Literary Analysis of Lyrics - Pick a Song! - Text Analysis Response exercise

Included here is an assignment where students are directed to complete a literary analysis of a song they select that tells a story or has lyrics that employ literary elements. If they are not able to find a song of their own, the lyrics to twenty-three popular songs are included, along with line numbers. The songs cover pop, country, hip-hop, rock, jazz, r&b, soul, movie soundtrack, and musical theater genres.

Also included is an exemplar essay response that students may use as a helpful guide and resource when they are writing on their own. I typically annotate and analyze a few of the songs together with the class in a group guided-practice exercise before they are to complete a response independently so that they clearly understand the steps necessary in analyzing a text. We then read through and annotate the example essay in order to identify and discuss the components of building a strong text analysis response.

This assignment was created with the objective that students can apply careful literary analysis to a text that is a bit more fun or accessible, thereby making it a good scaffolding exercise for all levels of reading capability. Listening to some of the songs together is usually an enjoyable exercise students like as a break from our typical reading and writing routines. This also works as a good homework or extra credit assignment throughout the school year, or as a complementary unit to reading and analyzing poetry.

This assignment aligns with the Text Analysis Response essay (TAR) included in Part 3 of the NY State Common Core Regents, which is a useful literary analysis prompt for any high school ELA student. In a TAR, students are directed to "identify a central idea in the text and analyze how the author’s use of one writing strategy (literary element or literary technique or rhetorical device) develops this central idea. Use strong and thorough evidence from the text to support your analysis. Do not simply summarize the text."

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