Slam+Poetry

Slam Poetry

media type="youtube" key="SCNIBV87wV4?fs=1" height="385" width="480"

Totally like whatever, you know? By Taylor Mali [|www.taylormali.com] In case you hadn't noticed, it has somehow become uncool to sound like you know what you're talking about? Or believe strongly in what you're saying? Invisible question marks and parenthetical (you know?)'s have been attaching themselves to the ends of our sentences? Even when those sentences aren't, like, questions? You know? Declarative sentences - so-called because they used to, like, DECLARE things to be true as opposed to other things which were, like, not - have been infected by a totally hip and tragically cool interrogative tone? You know? Like, don't think I'm uncool just because I've noticed this; this is just like the word on the street, you know? It's like what I've heard? I have nothing personally invested in my own opinions, okay? I'm just inviting you to join me in my uncertainty? What has happened to our conviction? Where are the limbs out on which we once walked? Have they been, like, chopped down with the rest of the rain forest? Or do we have, like, nothing to say? Has society become so, like, totally. . . I mean absolutely. . . You know? That we've just gotten to the point where it's just, like. . . whatever! And so actually our disarticulation. . . ness is just a clever sort of. . . thing to disguise the fact that we've become the most aggressively inarticulate generation to come along since. . . you know, a long, long time ago! I entreat you, I implore you, I exhort you, I challenge you: To speak with conviction. To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it. Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY.

You have to speak with it, too.

This poem is one of my favorites. The fact that this poem speaks about a serious topic, but in a humorous matter, is very interesting to me. It is about how, nowadays, people speak as if they do not know what they are saying. Taylor Mali speaks about how the words "like", "you know", and "whatever" are like, "totally" overused. The poem starts off with saying that it seems to have become uncool to know what you are talking about and speak with clarity. It explains how, in our society, having a voluminous vocabulary is frowned upon. In the body of the poem Taylor Mali speaks of what might have happened to communication, but to add humor he uses the "slang" language he is criticizing to criticize it. An example is: Even when those sentences aren't, like, questions? You know? Declarative sentences - so-called because they used to, like, DECLARE things to be true as opposed to other things which were, like, not -. This is sooooo, like, hilarious. The main theme is shown in this line: "It is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY. You have to speak with it, too." The theme is ignorance. This poem is about the poor use of language that people use now and it is kind of disheartening in a way. Isn't it? The literary devices Taylor Mali used are: Irony: -He is criticizing using slang language, but he is talking in slang. Metaphor: Where are the limbs out on which we once walked? Have they been, like, chopped down

with the rest of the rain forest? -The trees symbolize the "old ways" and how the trees are chopped down is how language has been broken. Hyperbole: to come along since. ..

you know, a long, long time ago! -It was actually not that long ago that people spoke with clarity and purpose. Alliteration: which we once walked -All the word start with the wuh sound, even once. (wuh-unse) I chose this poem because, as stated above, it spoke to me and it was a good topic for a humorous poem. It was very ironic and had a good sense of balence between the funny parts and the serious parts. Usually poetry does not interest me but this particular poen did. Another reason that I chose this poem was because everyone was doing the other one I had in mind (The The Impotence of Proofreading) and I did not want to do the same thing as a lot of people. Anyways, I am glad I chose this one!