use rhythm by arranging words so they form a certain meter.

How is rap different than poetry?

While rap focuses more on delivering the right rhythms and rhymes along with the message intended in a song or record, spoken word really is a free outlet to express oneself. Spoken word is the (almost) lackadaisical form of poetry. Some even choose not to call is a form of poetry because of this.

What are techniques in poetry?

Rhyming is the most obvious poetic technique used. It helps to make poems flow. Poems do not have to rhyme, however; there are many poems that are free verse—a style that allows poets the flexibility to write their thoughts and ideas without the constraint of following a particular rhyming pattern.

How is poetry connected to hip hop?

Hip hop inspires attentive listeners to reconsider the pleasures and opportunities rhyme offers and it inspires a new generation to reintroduce conspicuous patterned rhyme back into our poetry. David Caplan is the Charles M. Weis Professor in English and the Associate Director of Creative Writing.

How is hip-hop like poetry?

Judged according to contemporary practice, hip hop may not be poetry, but that is what makes it such a powerful model. Hip hop inspires attentive listeners to reconsider the pleasures and opportunities rhyme offers and it inspires a new generation to reintroduce conspicuous patterned rhyme back into our poetry.

What’s new in teaching poetry through Rap?

Teaching Poetry Through Rap Lesson v2.0 (.PDF 0.6 MB) Changed Assonance and End rhyme examples. Changed the second verse example on page 2. Teaching Poetry Through Rap Lesson v3.0 (.PDF 0.6 MB) Changed the onomatopoeia example to a better one that isn’t an innuendo. Here are some more resources around this lesson.

How can I compare poetry and rap in English?

A great way to compare poetry and rap is through the literary devices that the writers use. Rap can help students identify poetic devices and their purpose. Have students look for rhyme, simile, metaphor, symbolism, personification, narratives, onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance, alliteration, analogy, diction, verbal irony, etc.

How can poetry be used in the classroom?

Another great way to help students conceptualize and better value the art of poetry is to look at and listen to the performance of spoken word poetry compared to rap music. A strong poet and rap artist knows the importance of inflection to generate rhythm. Strong artists like Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Tupac, and Biggie Smalls are masters at this.

Are rappers poets?

Rappers have been referring to themselves as poets since rap began. Even now, rap artists like Eminem have rhymed about their identity as poets: “I’m a poet to some, a regular modern day Shakespeare” (“Renegade” by Jay-Z featuring Eminem).