VOA日常语法2023--A Close Reading of 'Looking for America,' Part 2

A Close Reading of 'Looking for America,' Part 2

In today's Everyday Grammar, we finish our discussion of the 2019 song, Looking for America, by singer Lana Del Rey. By making a close reading of the song's words, we will understand more about its sounds and structure.

What is a close reading?

A close reading is a deep reading of a story. Works of literature such as poems are often the object of close readings. These can include the words to songs. The aim is to understand the writer's intentions by looking closely at the details. Last time, we considered the grammar and cultural elements of the song. This time we will talk about the poetic¹ devices and the syllable² structure of a few lines.

Del Rey uses many poetic devices to strengthen what may be thought of as a simple song. Let's take a look.

Rhymes and alliteration³

Rhymes are made with two or more words that end in the same sound. Lines two and four share a similar vowel⁴ sound, /ai/, with the words "line" and "time." Although they do not end in the same consonant⁵ sound, they still rhyme. This rhyming of similar vowel sounds is called assonance.

Missed that Hudson River line...

That's another place and time...

We see in lines five and six two other rhymes created by using the vowel sound /u/ with the words "blues⁶" and "do."

I used to go to drive-ins and listen to the blues

So many things that I think twice about before I do...

Lastly, in lines eight, nine and ten, Del Rey uses other poetic devices.

One without the gun, where the flag can freely fly

No bombs in the sky, only fireworks when you and I collide

It's just a dream I had in mind

In line 8, we see another form of rhyme with the words "one" and "gun." This is internal rhyme. It is when a writer includes rhyming words within the same line, rather than at the end.

We also see in line 8 repeating "f" sounds with the words "...flag can freely fly." This is an example of alliteration, repetition of the first consonant sounds in words that are close together.

In line 9, we have more assonance with the /ai/ vowel with the words "sky," "fireworks," and "collide." In all three lines, the repetition of the /ai/ vowel is seen throughout with "fly," "collide," and "mind," mirroring the sounds in the beginning with "line" and "time."

Final Thoughts

In today's Everyday Grammar, we found more details in Lana Del Rey's song Looking for America. We considered syllable structure and learned about several poetic devices such as assonance, internal rhyme and alliteration.

Words in This Story

intention – n. the thing that you plan to do or achieve

drive-ins – n. places where people watch movies in their cars

blues – n. musical form created by African Americans in the Southern United States

collide – v. the action of two (or more) objects crashing into each other

spontaneously – adv. done or said in a natural and often sudden way and without a lot of thought or planning

rhyme – n. two or more words that end in the same sound

vowel – n. a speech sound made with your mouth open and your tongue in the middle of your mouth not touching⁷ your teeth, lips

consonants⁸ – n. a speech sound (such as /p/, /d/, or /s/) that is made by partly or completely stopping the flow of air breathed out from the mouth

internal – adj. existing or taking place inside something

repetition – n. the action of repeating something

mirroring – n. the act of being very similar to something

1 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

2 syllable   

n.音节；vt.分音节

参考例句：

• You put too much emphasis on the last syllable.你把最后一个音节读得太重。
• The stress on the last syllable is light.最后一个音节是轻音节。

3 alliteration   

n.（诗歌的）头韵

参考例句：

• We chose alliteration on the theory a little vulgarity enhances memory.在理论上我们选择有点儿粗俗的头韵来帮助记忆。
• It'seems to me that in prose alliteration should be used only for a special reason.依我看，在散文里，头韵只能在一定的场合使用。

4 vowel   

n.元音；元音字母

参考例句：

• A long vowel is a long sound as in the word"shoe ".长元音即如“shoe” 一词中的长音。
• The vowel in words like 'my' and 'thigh' is not very difficult.单词my和thigh中的元音并不难发。

5 consonant   

n.辅音；adj.[音]符合的

参考例句：

• The quality of this suit isn't quite consonant with its price.这套衣服的质量和价钱不相称。
• These are common consonant clusters at the beginning of words.这些单词的开头有相同辅音组合。

6 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

7 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

8 consonants   

n.辅音，子音( consonant的名词复数 )；辅音字母

参考例句：

• Consonants are frequently assimilated to neighboring consonants. 辅音往往被其邻近的辅音同化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》