Riley Abson

WP1
The Analysis of the Use of Conventions in Different Literary Genres
The song Migraine by Twenty One Pilots is a good example of song lyrics used as a
medium to convey the thoughts of the artist using conventions of the genre. Although there are
many styles of poetry and many genres of music, there is often an image that tends to form in the
readers mind of what a quintessential poem or song lyric looks like. The most obvious similarity
between archetypal poetry and song lyrics is the form: a set meter, a constant rhyme scheme, and
an often unchanging rhythm throughout the text. While this set of parameters is true for
Migraine, it does not apply to the poem, Dying is fine)but Death by E.E. Cummings. This
text strays from almost all accepted conventions of proper poetry, with no rhyme scheme,
short, broken lines and choppy stanzas. This is characteristic to E.E. Cummings work and
challenges the conventions of modern poetry. Migraine by Twenty One Pilots and Dying is
fine)but Death by E.E. Cummings both use the conventions of their respective genres to alter
the meaning of their texts.
Migraine, being a song performed by a small-time indie band, uses the conventions of
the song lyrics genre to alter the meaning of the song. The conventions of the genre typically
include a rhyme scheme, a set stanza length, and a set rhythm. These are all important, as they
define how the song flows and what message the song gets across. A hook is also common to the
genre of song lyrics. Although not every song has a hook or a chorus, the majority do, and this
hook is designed to be the most memorable and entertaining moment of the song. The
combination of the hook and the other conventions is often determinant of a songs success and
how effectively the song can convey a message to the consumers of the text. Alternatively, a

song with short lines and verses and a quicker meter would sound different and attract a different
audience than the same lyrics sung in a slower, more intimate key and tempo. The conventions of
a typical song also affect how the song would be interpreted by the listener. A song written in
prose and ignoring all conventions of musical lyrics would be nowhere near as successful as a
song written according to those conventions, as long as both were made with the same quality of
work in mind. In mainstream media, this tends to be the case.
There are many exceptions, however. Migraine is a fairly unknown song from a band
who recently came upon stardom. This song comes across a nice combination of poetic lyrics
such as I begin to assemble what weapons I can find,/ 'Cause sometimes to stay alive you got to
kill your mind (azlyrics) and an appealing sound, with a solid chorus, and a constant rhyme
scheme and meter throughout the song. Although it is not as popular as some of the more
mainstream music in existence, the band still has a large fanbase, by virtue of their presence in
social media. Via this outlet, the song uses the conventions of song lyrics to convey the message
it is trying to send while still being able to impress with the lyrical prowess of the music,
although often times the sheer poeticism of the lyrics is not enough to generate popularity for a
song, as shown by Migraine.
Although the conventions in song lyrics are solid, the content of the songs themselves as
well as the stylistic and formal features of the song lyrics are often seen as important to the
success of the song in the real world and its interpretation by critics and audiences. However, this
is not always the case, as oftentimes songs with mediocre or downright horrible lyrics are made
popular due to the fact that they follow all of the conventions of a song to the letter.
In comparison, poetry is almost the opposite. The conventions are now no longer one of
the more important parts of the poem, in fact, poems that break the conventions are often

applauded for standing out against the norms of society. Because of the number of different types
of poetry that exist, the conventions are no longer crucial to the success of the poetry, as there are
no conventions that could be created to encompass all forms of poetry. Instead, the content and
the creativity of the poem are the most important factors in creating a successful poem. This is
demonstrated in many of E.E. Cummings poems, but especially in Dying is fine)but Death, as
it defies the conventions of lyrical poetry, which people tend to reference as normal poetry.
This is shown in the formal features of the poem. dying is fine)but Death/ ?o/ baby/ i/ wouldn't
like (Cummings) This quote from the poem shows the number of line breaks made, especially
in the middle of a word, which emphasizes the extent to which a poem can ignore conventions of
poetry while still being regarded as a fantastic piece of work.
Dying is fine)but Death by E.E. Cummings strays from any conventions it can while
still being considered a poem. Dying has no rhyme scheme, no meter, and no clear concept of
poetic convention. Even without any of the factors showcased by many famous poets which are
often said to be sacred to writing poetry, E.E. Cummings is still considered by many as one of
the greatest poets of all time. This showcases a fundamental difference between poetry and song
lyrics. Although songs are often described as poems set to music, the success of E.E. Cummings
denies that, as the form of his poems and the breaking away from the conventions of poetry are
two of the most identifiable characteristics of the poet. Cummings ability to completely
disregard normality and create his own style of poem are some of the more crucial components
of his poetry. Where song lyrics are typically pigeonholed into a certain form in order to attract
an audience, poetry is not typically forced to do so, with the driving force of the poem being the
words written on the paper. Although this is not always the case, poetry is often defined by the
rhetoric and the stylistic features of the poems, whereas song lyrics are typically regarded as

successful or unsuccessful based on the auditory appeal of the song itself, regardless of the
content of the text.
Because of Cummings popularity despite his distinct lack of conventional poetic style,
he redefined the way poetry could be written and interpreted. The ability for Cummings to defy
the conventions for poetry at the time created new conventions for poetry as he became
mainstream. Because of Cummings ability to create his own new style of poetry, the
conventions changed from requiring the poet to stay in a lyrical format with a rhyme scheme and
a constant meter. He helped pioneer this new style of poetry, creating new conventions for poetry
to follow in his certain style of writing. Because of his avant-garde style of poetry, E.E.
Cummings gained popularity and used the conventions he broke and the new ones he created to
convey the messages discussed in his poetry and writing to a broad audience. Although it is hard
to imagine E.E. Cummings realized during his lifetime that he would have such a large effect on
the genre of poetry, his writings affected and continue to affect thousands of people in modern
times, ranging from students forced to read his works to poetry enthusiasts.
Migraine by Twenty One Pilots uses conventions of the song lyric genre effectively to
market a song and create popularity for the song in order to convey a message. The song
conforms to the conventions of the song, adhering to the concepts of a chorus, a rhyme scheme,
and a constant meter, despite being a band that performs a very alternative genre of music.
Dying is fine)but Death by E.E. Cummings does almost the exact opposite. Cummings uses
conventions against himself by avoiding the majority of the poetic conventions laid out for him
to follow in the classic lyrical poetry style, and instead creating his own form of poetry. Although
he did not adhere to the conventions of poetry, he was still an extremely successful poet,
demonstrating that poetry is more of a freestyle genre of writing. He used the formal features of

his poems very effectively to grab the attention of the reader without having to follow traditional
poetic conventions. Migraine and Dying is fine)but Death are both excellent examples of
conventions being used in different literary genres in order to convey a message to a certain
audience.
"Migraine Lyrics." Twenty One Pilots. azlyrics, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.
Cummings, E.E. "Dying Is Fine)but Death." Genius. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.