War Poem Analysis

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Protest Literature Analysis
The work that was chosen is called “War (What is it good for?)”. The lyrics to this song were written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong who were hitmakers for Motown Records. It became a funk style song that was released in 1970. This song was one of the first Motown songs to make a political point. The song was originally recorded by the Temptations and released on their album Psychedelic Shack. At the time, many people in the protest movement against the Vietnam War made it clear to the label that the song would be a hit if it was released as a single. Motown Records thought that this song would be controversial among the Temptations fan base so they decided to give the song to an artist who did not have a …show more content…
One of these devices is the use of rhetorical questions. This device, in conjunction with repetition, was a common sight. The phrase “War. What is it good for?” is repeated often throughout the song at the beginning of each chorus. This question is answered every time with “Absolutely nothing”. The repetition of these phrases and the diction choice to use the word “Absolutely” are used in a powerful way. The use of the word “Absolutely” solidifies the answer to the question “What is it good for?” as “Nothing” while the repetition of these phrases helps to further solidify that response every time it is used. Another rhetorical device used in the lyrics of this song is pathos. This device is most evident in the phrase, “‘Cause it means destruction of innocent lives / War means tears to thousands of mothers eyes / When their sons go off to fight and lose their lives”. This is probably one of the most effective phrases of the whole song. It helps the song be more relatable and applicable to two large groups of people: mothers, and men. The part, “go off to fight and lose their lives” in the last line of this phrase implies that anyone who goes off to fight will die which would be a tragedy to any mother. It also applies to men because they would not want to die or cause grief for their mothers. A third rhetorical device used is diction and connotation. Words with a very powerful or harsh connotation are used everywhere throughout the lyrics of the song in order to convey the message that the song is passionately trying to get across. This was already seen in the last two rhetorical devices but it truly is everywhere. Words like “heartbreak”, “destruction”, “undertaker”, “shattered”, “disabled”, and many others, are words very commonly associated with a
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