Date of Award
Spring 2020
Rights
Access is available to all users
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS) in Communications
Department
Communication Studies
Abstract
This study critically examines the popular rock anthem Bohemian Rhapsody to understand why the song has remained a lasting and eminently compelling standard for the progressive rock genre and why it has appealed through an inter-generational scope. Through the use of Close Textual Analysis (CTA), with an emphasis on metaphoric criticism, combined with Music Analysis of the score using popular song analysis tools, this study deconstructs the song and uncovered rhetorical strategies of the music and the lyrics as they function separately. In the conclusion, the two methodological approaches are synthesized to reveal the intertextual interanimation of the music and lyrics together, resulting in a complete musical experience that allows listeners from all generations and on all continents to enter the interpretive space of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Wiedman, Kiara, "Rhetorical and musical synthesis and the strategies for inter-generational resonance in Queen's Bohemian rhapsody" (2020). EWU Masters Thesis Collection. 632.
https://dc.ewu.edu/theses/632
