The Saddest Noise, the
Sweetest Noise
The Saddest Noise, the Sweetest Noise
The saddest noise, the sweetest noise, Made cruelly more dear.
The maddest noise that grows, -The birds, they make it in the spring, It makes us think of what we had,
At night's delicious close.
And what we now deplore.
We almost wish those siren throats
Between the March and April line -- Would go and sing no more.
That magical frontier
Beyond which summer hesitates,
An ear can break a human heart
Almost too heavenly near.
As quickly as a spear,
We wish the ear had not a heart
It makes us think of all the dead
So dangerously near
That sauntered with us here,
By separation's sorcery
Analysis
BLUE PEN: which technical features
and meaning can you find?
Analysis
BLACK PEN: Can you find:
enjambment
syntax - error or line of interest
sibilance
modality
paradox
tetrameter
tetrimeter
internal rhyme
lexical chain
Analysis
RED PEN: add the missing
technical details and ideas.
The saddest noise, the sweetest noise,
The maddest noise that grows, -The birds, they make it in the spring,
At night's delicious close.
sibilance in line 1
sibilance draws our
attention to the sound of
the line and slows the
pace
The saddest noise, the sweetest noise,
The maddest noise that grows, -The birds, they make it in the spring,
At night's delicious close.
sibilance in line 1
sibilance draws our
attention to the sound of
the line and slows the
pace
The saddest noise, the sweetest noise,
The maddest noise that grows, -The birds, they make it in the spring,
At night's delicious close.
repetition of noise
further draws our
attention to sound
sibilance in line 1
sibilance draws our
attention to the sound of
the line and slows the
pace
repetition of noise
further draws our
attention to sound
The saddest noise, the sweetest noise,
full rhyme lines 2 & 4
The maddest noise that grows, --
draws attention to the
increasing sound
without yet stating
what the noise is
The birds, they make it in the spring,
At night's delicious close.
sibilance in line 1
sibilance draws our
attention to the sound of
the line and slows the
pace
repetition of noise
Paradox
further draws our
attention to sound
how can something be
both sad and sweet?
The saddest noise, the sweetest noise,
full rhyme lines 2 & 4
The maddest noise that grows, --
draws attention to the
increasing sound
without yet stating
what the noise is
The birds, they make it in the spring,
At night's delicious close.
sibilance in line 1
sibilance draws our
attention to the sound of
the line and slows the
pace
internal rhyme
increases the
sound devices
in this opening
stanza and
draws
attention to
the opening
paradox
repetition of noise
Paradox
further draws our
attention to sound
how can something be
both sad and sweet?
The saddest noise, the sweetest noise,
full rhyme lines 2 & 4
The maddest noise that grows, --
draws attention to the
increasing sound
without yet stating
what the noise is
The birds, they make it in the spring,
At night's delicious close.
sibilance in line 1
sibilance draws our
attention to the sound of
the line and slows the
pace
internal rhyme
increases the
sound devices
in this opening
stanza and
draws
attention to
the opening
paradox
repetition of noise
Paradox
further draws our
attention to sound
how can something be
both sad and sweet?
The saddest noise, the sweetest noise,
full rhyme lines 2 & 4
The maddest noise that grows, --
draws attention to the
increasing sound
without yet stating
what the noise is
The birds, they make it in the spring,
At night's delicious close.
allusion to lovers
birds, spring and night all
remind us of lovers
Between the March and April line -That magical frontier
Beyond which summer hesitates,
Almost too heavenly near.
Between the March and April line --
lexical chain
That magical frontier
links the change of
season with
geographic or
political borders;
‘between’ suggests a
no-man’s-land
Beyond which summer hesitates,
Almost too heavenly near.
personification
summer is personified
as someone just out of
reach
Between the March and April line --
lexical chain
That magical frontier
links the change of
season with
geographic or
political borders;
‘between’ suggests a
no-man’s-land
Beyond which summer hesitates,
Almost too heavenly near.
syntax
personification
summer is personified
as someone just out of
reach
enjambment of 2nd and 3rd
increases pace which is then
slowed by comma after ‘hesitates’
causing the reader to hesitate at
the end of the line
Between the March and April line -That magical frontier 
Beyond which summer hesitates,
Almost too heavenly near.
lexical chain
links the change of
season with
geographic or
political borders;
‘between’ suggests a
no-man’s-land
syntax
personification
summer is personified
as someone just out of
reach
enjambment of 2nd and 3rd
increases pace which is then
slowed by comma after ‘hesitates’
causing the reader to hesitate at
the end of the line
Between the March and April line -That magical frontier 
Beyond which summer hesitates,
Almost too heavenly near.
modality
neutral and high modality of
‘almost’ and ‘too’ juxtaposed
echoing the paradox of ‘saddest’
and ‘sweetest’ in stanza 1
lexical chain
links the change of
season with
geographic or
political borders;
‘between’ suggests a
no-man’s-land
It makes us think of all the dead
That sauntered with us here,
By separation's sorcery
Made cruelly more dear.
narrative voice
use of 1st person plural includes
reader in the emotional
experience of the poem
It makes us think of all the dead
That sauntered with us here,
By separation's sorcery
Made cruelly more dear.
narrative voice
use of 1st person plural includes
reader in the emotional
experience of the poem
It makes us think of all the dead
That sauntered with us here,
By separation's sorcery
Made cruelly more dear.
