Thread by @tokyotaeho, poetic devices in rm's mono.https://open.spotify.com/album/0XqAZHNx0xJDObehTI2587?si=TcKdw9NqQN6LvGsG53I0Bg this is going to be a long [...]

poetic devices in rm's mono. https://open.spotify.com/album/0XqAZHNx0xJDObehTI2587?si=TcKdw9NqQN6LvGsG53I0Bg

https://open.spotify.com/album/0XqAZHNx0xJDObehTI2587?si=TcKdw9NqQN6LvGsG53I0Bg

this is going to be a long and probably messy thread. i don't have anything prepared besides notes i made so we'll see how this goes. disclaimer: i am not a poet nor a poet expert, this thread is just for fun

i've "analysed" all songs from mono. and made a list of all poetic devices i have recognised. bare in mind that i had to use english translations, mainly from doolsetbangtan's web (links will be included)

i've also used, in order to separate the songs into verses, the structure provided by genius translations (eg. verse 1, chorus)

i also want to mention the fact that mono. does not have official lyrics besides the official lyric videos (seoul, moonchild) as a way for the listener to make the lyrics theirs and make their own interpretation

this approach is recurrent in (post)modernism literature/ art and i thought it was pertinent to point this out

anyways, i think i'm done with the introduction. let's start, of course you can add things i may miss or even correct me. i'll mainly focus on poetic devices but i might make some comments related to semantics o linguistics every now and then

- tokyo -
https://open.spotify.com/track/4dF0mDPTlpjThf1mJyK83B?si=7HVhmrPdQ5GYP-tB2r79Gw

- simile (verse 1)

feel like a torso
“ “ “ torn soul
“ “ “ tourist so

i've seen at least three versions of the same verse, but the speaker is comparing themselves to something in all of them. as for the first one, "torso" can be related to the way our body reacts in that area +

(heartbeat, "butterflies in the stomach") when we are feeling something overwhelming, strong. moreover, in the case of "torn soul" the speaker might be feeling intense sadness, to the point that they do not even perceive themselves as human anymore (soul as a spiritual entity) +

finally, if the speaker is feeling like a tourist they might be expressing that they feel unexperienced (sense of alienation as you find yourself in an "unknown" territory, physical or even emotional)

- metaphor (verse 1)

i see pinocchio wearing a poncho
that’s me some time ago

the speaker sees themselves in pinocchio. i'm not that familiar with the tale

but maybe pinocchio represents loneliness?

as for the poncho, my reading is that this piece of clothing acts as a preserver/ protector from the external world, but this may be a stretch

- anaphora (verse 1)

do i miss myself?
do i miss your face?

repetition of "do i" in the beginning of the sentences (emphasis)

- repetition (verse 1)

i don’t know
i don't know

self-explanatory, really recurrent in songwriting

before moving on i wanted to point out how an almost perfect ABAB rhyme scheme can be found in verse 1: (syllable count in ())

A wake up in tokyo, feel like a torso (10)
 B i know it’s time to go (6)
 A i see pinocchio wearing a poncho (10)
 B that’s me some time ago (6)

and the following lines have the same syllable count

C do i miss myself? (5)
D do i miss your face? (5)

- paradox (verse 2)

when tomorrow comes
how different it’s going to be?
why do love and hate sound just the same to me?

even though the speaker is referring to a "tomorrow", there is no sense of progress. it can be seen as contradictory but it depends on one’s state of mind

- repetition (bridge)

i just wanna stay right next to you

repited twice. repetition is commonly used to emphasise, in this case, the speaker's wish to be next to another entity

- seoul -
https://open.spotify.com/track/73ipE4lfZ53pvBbJPXkiEK?si=GwjNd8aHTMOrKgrMyFnE0g

doolset lyrics: https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2018/10/23/seoul/

- tactile imagery (verse 1)

with the cold morning air

the speaker describes the feeling of cold temperature in contact with their body

- visual imagery (verse 1)

it’s filled with buildings and cars only

description of what the speaker sees

- metaphor (verse 1)

but this is my home now (seoul, seoul)

pretty self-explanatory, seoul is the speaker's home (place of comfort)

- personification (verse 2)

why do you sound like ‘soul’?

the speaker adresses seoul as a human being. i also wrote down "auditory imagery" but i am not sure (the speaker point out that "seoul" and "soul" are homophones (same sound, different meaning/ spelling))

- paradox, repetition (chorus)

if love and hate are the same words (‘tokyo’ reference)
i love you seoul
i hate you seoul

"love" and "hate" are opposites, it is contradictory to love and hate something at the same time but not impossible

- visual imagery (verse 3)

the whole verse is a visual description of the evironmnent

- kinesthetic imagery (?) (verse 4)

i’m nodding but i can’t smile

this type of imagery is said to be related to the body's movement, but i don't know to what extent can this be considered "kinesthetic"

