Led Zeppelin: Musicians, Folklorists, Poets

Led Zeppelin is gener all(prenominal)y considered to take in been genius of the near influential rock bands to have existed. The band came into existence in the late sixties from Britain, following the lead of several other musical acts which led to the coining of the term British Invasion. But distant many other bands, Zeppelin was not only interested in making music, but in offering their own takes on classical stories, such as the Trojan war.Their songs all employed a variety of poetic elements, such as rhyme scheme, metaphors, and allusions, and have connections to a military issue of true poems.. This notify be seen when Led Zeppelins songs Stairway to Heaven and Achilles finish cornerstone are compared to W.H. Audens The screen out of Achilles and Lord Alfred Tennysons The lady of Shallot.Led Zeppelins Stairway to Heaven has long been considered one of the bands most famous contributions to the musical community. The song has a main story television channel about a woman who has spent her life concerned with material matters and neer giving thought to the idea that perhaps the treasures she accumulated in life would never truly harmonize her a place in Heaven.There is an allusion to the acquire of alms. The practice of buying alms was a common and favourite practice in the early days of the Catholic church and involved people paying a certain amount of money to priests to have their sins forgiven, thus leading to the songs notion that by accumulating wealthiness, salvation cogency be attained.Stairway to Heaven also has a definite regular recurrence. The song alternates from having lines that are 6 12 syllables long. The stanzas begin with lines that are either 10 to 12 syllables long and each consecutive line little by little decreases the amount of syllables that are presentAnd its whispered that soon if we all call the tune (12 syllables)Then the bagpiper lead lead us to reason. (10 syllables)And a new day will dawn for those who stand long (11 syllables)And the forests will echo with laughter. (10 syllables)Immediately, a pattern in the rhythm can be seen. The prototypal line is 12 syllables and the following line is reduced by both syllables. The third line is then one syllable less than the first line and the utmost line is the same as the second. Such apply of rhythm allows for the song to be much organized when set to music and for the poem to be more dulcet when recited, to have a more flowing and surreal tone to it.The song also involves the use of repetition. The first stanza structureds the repetition of the same phrase in lines two and five of the song, And shes buying the stairway to heaven/ ooh, ooh, and shes buying the stairway to heaven. That repetition is seen in the last couplet of the second verse with the phrase Ooh, it makes me wonder and is perennial again in the last line of fourth stanza.The poem also incorporates a sense of Arthurian legend, such as with the idea of The Lady o f Shallot by Lord Alfred Tennyson. Tennyson states that, Willows whiten, aspens quiver,/ Little breezes dusk and quivering/ thro the wave that runs for ever (10-12). Led Zeppelin changes the image slightly and states that If theres a bustle in your hedgerow, dont be afraid./ Its just a spring clean for the May queen./ Dear Lady, can you con the wind blow, and did you make out/ your stairway lies on the whispering wind. There is an allusion to everything being alive in both examples. Both incorporate an environment that is still except for the wind and largely pastoral. eve more similar is the idea of an distinguished young woman dressed in white. Led Zeppelin look ups toThere walks a lady we all knowWho shines white light and wants to showHow everything still turns to gold.And if you listen very hardthe tune will bring forth to you at last.The image is nearly identical to the Lady of Shallot described by TennysonLying, dolled up in snowy whitethat loosely flew to left and ri ght that leaves upon her falling light thro the noises of the night They comprehend her singing her last song.Both women have a sense of idealism about them that eventually leads to their great disappointment. The woman in Stairway to Heaven is soon to be disappointed by the fact that her wealth will not bring her into eternal salvation. The Lady of Shallot is only just beginning to come to terms with the fact that Lancelot does not love her and she has thrown away her life loving someone who will never have the same affection for her. Both women are approached as being virginal creatures they rupture white, there is a sense of innocence in their believing that everything is as beautiful as gold.Even more stirring is the idea that the final stanza of Stairway to Heaven refers to listeners finally being able to hear her song, eon Our Lady of Shallot is referred to as singing one final song. Both end with a sense of finality and tragedy. The women are lost because of their innocen ce and their false hope in the world and it is the final notes of their individual songs that their existences in the world are finally realized.Led Zeppelins Achilles Last Stand immortalizes one of the most famous strains of the Trojan war. In the song, Achilles speaks of leaving for the war as a means of finding great glory in his life as a warrior and achieving the last dreams he has within him, whether or not he lives or dies. W. H. Audens poem The cuticle of Achilles personifies Achilles sort and makes her seem to be a maternal figure who knows that Achilles will soon suffer an untimely finale at the hands of his enemies but is wholly ineffective to prevent the death from occurring.Audens poem has a definite danceable structure. The main verses are seven lines each, while the more choral stanzas are eight lines, making the text more melodic when read. Through the use of repetition, the idea of a song being present in the poem is obvious.Both The Shield of Achilles and Ach illes Last Stand mention a number of mythical references. The Shield of Achilles alludes to the gods Hephaestus and Thetis while Achilles Last Stand refers to atlas and Albion. The poems also refer to the same foreboding figure, a decrepit old man symbolizing Achilles death. The Shield of Achilles refers to the man as being a ragged urchin, aimless and alone while Achilles Last Stand refers to the man as to seek the man whose pointed hand/the giant step unfolds.But the tone of the two poems differ greatly. Achilles Last Stand is one of glory in battle and despite the fact that the type is aware that certain death may await him, he is willing to face his fate, regardless of the aftermathWhen they told us we should goAs I turn to youYou smiled at meHow could we say no?With all the cheer to haveto live the dreams we always hadWoa the song to singWhen we at last return again (1-8).The portion wants to be immortalized for his duty in battle, wants to fulfill his goal of being a leg endary warrior and spoken of for days after his death. The use of such positive ideas, such as when we at last return refer to a disregard for death. Even the end of the poem, when the persona finally dies, is positive, The mighty arms of Atlas/ conceal the heavens from the earth/ I know the way, know the way, know the way. There is never any submission. The persona faces death gracefully, with the mentality of a warrior.Audens poem is much different in its tone. There is an idea of the shield lamenting, beginning a premature mourning of her beloved warrior. The poem even incorporates a scene from the Holocausts assiduity camps to make the tone of the poem that much more somber, Barbed wire enclosed an arbitrary flaw/ Where bored officials lounged (one cracked a joke)/ And sentries sweated for the day was hot. The entire poem is built around the premise of death and dying, and the shield is witness to all that suffering, even though she mourns Achilles the most.Even the depiction of immortal duties are different. When The utmost Stand of Achilles refers to the mighty arms of Atlas, hold the heaven from the earth, there is a sense of male pride, of a true warrior succeeding in his duties even though he suffers slightly. The Shield of Achilles offers a more human take on such a task. Atlass duty is suddenly doled out to a number of individuals, all of whom are too weak to take on such a responsibility, The mass and stateliness of this world, all/ That carries weight and always weighs the same / Lay in the hands of others they were small.Through the use of repetition, rhythmic patterns, and thematic continuity, Led Zeppelins songs are shown to be just as poetic as musical, especially when compared to a number of poems similar in content and structure, and prove that songs are merely poems set to music. Works CitedAuden, W.H. The Shield of Achilles.Led Zeppelin. Stairway to Heaven.Led Zeppelin. Achilles Last Stand.Tennyson, Lord Alfred. The Lady of Shallot.