Assignment

Musicals, a combination story and poetry. Where is the overlap between devices? How are each of these independent?

Requirements:

Pick at least 3 musicals with exemplary story. Analyze their narrative, tone, theme, character, and pacing. What makes these shows great? How do the songs bolster the story?

Pick at least 3 songs that have exemplary lyrics. What poetic devices do they use to enhance the song? How do they subvert or alter traditional poetic techniques? How do those devices contribute to narrative, tone, theme, character, or pacing?

Pick at least one musical that was adapted from another medium (a movie, book, tv show, video game, comic,  ect) and compare the story. What changed? Why did it change? Did the songs impact the narrative, tone, theme, character, or pacing? Use previous examples and comparisons to support your findings.

Points to consider:

• An adaptation can be vague. The Lion King is an adaptation of Hamlet, A Very Potter Musical is an adaptation of Harry Potter etc.
• It’s important to not answer the 3 questions individually but talk about them all together. You don’t want to list and analyze 3 songs, then shows, then adaptations, make the piece feel cohesive.
• Quality is no issue. If you find a song, story, or adaptation worthy of speaking on, it’s worth putting in your piece, even if the source is lackluster.
• Don’t forget to generalize, not everyone knows every musical.