lexical chain
‘sorcery’ links with
‘magical’ of previous
stanza
narrative voice
use of 1st person plural includes
reader in the emotional
experience of the poem
It makes us think of all the dead
That sauntered with us here,
By separation's sorcery
Made cruelly more dear.
tetrameter/tetrimeter
final only scans if ‘cruelly’ is
pronounced with 3 syllables
dragging the word out and
drawing attention to it
lexical chain
‘sorcery’ links with
‘magical’ of previous
stanza
narrative voice
sibilance
creates hissing, playing
with sound and
complementing the
harshness of the image
use of 1st person plural includes
reader in the emotional
experience of the poem
It makes us think of all the dead
That sauntered with us here,
By separation's sorcery
Made cruelly more dear.
tetrameter/tetrimeter
final only scans if ‘cruelly’ is
pronounced with 3 syllables
dragging the word out and
drawing attention to it
lexical chain
‘sorcery’ links with
‘magical’ of previous
stanza
It makes us think of what we had,
And what we now deplore.
We almost wish those siren throats
Would go and sing no more.
narrative voice
use of 1st person plural continues
to include reader in the emotional
experience of the poem
It makes us think of what we had,
And what we now deplore.
We almost wish those siren throats
Would go and sing no more.
narrative voice
alliteration
of ‘w’ increases pace by
gliding from one word
to the next and further
emphasises the plural
1st person voice
use of 1st person plural continues
to include reader in the emotional
experience of the poem
It makes us think of what we had,
And what we now deplore.
We almost wish those siren throats
Would go and sing no more.
narrative voice
alliteration
of ‘w’ increases pace by
gliding from one word
to the next and further
emphasises the plural
1st person voice
use of 1st person plural continues
to include reader in the emotional
experience of the poem
It makes us think of what we had,
And what we now deplore.
We almost wish those siren throats
Would go and sing no more.
pronoun repeated
emphasising the
depth of sorrow and
pain
narrative voice
alliteration
of ‘w’ increases pace by
gliding from one word
to the next and further
emphasises the plural
1st person voice
use of 1st person plural continues
to include reader in the emotional
experience of the poem
It makes us think of what we had,
And what we now deplore.
We almost wish those siren throats
Would go and sing no more.
pronoun repeated
emphasising the
depth of sorrow and
pain
modality
high modality of ‘deplore’
reveals strength of
emotion
narrative voice
alliteration
of ‘w’ increases pace by
gliding from one word
to the next and further
emphasises the plural
1st person voice
use of 1st person plural continues
to include reader in the emotional
experience of the poem
allusion
It makes us think of what we had,
And what we now deplore.
We almost wish those siren throats
Greek sirens
who lured
sailers to
their deaths
Would go and sing no more.
pronoun repeated
emphasising the
depth of sorrow and
pain
modality
high modality of ‘deplore’
reveals strength of
emotion
An ear can break a human heart
As quickly as a spear,
We wish the ear had not a heart
So dangerously near.
paradox
how can an ear break a
heart? links to ‘saddest
sound’ ‘sweetest sound’
of opening line = “I
love you”
An ear can break a human heart
As quickly as a spear,
We wish the ear had not a heart
So dangerously near.
kinaesthetic imagery
paradox
how can an ear break a
heart? links to ‘saddest
sound’ ‘sweetest sound’
of opening line = “I
love you”
‘breaking’ sudden and violent yet
echoes cliché of broken heart
An ear can break a human heart
As quickly as a spear,
We wish the ear had not a heart
So dangerously near.
kinaesthetic imagery
paradox
how can an ear break a
heart? links to ‘saddest
sound’ ‘sweetest sound’
of opening line = “I
love you”
‘breaking’ sudden and violent yet
echoes cliché of broken heart
alliteration
An ear can break a human heart
breathiness
of aspirated
‘h’ suggestive
of sobbing?
As quickly as a spear,
We wish the ear had not a heart
So dangerously near.
kinaesthetic imagery
paradox
how can an ear break a
heart? links to ‘saddest
sound’ ‘sweetest sound’
of opening line = “I
love you”
‘breaking’ sudden and violent yet
echoes cliché of broken heart
alliteration
An ear can break a human heart
breathiness
of aspirated
‘h’ suggestive
of sobbing?
As quickly as a spear,
We wish the ear had not a heart
So dangerously near.
modality
full rhyme and repetition of
‘heart’ in final stanza brings
sound of poem to closure
kinaesthetic imagery
paradox
how can an ear break a
heart? links to ‘saddest
sound’ ‘sweetest sound’
of opening line = “I
love you”
alliteration
breathiness
of aspirated
‘h’ suggestive
of sobbing?
‘breaking’ sudden and violent yet
echoes cliché of broken heart
An ear can break a human heart 
As quickly as a spear,
We wish the ear had not a heart 
enjambment
rushes us on to
‘quickly’ and
‘dangerously’
So dangerously near.
modality
full rhyme and repetition of
‘heart’ in final stanza brings
sound of poem to closure
kinaesthetic imagery
paradox
how can an ear break a
heart? links to ‘saddest
sound’ ‘sweetest sound’
of opening line = “I
love you”
alliteration
breathiness
of aspirated
‘h’ suggestive
of sobbing?
‘breaking’ sudden and violent yet
echoes cliché of broken heart
An ear can break a human heart 
As quickly as a spear,
We wish the ear had not a heart 
enjambment
rushes us on to
‘quickly’ and
‘dangerously’
So dangerously near.
simile
speed, violence
and aggression
of spear
modality
full rhyme and repetition of
‘heart’ in final stanza brings
sound of poem to closure