Slam+Poetry

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 * __Totally like, whatever, you know?__**

The reason why I chose this poem is that it was pretty humorous when I first saw it. I liked how Taylor Mali states what he has to say in a way that contradicts it's purpose. the poem is about how we always talk in question, and use "like", and "you know" in places where it is unnecessary. After listening to the poem I realized how much we actually do exactly what he was saying. Many people that I talk to use the word "like" way too much, and most of their sentences are in a form of a question. People nowadays have adapted to this way of speaking. Taylor is telling us that declarative sentences are called that way, because they "Declare" something, not question it. In the last stanza he switches his way of speaking completely around. He speaks with confidence instead of question. The entire last stanza holds what he is trying to state throughout the entire poem; to speak with conviction. Taylor has made me think about something that would have passed on unnoticed to me normally. I find this poem quite meaningful, and funny.

__Theme__- This poem is expressing how many people nowadays speak. We speak with uncertainty, and make our declarations into a question. This makes us seem unsure of ourselves, when we really aren't. Taylor is telling us, in the form of a poem, to speak with conviction and believe what we speak of with determination.

__Poetic Devices__-

~Repetition - "You know", and "like", have been repeated multiple times throughout the poem.

~Satire~ Throughout the poem, he complains about how we turn declarative sentences into question, while doing the same himself.

~Analogy - "Have they been, like, chopped down with the rest of the rain forest?"- Refers to our conviction. They as in conviction.