Led Zeppelin: Musicians, Folklorists, Poets

conduct Zeppelin is gener everyy considered to grant been star of the most influential rock bands to have existed. The band came into existence in the late 1960s from Britain, following the lead of several other(a) musical theater acts which led to the coining of the term British Invasion. But unlike many other bands, Zeppelin was not only interested in making music, notwithstanding in offering their own takes on classical stories, much(prenominal) as the Trojan struggle.Their margin calls all employed a variety of poetic elements, such as rhyme scheme, metaphors, and allusions, and have connections to a number of true meters.. This elicit be seen when conduct Zeppelins songs Stairway to paradise and Achilles Last persist are compared to W.H. Audens The Shield of Achilles and Lord Alfred Tennysons The maam of Shallot.light-emitting diode Zeppelins Stairway to promised land has hanker been considered one of the bands most famous contributions to the musical communit y. The song has a important story draw in about a woman who has spent her life implicated with material matters and never giving thought to the cerebration that perhaps the treasures she hoard in life would never truly grant her a coiffe in Heaven. on that point is an allusion to the buying of alms. The practice of buying alms was a green and popular practice in the early days of the Catholic church service and involved people paying a certain count of silver to priests to have their sins forgiven, thus leading to the songs notion that by accumulating wealth, salvation strength be attained.Stairway to Heaven also has a definite hertz. 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 gradually decreases the amount of syllables that are presentAnd its whispered that soon if we all call the course (12 syllables)Then the piper result lead us to reason. (10 syl lables)And a saucily day will dawn for those who stand long (11 syllables)And the forests will riposte with laughter. (10 syllables)Immediately, a pattern in the rhythm green goddess be seen. The start(a) line is 12 syllables and the following line is reduced by 2 syllables. The third line is then one syllable less than the first line and the lowest line is the same as the second. Such use of rhythm allows for the song to be more than organized when set to music and for the song to be more melodic when recited, to have a more flux and surreal tone to it.The song also involves the use of repetition. The first stanza incorporates the repetition of the same phrase in lines devil 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 pair of the second verse with the phrase Ooh, it makes me wonder and is repeated again in the last line of fourth stanza.The poem also incorporates a champion of Arthurian legend, such as with the report of The Lady of Shallot by Lord Alfred Tennyson. Tennyson states that, Willows uncontaminatingn, aspens quiver,/ Little breezes dusk and shiver/ 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 retributory a spring clean for the May queen./ Dear Lady, can you give away the wind blow, and did you know/ your stairway lies on the whispering wind. on that point is an allusion to everything being alive in both examples. some(prenominal) incorporate an purlieu that is still except for the wind and largely pastoral. blush more akin(predicate) is the idea of an idealistic young woman dressed in albumen. Led Zeppelin rivals 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 come to you at last.The image is nearly identical to t he Lady of Shallot described by TennysonLying, robed in snowy whitethat loosely flew to left and right that leaves upon her falling light thro the noises of the night They hear her talking her last song.Both women have a sense of high-mindedness about them that eventually leads to their greater 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 propel away her life loving someone who will never have the same affection for her. Both women are approached as being utter(a) creatures they wear white, there is a sense of innocence in their believe that everything is as beautiful as gold. rase more stirring is the idea that the final stanza of Stairway to Heaven refers to listeners finally being able to hear her song, while Our Lady of Shallot is referred to as singing one fin al song. Both end with a sense of finality and tragedy. The women are helpless because of their innocence and their false hope in the world and it is the final notes of their mortal songs that their existences in the world are finally realized.Led Zeppelins Achilles Last Stand immortalizes one of the most famous figures of the Trojan war. In the song, Achilles speaks of leaving for the war as a means of finding greater 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 Shield of Achilles personifies Achilles shield and makes her await to be a maternal figure who knows that Achilles will soon fill an untimely death at the hands of his enemies but is wholly unable to prevent the death from occurring.Audens poem has a definite rhythmic structure. The master(prenominal) verses are seven lines each, while the more choral stanzas are octad lines, making the text more melodic when read. Through the u se of repetition, the idea of a song being present in the poem is obvious.Both The Shield of Achilles and Achilles Last Stand mention a number of unreal 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 symbolise Achilles death. The Shield of Achilles refers to the man as being a ragged urchin, floating and alone while Achilles Last Stand refers to the man as to examine 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 difference of opinion and despite the fact that the persona is aware that certain death may await him, he is willing to face his fate, regardless of the outcomeWhen they told us we should goAs I turn to youYou smiled at meHow could we say no?With all the fun to haveto live the dreams we always hadWoa the song to singWhen we at la st return again (1-8).The persona wants to be immortalized for his traffic in battle, wants to fulfill his goal of being a legendary warrior and utter of for years 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 accouterments of Atlas/ take for 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 concentration camps to make the tone of the poem that much more somber, Barbed wire enclosed an arbitrary spot/ Where bored officials lounged (one yeasty 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 Final Stand of Achilles refers to the mighty arms of Atlas, hold the heaven from the earth, there is a sense of manly 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 majesty of this world, all/ That carries weight and always weighs the same / locate 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.