Slam+Poetry

__**Totally like whatever, you know?**__ By: Taylor Mali

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In case you hadn't noticed,

it has somehow become uncool

to sound like you know what you're talking about?

Or believe strongly in what you're saying?

Invisible question marks and parenthetical (you know?)'s

have been attaching themselves to the ends of our sentences?

Even when those sentences aren't, like, questions? You know? Declarative sentences - so-called

because they used to, like, DECLARE things to be true

as opposed to other things which were, like, not -

have been infected by a totally hip

and tragically cool interrogative tone? You know?

Like, don't think I'm uncool just because I've noticed this;

this is just like the word on the street, you know?

It's like what I've heard?

I have nothing personally invested in my own opinions, okay?

I'm just inviting you to join me in my uncertainty? What has happened to our conviction?

Where are the limbs out on which we once walked?

Have they been, like, chopped down

with the rest of the rain forest?

Or do we have, like, nothing to say?

Has society become so, like, totally. ..

I mean absolutely. . . You know?

That we've just gotten to the point where it's just, like. ..

whatever! And so actually our disarticulation. . . ness

is just a clever sort of. . . thing

to disguise the fact that we've become

the most aggressively inarticulate generation

to come along since. ..

you know, a long, long time ago! I entreat you, I implore you, I exhort you,

I challenge you: To speak with conviction.

To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks

the determination with which you believe it.

Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker,

it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY.

You have to speak with it, too.

__Poem Theme**/**Meaning__: I believe that this poem is about the major problem of our degrading language skills. It addresses how far our speech has fallen over the years and how the way we speak now makes us sound insecure and uncertain. The poem somewhat mocks the extreme lack of eloquence in our speech today. It encourages people to speak with authority in order to sound strong in statements, beliefs and opinions as opposed to sounding weak and wavering.

__Why I Chose This Poem:__ I chose this poem because I think that it addresses a major problem in our society today. I also feel that the message in the poem is directed somewhat more to our generation, the youth of today. The younger people of today's society seem to have an even more severe problem with degrading speech than all others. If we do not correct this and start speaking with eloquence and authority once more, the art of language will be all but destroyed.

__Important Words/Phrases:__ **"have been infected by a totally hip and tragically cool interrogative tone?"** I think the use of the term "infected" in this line describing what has happened to declarative sentences gives a very good image. It gives the idea of something diseased, unhealthy and degraded. **"I have nothing personally invested in my own opinions, okay?"** I believe that this line is important because it states what this new way of speaking is doing to our society. It's making us seem constantly at a loss and completely unsure and wavering in our own opinions. **"I challenge you: To speak with conviction.**" This line and the use of the word "challenge" as opposed to a different word helps increase the impact of the poem. The fact that it is brought forward as a "challenge" rallies the poem's audience. **"it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY. You have to speak with it, too."** These finishing lines in the poem are some of the strongest, in my opinion. They send out a final, powerful message to the entire audience.

__Use of Poetic Devices:__ In the lines, **"What has happened to our conviction? Where are the limbs out on which we once walked? Have they been, like, chopped down with the rest of the rain forest?"** Taylor Mali is using an __analogy__. He uses tree limbs and the cutting down of the rain forest to explain what has happened to our conviction. The mention of "the rain forest" can also be taken as an __allusion__ because he is referencing something in the real world. He also uses __repetition__ when he repeats **"you know?"** and **"like"** in several lines.

I have also noticed something else Taylor Mali has used to prove his point. He has written over half the poem in the "hip interrogative tone" and then, the tone of the poem changes part way through. It transitions from the interrogative tone to a tone that is strong and commanding for the final message the poem delivers to the audience. This may not be a literary device, but I believe it is a technique he uses to strengthen the impact of the poem.