The purpose of this study was to examine the sexual content found in music lyrics of different genres and their relationship to specific sexual cognitions. The study included 902 participants, both male and female, belonging to various ethnic backgrounds, ages 18 and up. It was hypothesized that listening to music containing frequent sexual lyrics will have an affect on men and women’s sexual cognitive beliefs. Results indicated that there was a relationship between frequency of sexually explicit lyrics and views on sexual cognitions. The breakdown by genre shows a more detailed relationship between the lyrics and sexual cognitions. Overall, the results supported the notion that frequent exposure to sexually explicit lyrics has a significant relationship to sexual cognitions.

No description available.

We explore a dataset of almost half a million English song lyrics through three different processes - automatic evaluation, visualization, and generation. We create our own rhyme detector, using the EM algorithm with several improvements and adjustable parameters. This may, in some cases, replace human evaluators that cannot be used, for example, after each iteration of the lyrics generator to evaluate its improvement. By creating a web-page visualization of the results with interesting matrix rhyme highlighting, we make our evaluation accessible to the public. We discuss interesting genre differences discovered by applying our automatic evaluation on the entire dataset. Finally, we explore lyrics generation using state-of-the-art GPT-2.

No description available.

This master's thesis researches the linguistic image of love in lyrics found in Czech popular music based on the theoretical and methodological principles of cognitive linguistics. The theoretical section first characterizes the song lyrics of the band Lucie and then explores the context of cognitive linguistics. More specifically, this thesis characterizes the cognitivist concept and the application of metaphorical structures in both common language and creative texts. In the interpretational section, the concept of love is characterized by using a number of key lexemes which are used to express love in the Czech language. This section also describes the metaphorical and metonymical conceptualization of love in terms of the Czech image of the world. The conclusion deals with the profiles of the Czech concept of (erotic) love. This thesis mainly relies on theoretical and methodological tools included in the works of G. Lakoff, M. Johnson, J. Grady and M. Głąbska.

Denna studie utreder hur lyrik som genre kan berika svenskundervisningens didaktik på gymnasiet, vilka didaktiska metoder som kan tillämpas på lyrikundervisningen, samt vad som kan vara ett representativt urval lyrik för ungdomar. Undersökningen består av en kvalitativ litteraturstudie som utvärderades genom en diskursanalys, samt tolkningen av ett lyriskt urval. Studiens resultat påvisade att lyrik kan berika svenskämnets didaktik på gymnasiet, då språkutvecklingen främjas. Detta ger sig i uttryck genom att elever i lyrikundervisningen får möjlighet att reflektera både över sina egna och andras känslor och erfarenheter, vilket kan fungera som identitets- och personlighetsutveckling. Undersökningen har även påvisat att lyrikundervisningen berikar med kunskap om viktiga delar av kulturarvet, samt friheten att utforska språk och stil i skrivandet av egna dikter. Vidare bör lyrik appliceras på en läsarorienterad undervisining, då denna fokuserar på den enskilde läsarens personliga upplevelser av texten, vilket kan väcka intresse och mening för genren. Slutligen har undersökningen påvisat att det inte finns några givna svar rörande vad som kan användas som representativ lyrik för ungdomar i undervisningen, då genren ger uttryck för känslor, vilka bör betraktas som tidlösa och allmänmänskliga. Således är det lärarens uppgift att avgöra vad som kan vara relevant lyrik för ungdomar, baserat på vilken slags diskussion som ska föras och vilken insikt som önskas uppnås. / The study researches how lyrics as a genre could be used to enrich the Swedish education in upper secondary school, which didactic methods that can be applied to teachings of lyrics and what could be used as a good representation of lyrics for youths. The study includes a study of literature that was evaluated through a discourse analysis and interpretations of lyrical choices. The result of the study showed that lyrics can be used to enrich the didactics of the Swedish subject in upper secondary school as the language development was improved. This was shown as students who studied lyrics gets the opportunity to reflect upon both their own and others' emotions and experiences, which can be used as a tool for the development of self and identity. The study has further shown that studies of lyrics also enrich students with knowledge about important parts of the cultural inheritance and the freedom to explore language and style through the writing of their own poems. Furthermore, lyrics should be applied to a reader oriented education as it focuses on the individual readers' experience of the text, which could awaken interest and purpose for the genre. Finally, the study has shown that there are no given answers regarding what could be used as a representative lyrics for youths in the education as the genre provides the opportunity for the readers to express emotions which should be thought of as timeless and universal. Because of this, it is the teachers task to choose what could be regarded as relevant lyrics for youths based on what kind of discussion will be held and what kind of insight that should be achieved.

