User:Roxanne111/sandbox

Sarah Kay -       'A LOVE LETTER'

What is a spoken word poem?
Spoken word poetry is poetry that is written on a page but performed for an audience. Because it is performed, this poetry tends to demonstrate a heavy use of rhythm, improvisation, free association, rhymes, rich poetic phrases, word play and slang. It is more aggressive and “in your face” than more traditional forms of poetry.

Love Letters
Love letters, for centuries, have been able to capture the hearts of audiences; the secret love letters of John Keats to Fanny Browne, along with the published sonnets of Shakespeare are still to this day just as applicable and relatable to a modern day audience.

Shakespeare's work was often written for an audience to experience at the theatre, on stage and still is to this day. Sarah Kay also takes part in performance work, through the medium of the spoken word. Sarah Kay started doing a series of poems, or love letters between inanimate objects; 'A Love Letter' is an example of a typical love letter, whilst also taking the form of an atypical love letter. Sarah Kay is not only able to construct a poem which manages to capture something as complicated as love, but she does so using inanimate objects, such as a toothbrush and a bicycle tyre. She brings these objects to life, filling them with human emotion with her words. Though if there were no mention of these inanimate objects before her performance then the love poem on its own accord would still work in relation to humans. Spoken word poetry allows for very basic vocabulary to be used in conjunction with pronunciation and emphasis on particular words to create a piece of work. These are entirely dependent on the speaker. Without the rhyme and rhythm of a poem, they would not have the same effect. Sarah Kay's performance of the piece (which can be found by following the link provided) is emotive, and by applying this emotion to language that works both metaphorically, but also concretely. By breaking 'A Love Letter' down (as shown below) it is viable that these are just descriptions of a toothbrush and a bicycle tyre, yet by building up the imagery, and slowly introducing the use of 'I', it transcends into a powerful, heartfelt love letter which is very special.

A love letter from a toothbrush to a bicycle tyre:
As our chosen text is a spoken word poem, we have transcribed the poem for the sake of creating our wiki page. Likewise, we have included line numbers for easy reference in our analysis. Hence, we will make no comments on the discourse of the poem. Sarah Kay's intentions for a written format are unknown. How the text would be performed can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIAQENsqcuM

1  They told me that I was meant for the cleaner life, 2  that you would drag me through the mud. 3  They said that you would tread all over me. 4  That they could see right through you. 5  That you were full of hot air. 6  That I would always be chasing. 7  Always watching you disappear after sleeker models, 8  that it would be a vicious cycle. 9  But I know better. 10  I know about your rough edges and I have seen your perfect curves, 11  and I will fit into any spaces you let me. 12  If loving you means getting dirty, bring on the grime. 13  I will leave this porcelain home behind. 14  I’m used to twice a day relationships, but with you, I’ll take all the time. 15  And I know, we live in different world and we’re always really busy. 16  But in my dreams, you spin around me so fast I always wake up dizzy. 17  So maybe one day you’ll grow tired of the road and roll on back to me. 18  And when I blink my eyes into the morning, your smile will be the only thing I see.

Analysis:
The poem is metaphorical for a man and a woman’s relationship. The toothbrush symbolises a loyal woman that is committed to a man. Contrastingly, a promiscuous man is symbolised by a tyre that moves around a lot. It emphasises the idea that when you are in love you are willing to give up everything you know to be with that person and you can only hope that they will do the same.

The poem starts with the toothbrush admitting that their love would not be a perfect match because they live such different lives. The toothbrush is ‘meant for the ‘cleaner life (1)’ and typically the tyre would ‘drag me through the mud (2)’. This idiom draws on the idea of someone chasing someone that is no good for them.

Sarah Kay plays with words that have different connotations to further highlight that the couple do not match well. Literally, tyres have ‘tread (3)’. Pragmatically, a tyre would ‘tread all over (3)’ the toothbrush. They are not a perfect match. Furthermore, when the toothbrush admits that ‘they said that you would tread all over me (3)’ it is symbolic of a family or a friend telling a woman that who they love is not good for them. Similarly, the ‘hot air (5)’ of the tyre is what they use as a reason to tell the toothbrush that the tyre is no good. When someone is described as being full of ‘hot air (5)’, they have a bad temperament and would not make a good liver. Likewise, ‘i would always be chasing (6)’ also draws on different connotations. Tyres move fast and you would have to be good to keep up with them. Pragmatically, if a woman has to chase a man, it is because they are uninterested and in search of ‘sleeker models (7)’. It is yet another reason for the toothbrush to give up. But it doesn’t. It thinks ‘I know better (9)’.

Sarah humanises the bicycle tyre and the toothbrush to heighten the metaphor of a man and a woman. Literally, the tyre has ‘rough edges (10)’, and is ‘curved (10)’. People can be described as having ‘perfect curves (10)’, which is a desirable figure. The toothbrush explains that even though it is desirable, it has also seen the ‘rough edges (10)’ and is accepting of both. In a relationship, you see the good and the bad in a person but you love them all the same. The toothbrush accepts both just like a real lover. By describing these inanimate objects as having characteristics of the audience’s own lovers, the audience can relate to the poem. The audience recognise that love is the same for everyone and everything if we see them for more than their literal meaning.

By admitting that ‘I will fit into any spaces you let me (11)’, the toothbrush will live however or wherever the tyre wants it to live. Typically, the toothbrush does not move much from its ‘porcelain home (13)’, yet tyres are always on the move. The toothbrush wants to stay with the tyre wherever it goes and is willing to fit anywhere in order for this to happen. The typically clean toothbrush even exclaims ‘bring on the grime (12)’ showing its commitment to the tyre and is optimistic of their life together.

The toothbrush is only used to ‘twice a day relationships (14)’ which is similar to a relationship where the couple only see each other in the morning and the evening, before and after work. The toothbrush admits that ‘we live in different worlds and we’re always really busy (15)’, something difficult to admit because it fantasises about being ‘with you, i’ll take all the time (14)’. This highlights how unconstructed a married life is and how it changes all the time. Love does not stay the same.

In the toothbrush’s dreams, ‘you spin around me so fast I always wake up dizzy (16)’. This plays with the literal aspect of a tyre spinning so fast that if you were attached to it, you would become dizzy. It emphasises that the toothbrush finds this exciting and it likes it. However, it could also mean that the tyre’s life moves so quickly that she doesn’t have time to understand or keep up. Fantasising about being with the tyre is making the toothbrush become dizzy, yet fantasising is the only thing the toothbrush can do because they are so different. Hence, the toothbrush fantasises about the idea that ‘maybe one day you’ll grow tired of the road and roll on back to me (17)’. It hopes that they can settle down so that ‘when I blink my eyes into the morning, your smile will be the only thing I see (18)’. The toothbrush will no longer have twice a day relationships and the tyre will leave his life of moving around behind and commit himself to the toothbrush.

Conclusion
Sarah Kay’s work has without a doubt touched the hearts of many and has most definitely inspired other young poets around the world. Although her work is primarily in spoken word poetry, she has also published her poems in magazines, which emphasises her success at such a young age. A love letter from the Toothbrush to the Bicycle Tire powerfully echoes some of the many thoughts and feelings when two opposites fall in love, regardless of their differences. It undergoes a thought process as the toothbrush wonders as to whether their love will defeat their differences and who will have to make sacrifices.

''' Our third member who is now doing an alternative assignment was meant to comment on how Sarah Kay delivers the poem. i.e. pitch, rhythm, tone etc as can be seen in the YouTube link. '''