Introduction Poetry slams are an increasingly popular way of expressing and criticizing public debates/thoughts and are therefore a new creative way of putting forward opinions. This paper will empathize how the poetry slam ‘Sons’ from 2013 criticizes the American society’s reaction on rape and how this reaction leads to a continuous teach of rape culture. This will be achieved through a rhetorical analysis of the figure of speech. Moreover, an analysis of particular word connotations will prove that the poetry slam unconsciously transmits a serious and sad mood to the reader/listener by using semantic relations. The Poetry Slam The poetry slam ‘Sons’ by Rudi Francisco and Terisa Siagatonu was performed at the National Poetry Slam in Los …show more content…
But there is also a study looking into the meaning of words specifically which is called Semantic. Part of Semantics are denotation, which is the specific meaning of the word and connotation which are associations and feelings linked to a particular word and the meaning of it. Connotations represent the various social, emotional and cultural hints linked to a word and can unconsciously transmit specific feelings. If different words with the same connotations are used in a high number throughout a text it creates a certain mood. In ‘Sons’ there are several words used throughout the text but also specifically within one stanza with similar connotations. These connotations are negative and create a serious and sad mood. To underline this statement, I will look into two different stanzas and analyse the connotation of particular words within them and look into their semantic relation. On page one the words cemetery, graveyard and bury are mentioned in the same stanza. Those words are used within two different metaphors that describe the effect a rape had on a victim. But moreover, those three words have the same connotations. On a cemetery, there are graveyards and when a person dies, others will bury her/him to a graveyard. All those words are connected through the semantic relation because they all have a connotation to dead and funeral. Dead and funeral have negative connotations and create a sad and serious