1. Famine
Sinead O'Connor

2. ANALYSIS
OF OUR SONG

3. APPROACH
In our group we read the text of the song Famine by Sinead O'Connor.
We tried to understand its message
We shared all our ideas and hypothesis.

4. TITLE
ANALYSIS

5. PREDICTIONS
We think the writer may have chosen one only a word for the title, to draw all the reader’s attention on it.
Moreover the word is not of English origin.
In english you have also got “hunger”

6. BRAINSTORMING

7. LAY OUT

8. The song has been arranged into eight stanzas
The song has been arranged into eight stanzas. There is no regular pattern and longer stanzas alternate with shorter ones.
Larger Stanzas = provide info about Irish difficult situations
Shorter stanza = convey the message of the song

9. DENOTATIVE ANALYSIS

10. The singer thinks there was no famine.
Irish people were only allowed to eat potatoes They wrere often on the point of starvation That situation is still hurting
Children could not be taught Irish.
They lost their history.

11. CONTENT The song is about: Ireland’s famine. First three stanzas:
Irish condition
The consequences of English colonization on Irish population.

12. Last two stanzas Irish history.
Fourth stanza  “if there ever is gonna be healing there has to be knowledge and understanding”.
She talks about child abouse.
Semantic choises

13. IRISH HISTORY Migration to USA 1905 – Sinn Fein
Norman Invasion: Henry II made Ireland part of the UK
1833 – England VS ULSTER
1845 – The Irish Great Famine
1905 – Sinn Fein
1916 – Uprising of Irish people against the British
1917 – IRA
1921 – Partition of Ireland / Civil War
– Ireland becomes a Republic
Migration to USA
MIGRATION TO THE US  Clinton takes care of the N. Ireland Peace proces ‘COS HE KNOWS HE MIGHT HAVE TO FACE IRA ATTACKS WITHIN THE US
UPRISING  Connolly was a revolutionary leader : “ The great only appear great ‘cos we’re on our knees”
PARTITIONThe settlement precipitated a civil war BETWEEN THOSE WILLING TO ACCEPT THE SETTLEMENT AND THOSE WHO BELIEVED IT WAS A BETRAYAL
GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT Ireland will be governed by an assemblty which will include members of Sinn Fein and UUP. There’s a MUST (sine qua non): IRA must hand in arms
CIVIL RIGHTS  THE CAMPAIGN WAS MODELLED ON THE CIVIL RIGHTS CAMPAIGN IN THE US, INVOLVING PROTESTS, MARCHES, SIT-INS…. Several of its objectives had been conceded by the end of the However, the violence reached a peak in 1972, when 468 people died

14. 1969 – London sends troops to Northern Ireland
1971 – British government Introduces INTERNMENT without TRIAL
1972 – BLOODY SUNDAY: British Troops kill 14 protesters
1998 – April 10th : GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT
2000 – January 11th: Mendelssohn suspends the Northern Ireland assembly

15. We think that the words represent the real object of the poetess' reflection.
Irish people's history is the excuse to send a message that may work other horrible facts of the history of the world.

16. “The highest statistics of child abuse in the EEC”

17. Some European countries constituted an association called EEC (European Economical Community) to create an economical unity between European States.

20. SOUND LEVEL

21. During most the song you can hear the howls of wolves .
The song is voiced by a solo singer, Sinead O’connor and twice it is followed by a choir.

22. the situation in Ireland
The wolf is a solitary animal.
Wolves generally represent:
loneliness
sadness,
fright
confusion 
the situation in Ireland
from 1845 to 1849.

23. Possible Interpretations - I
It sounds as if the song were voiced by all Irish people voicing the horrible situation of the famine that hit Ireland for ages

24. SOUND LEVEL Possible Interpretations - II
Sound effect  the idea of something terrible  mixture of
low volume and voice
strange noises
echo effect.
SINEAD sings the highest number of words in the shortest time possible as it is typical of RAP

25. Possible interpretation
In this song we can hear a rhythmical opposition
Possible interpretation 
the singer wants to convey the difference between the condition of poor people and the one of the rich.
In addition a rap tune characterizes the song

26. WHAT IS RAP? Flash were some of the early pioneers of rap.
Rap began among the youth of South Bronx, New York in the 1970’s. Individuals such Kool Herc and Grandmaster
Flash were some of the early pioneers of rap.

27. Through their performances at clubs and promotion of such music, rap consistently gained It further developed during the eighties

28. Rap music come from hip-hop, gospel, soul and blues.
Today, rap music continues to be a prominent and important aspect of African- American culture.
Rap music was a way for youths in black inner city neighbourhoods to express their feelings

29. - poor living conditions - drugs - alcoholism - corruption
WHY RAP?
Rap lyrics are about the problems rappers have seen: poverty
- crime
- violence
- racism
- poor living conditions
- drugs
- alcoholism
- corruption
- prostitution.

30. OUR CONCLUSIONS

31. In the lines the singer doesn’t speak about famine
In the lines the singer doesn’t speak about famine. She rather underlines the importance of remembering and understanding as universal concepts. Concepts we should keep in mind every day.
We think that Famine was just an excuse to speak about the loss of the memory and the history of a country. Probably Sinead sang of famine because its something people feel closer and therefore would pay more attention to the song.

32. Created by...

33. Casola Adriano
Comelli Francesca

34. Del Frate Giulia
Dreossi Enrica

35. Rossetti Federica
Turchetti Patrick