| dc.description.abstract | This thesis analyses pre-existing poems that are adapted into twenty-first century popular songs. The aim is to better understand how the direct affective impact and meanings of the pre-existing works are changed in an adaptation. Two poems by Emily Dickinson are used as a case study: ‘Hope is the thing with Feathers’ and ‘I felt a Funeral, in my Brain’. These have been adapted by Trailer Bride and Andrew Bird (featuring Phoebe Bridgers). Both songs are within an American folk genre but interact with the pre-existing work in a different way. The music either enhances or contradicts the text. The theoretical framework is largely based on feminist and musicological affect theory. Key concepts are affective dissonance (Claire Hemmings), Disruptive Diva’s (Lori Burns and Mélissa Lafrance) or Feminist Killjoys (Sarah Ahmed), and aesthetic blindness (Simon O’Sullivan). For the analysis a methodology by Lori Burns and Mélissa Lafrance is used. To understand popular song, they argue the importance of separating text and music. So, the first step is a content analysis. The text is analysed first, using literature analysis, then the composition. After, an interpretive analysis follows of, first, the musical meaning, and second, the lyrical meaning. Chapter one therefore separates the text and music. The poem is analysed first, then the song text, and lastly the composition. Chapter two connects the text to the music and analyses how they influence each other, and which is dominant. The third chapter finally includes a contextualisation of the works, and what effect this has on the works. It has an emphasis on collective or shared pain. This thesis aims to contribute to the progress of mental health inclusivity. | |