Denna uppsats är en textanalytisk studie som studerar artisten Håkan Hellströms låttexter. Texterna i fokus är från två olika album från olika delar av hans karriär. Detta i syftet att utifrån tematiken, influenserna och den klingande texten visa vad texterna representerar i olika delar av Hellströms liv. Metoderna som har använts vid analys av texterna har utgått från begreppen närläsning, fonotext och intertextualitet där närlyssning och närläsning har varit den huvudsakliga metoden för att få fram material ur texterna. Konklusionerna av denna studie är att Hellström skildrar ämnen i respektive album som är relevanta för den aktuella plats i livet han är i samt att metoderna i låtskrivandet har visat sig sammanfattningsvis vara att använda liknande metaforer för att beskriva olika ämnen, intertextualitet används som en konstnärlig metod och att Hellströms karaktäristiska bräckliga röst är den huvudsakliga kärnan i förmedlandet av texterna.

The war in Vietnam was a conflict that happened during the Cold War. In the 1960s USA chose to join the war with the hope of stopping the spread of Communism. The war did not go as planned; instead the outcome was that the Americans lost. During and after the war in Vietnam several songs have been made. Some as protest of the war, others the opposite and had a positive attitude about USA and their participation in the war. In this thesis seven songs regarding the war in Vietnam have been analyzed. The aim of the thesis was to investigate the use of history in different lyrics about the war in Vietnam. An oriented interpretation textual analysis has been applied to the content. The theoretical part of the thesis that was chosen is the use of history as a theory. The theory of the thesis is based on Klas-Göran Karlsson’s typology where he list Scientific, Existential, Morally, Ideological, Non-use, Political-pedagogical and Commercial use of history. To search for the answer in how the artists applied a use of history, the typology of Karlsson and also added Robert Thorp’s four different ways which are Traditional, Exemplary, Critical and Genetic. The result of the thesis was that the war in Vietnam does not appear as clearly in the earlier songs as it did in the songs from the 1980s. Regarding the use of history the result showed that the songs apply the use of history in different ways to state their message.

