Tool: Forty-Six & 2 Dissectional

Poetry Explication

The poem that I selected, Forty-Six & 2, also fits under the category of a song. Before I expound on the various shades of meaning found in this piece of work I would like to explain the reasons why I picked something that is not a “traditional” form of poetry. Often times in music, the lyrics are rather obvious and straightforward, and as such cannot qualify as poetry. This truly is a pity because using the sonic possibilities of instruments and the human voice can certainly enhance all the elements of poetry and add more subtleties to help the listener hear the poetry. Music can also change the direction or mood of a passage. A good example of the aforementioned of the song/poem hybrid is Forty-Six & 2 by the band tool. This band is especially noteworthy for three reasons. One; tool utilizes complicated musical elements such as note displacement, polyrhythyms, and unusual time signatures to make up their distinct sound. Two; The band has an extr...