- auditory imagery (verse 4)

even the sigh of a taxi driver

- homophony, paradox, repetition (bridge)

i’m leavin’ / livin’ you (seoul)

same as "seoul" and "soul" in terms of phonetics. in terms of semantics, it is unlikely to live in a place and leave it at the same time

- moonchild -
https://open.spotify.com/track/5Zlo5ZYjrr6DwQw1kBi5bA?si=DxWoLPxKQD2IE5lGI_da3g

doolset lyrics:
https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2018/10/24/moonchild/

the song revolves around the moon as a symbol of comfort and even hope

- metaphor (intro)

we’re born in the moonlight
…
can’t breathe in the sunlight

moon(light) are seen as elements of comfort. sunlight equals pain, danger

- repetition (intro)

we're born to be sad, sad, sad, sad
suffer to be glad, glad, glad, glad

- repetition (verse 1)

moonchild, moonchild

we gotta dance in the rain, dance in the pain
…
we’re gonna dance in the plane

- metaphor (verse 1)

we, more than anyone else, need the night scenery

the "night scenery" becomes something as essential as air

- metaphor (chorus)

moonchild don’t cry
when moon rise, it’s your time

again, the moon as a figure of comfort and hope, things will get better once the moon rises

- paradox (verse 2)

smile in endless pain

i am not sure if this can be considered a paradox, but it is a weird combination nonetheless

- visual scenery (kind of) (verse 3)

take a closer look at that flickering light

- metaphor (bridge)

we are each other’s moon

same as before, sense of comfort

- badbye -
https://open.spotify.com/track/5Qg0xK4s85tINbQcJD3GDq?si=dIEQ1uQIQWaJQK39Dbg1KQ

doolset lyrics: https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2018/10/23/badbye-with-eaeon/

this track acts as an interlude, full of repetition in a hypnotic way

- paradox

k!ll me softly, shatter me into pieces

the verb "shatter" implies brutality, it cannot be done in a "soft" manner unless whatever that's being shattered is extremely delicate

- uhgood -
https://open.spotify.com/track/7hjWFO88DN3FroDMRIcehn?si=jJa9ZZZAT6-gCC15n2D6-w

doolset lyrics:
https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2018/10/25/uhgood/

- repetition

all i need is me / i know / all i need is you

이겨야 해 넌 넌 넌
you have to win, you, you, you

i feel so lonely when i’m with me

the real me
+

it feels like the speaker is trying to focus on themselves (repetition as emphasis) but at the same time there is a "you" acting as an "obstacle"

- metaphor (verse 2)

rain in the desert is unusual but possible

rain = hope
desert = despair

- everythingoes -
https://open.spotify.com/track/7DKYA93lgKbhxzqE2ojtCS?si=r5Ue6CeKTtmBtzcyJeEOEw

doolset lyrics:
https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/?s=everythingoes

- simile (verse 1)

everything goes like morning comes after night goes
like summer comes after spring goes
like fruits ripen after flowers wither away

- paradox (?), metaphor (verse 2)

we have to face the wind to become numb

it is impossible not to feel something while facing the wind (physical sensation), can the wind be a metaphor for pain? the more pain you feel, the more you can resist it i guess

- repetition

everything, everything, everything goes
it shall pass

(everything will be okay)

- forever rain -
https://open.spotify.com/track/5fCDWDX2Kv9jc1s7nZfzOi?si=3IZBBd29T4ac6TkzQHYmTQ

doolset lyrics: https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2018/10/22/forever-rain/

constant repetition of "forever rain"

- repetition (refrain)

slow rap, slow jam, slow rain, everything slow

acts as a reminder to take things slow (verse 2 which is prior to the refrain says "gonna breathe a little slower cuz my life and my rap, they’re usually too fast")

- enjambment (?), personification (verse 4)

when it rains i
*enjambment*
get a little feeling that i do have a friend
keeps knocking on my windows
asks me if i’m doing well

clear personification of the rain as a friend who checks on you. moreover, a sentence has been cut

the line should be "i get a little feeling that i do have a friend" but the first "i" is left alone with the previous sentence. this separation is the one found in the forever rain mv english subtitles, maybe it's a coincidence. the enjambment is used in poetry to create tension

- metaphor (verse 6)

ashy world

there has been mention of ashes before ('tokyo' and 'seoul'), it can mean dullness but i feel like it can have a more profound meaning

i think i'm done, what the fuck. if someone has read this far, wow. i apologise for the headache, i lost it. i hope that this thread makes sense and i hope that everything was clear, i have the feeling that it doesn't and it's not but anyways

the way no one is going to read this, but i forgot to add the mono. mv links:

seoul

moonchild

forever rain

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