Telephone Rhetorical Devices

Tearani Nance
Professor Collins
ENGL 1302
22 January 2015
Sorry, I'm Not Answering.
"Telephone" is a song recorded by pop artist, Lady Gaga, and features America's R&B queen, Beyoncé. The song was written by Stefani Germanotta (Lady Gaga), Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, Lazonate Franklin, and Beyoncé Knowles. Gaga originally wrote the song to be included in Britney Spear's Circus album, however the track was left behind. As a result, La-dy Gaga picked it up for The Frame Monster, making it number three on the 2014 musical Bill-board. I enjoy listening to “Telephone” because I absolutely adore Lady Gaga's music and style. I also like the message that the songs portrays. "Telephone" is more than just a fun, up-beat tune to enjoy. I chose to

write an analysis about this particular song because of its deeper meaning and how it supports me to move forward in life. I admire Lady Gaga's artistic style. Gaga is not only known for her flamboyant and diverse contributions to the music industry, but also for how she incorporates her uniqueness into what she wears for live performances, videos, and daily appear-ances. Not only is "Telephone" one of my favorite record by Lady Gaga, but I also find pleasure in listening to "Born This Way", "Just Dance", "The Edge of Glory", and "You and I."
The composers of “Telephone” used several rhetorical devices within the lyrics.

The song is made up of a combination of logos, repetition, ethos, alliteration, and similes. Starting with lines two and three on the lyrics, Gaga uses logos when saying, “I can’t hear a thing, I got no ser-vice” (Germanotta). That was a logical statement because due to her having “no service” (Ger-manotta), she couldn’t hear who was on the other end of the phone. In lines eight through ten the singer makes it known that she does not have time to talk by the way she repeats that she is “kin-da busy” (Germanotta). Closer to the end of the first verse, Lady Gaga uses another form of log-os when she expresses the fact that she “cannot text… with a drink in [her] hand” (Germanotta). Because the person was steady trying to get in touch with her, she made it clear that she could not even reply to their message because her hands were full. After that, in line sixteen Gaga uses ethos when telling the unknown caller, “You knew that I was free” (Germanotta). Here the singer emphasizes that her caller should have made arrangements ahead of time because they knew she was not busy, but now that she is occupied they keep harassing her. In line twenty-two she uses alliteration by stating that she left her “head and heart on the dance floor,” (Germanotta) indicat-ing that she is clearing her mind and being carefree. In the next verse, Beyoncé compares the an-noying caller to a bill collector by using the simile

“calling like a collector” (Germanotta).
The surface meaning of “Telephone” is that Lady Gaga is getting constant calls from an annoying guy perhaps. However, a deeper meaning of the songs gives an entire new dimension. In the song the telephone is actually a metaphor for Gaga’s mind. The reason she does not answer the phone is because she is trying to disconnect herself from reality. The club represents the place where she can clear her mind and get away from reality for a while. The songwriter is trying to convince listeners that it is totally okay to take a break from reality and ignore things that may stress or annoy you.

Bibliography
Germanotta, Stefani, Beyonce Knowles, Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, and Lazonate Frank-lin. Telephone. Lady Gaga Ft. Beyonce. Naxos Digital Services US Inc., 2010. CD.