Thesis (MDram)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die literêre interteks staan sentraal tot die teks-analitiese proses en die gevolglike ontsluiting van betekenis binne die oeuvre van Sarah Kane, maar in die huidige besprekings van haar werk, word hierdie interteks alleenlik tot literatuur soos die roman, die gedig en die teaterteks beperk. Die gevolg is dat daar ‘n totale verontagsaming van die neerslag van die liriek as nóg ‘n tipe literêre interteks is. Beide James Macdonald (in Fisher 2001b) en Iain Fisher (2001b) dui daarop dat lirieke van heelparty orkeste - o.a. Joy Division, Radiohead, Nirvana en die Beatles - in Kane se werk nagespeur kan word, maar geeneen blyk ondersoek na die moontlike redes vir die ontlening daarvan óf hoe dit die betekeniswaarde van haar werk informeer, in te stel nie. Deur op Still en Worton (1990:1-2) se teorie dat die leser van ‘n teks sy/haar eie intertekste op daardie teks van toepassing kan maak in ‘n poging om die betekenis daarvan te ontsluit (selfs al word betrokke intertekste nie noodwendig deur die skrywer erken nie), te trek, word daarop gedui waar en hoe verskeie lirieke van voorgenoemde vier orkeste hul neerslag in vier van Kane se dramas, Phaedra’s Love, Cleansed, Crave en 4.48 Psychosis vind. Na gelang van Michael Riffaterre (1990:58) se teorie omtrent “connectives” (in hierdie geval die lirieke wat Kane se tekste met liedjies uit die populêre kultuur verbind) en hoe ‘n deeglike voorkennis daaromtrent die leser daartoe in staat stel om te bepaal of betrokke “connective” wel die teenwoordigheid van ‘n interteks daarstel al dan nie, word ‘n deeglike studie van elkeen van die lirieke gedoen. Daarna word verskeie raakpunte tussen hierdie lirieke en Kane se tekste uitgewys, hetsy dit met onderwerpmateriaal of tematiek verband hou, sodat ge-argumenteer word dat hierdie lirieke wel as intertekste beskou kan word. Vervolgens word die betekenisse van die onderskeie lirieke op Kane se dramas (spesifiek die tematiek daarvan) van toepassing gemaak en daar word ge-argumenteer dat hierdie intertekste óf bestaande beskouings daarvan ondersteun en moontlik daarop uitbrei óf dat dit tot radikaal nuwe insigte omtrent haar werk aanleiding gee, sodat nuwe en oorspronklike benaderings tot tematiek en karakters in die toekoms gevolg sou kon word. Uiteindelik illustreer ek aan die hand van my meestersproduksie empty (2010) hoe ek my benadering tot die neerslag van die liriek as interteks in Kane se werk op genoemde produksie van toepassing gemaak het, sodat die betekenis daarvan ook na gelang van die liriek as interteks duidelik word. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The intertextual relationship between Kane’s own work and those literary sources she derives ideas and adopts words from, plays a vital part in the textual analysis of her oeuvre. However, current discussions about and analyses of this intertextual relationship only focus on the novel, the poem and the play as literary intertexts and their subsequent influence on the interpretation of her work. This results in a complete disregard for the lyric’s use as another type of literary intertext (where the lyric is to be understood as the written and not the sung word). James Macdonald (in Fisher 2001b) and Iain Fisher (2001b) both refer to the presence of lyrics from various bands - among them Joy Division, Radiohead, Nirvana and The Beatles - in Kane’s work, but neither of them preoccupy themselves with the further investigation as to why these lyrics have been borrowed or how they inform the interpretation of her work. Drawing on Still and Worton’s (1990:1-2) theory that “the reader’s experience of some practice or theory unknown to the author may lead to a fresh interpretation” of any given text he/she reads (i.e. where the reader applies the knowledge about his/her own intertexts in an attempt to decipher the meaning of the text he/she is currently reading or studying), a clear indication of where and how various lyrics from aforementioned bands can be found in four of Kane’s dramas: Phaedra’s Love, Cleansed, Crave and 4.48 Psychosis. Based on Michael Riffaterre’s (1990:58) theory of “connectives” (in this case those lyrics which establish a connection between Kane’s plays and songs from popular culture) and how proper foreknowledge about these “connectives” can help in determining whether they do establish an intertextual relationship between the play and the song(s) or not, a thorough study of every lyric is undertaken and various similarities between them and Kane’s plays are highlighted. Based on these similarities (whether it be with regard to themes, subject matter or characterization), arguments are made that these lyrics should be viewed as intertexts, and the meanings and analyses of these lyrics are subsequently applied to Kane’s work. In the end these literary intertexts either support existing views and interpretations of her work, or they lead to radically new insights about the work, so that new, innovative and original approaches can henceforth be followed with regard to themes and characterization in her work. Finally I use my own master’s production, empty (2010), as an example to illustrate how I applied the research I have done about the lyric as an intertext in Kane’s work, on my own work and how these various lyrics help to give a better understanding of the play.

The object of this paper is to effect a comparison between the early Shakespearean songs and their more recent settings and to discuss in detail differences in style and technique, with emphasis upon textual and melodic characteristics.