Where is the Love-Black Eyed Peas. 8/02/10

1. How does this poem make you feel? What emotions do you feel when you read it?

This poem makes me feel very sad because the Black Eyed Peas are singing about how bad the world is today with the terrorism and the gangs that kill innocent people. When I read this I think that its very good that the Black Eyed peas are trying to get the message across and it is working because everybody knows who the Black Eyed Peas are and there music is very popular, so by singing this song people will listen to it and realise how bad racism and terism etc. actually really are.

2. What is the poem about?

They are singing about racism and how some people only love their own race and then they only leave room to discriminate and discrimination only leads to hate and when you hate your only going to get irate. This all means that the world today with racism is very bad and we need to do something to make it stop, if you are white and hate black people, you shouldn’t because when you think about it we are all one race (The Human Race).

3. List some of the descriptive words the poet uses and explain why they are effective.

This bit of the chorus is very strong because they are trying to yell out to god and say

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)

They are trying to ask god where is the love for the world and why are so many people being racist and trying to terrise one another's country just because they don't like it. It shouldn't matter if one is black, one is white, one is Mexican or if one is Asian, we should all love each other for who we are because we only have one human race and you can't create another one, and if you were to create another one everybody would still be different is some way.

4. Why do you think the poet wrote this poem? What was he/she trying to achieve?

I think that the poet wrote this because they just want the world to be peaceful without any racism or terrorism, for example this was written in 2003 after the nine eleven, they wrote this poem/song because they just want the terrorism to STOP once and for all. By writing this poem/song they got the message across and it became there first top 10 single.

5. Write down your favourite line/lines from the poem. Explain why you picked them.

My favourite lines from the poem are:

But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah

This is because racism is a terrible thing and this poem gets the message straight across and if you discriminate it just turns to HATE, hate is a very strong word and hate and dislike are very different words.

6. Does this poem rhyme?

Yes, this poem does rhyme for example:

What's wrong with the world, mama
People livin' like they ain't got no mamas
I think the whole world addicted to the drama
Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma

This shows that at the end of each line it rhymes.

7. If the poem rhymes how do you think this adds to the overall effect of the poem?

If it rhymes then that is good because then the lyrics will get stuck in peoples heads and they will sing it where ever they go because it is a catchy song.

8. Had you ever seen/heard this poem before? If yes, when/where?

Yes I have heard this poem/song before because it is on the radio sometimes and it is a good song.

9. Did you like this poem? Explain why.

Yes, I like this poem/song because it is a good song and I also like it because the Black Eyed Peas are trying to get the message across because they want world peace that is why I like them and this poem/song.

10. Does the poem create an image in you head? If yes, describe what you see in your mind. You may draw a picture to show what you see if you prefer.

This poem does create a picture in my head because when they sing the bit about terrorism I think of nine eleven because that was a very traumatic time for all Americans and when they sing about racism I have an image in my head about a white person saying I don’t want to be your friend because you are black. This song is very sad and has a lot of emotional sides to it.

By: Tiarnna Cowell