Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Popular music lyrics and mainstream poetry share many similarities.They can both be analysed as poetry, using traditional theoretical tools of such interpretation.The paper focuses on early narrative songs by the band Queen, which all feature fantastic characters and seem to share the same setting.They can be interpreted as parts of the same story that takes place in Freddie Mercury's imaginary land of Rhye.This paper argues that the songs in question can be understood and analysed as narrative poetry, with the focus on narrative elements such as story, storytelling, narrative formulae, dynamic motion, or narrative intensity (Kenner).Furthermore, importance will be placed on the songs' intertextual elements, since they help place the songs within the larger literary canon and reinforce their status as poetry.Since music and lyrics create meaning together, special attention will, whenever necessary, also be given to the musical element of the songs.
Author: Bojana Vujin
Institution: University of Novi Sad
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4390423481