The Importance of Sound
in Poetry and Prose
Two Aspects of Sound
• Words themselves
• Arrangement of words:
– Poetry, into Lines
– Prose, into Sentences
Words
• Meaning
• Connotation
• Sound
“Fracking”
Types of Words
Euphonious
Pleasant sounding
words
Words that flow
Types of Words
Euphonious
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Moon
Deepening
Stone
Mellow
Smooth
Slow
Types of Words
Euphonious
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Moon
Deepening
Stone
Mellow
Smooth
Slow
Cacophonous
Words that sound
jarring, discordant
Text that stops and
starts abruptly
Types of Words
Euphonious
Cacophonous
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Moon
Deepening
Stone
Mellow
Smooth
Slow
Abrupt
Stop
Rock
Cat
Break
Hurt
Crack
Types of Words
Euphonious
Cacophonous
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Long vowel sound
Ch
Sh
L
M, N
W
Soft C
Short vowel sounds
K
Ck
Rt
Hard C
F
P
T
Pairs of Words
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Rock vs Stone
Hurt vs Harm
Cat vs Kitten
Hot vs Warm
Gust vs breeze
Examples
• Poetry
“Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden
“Echo and Shadow” by Li-Young Lee
• Prose
from Talk, Talk by T. C. Boyle
from “The Third and Final Continent”
by Jhumpa Lahiri
Rhythm
The arrangement of words
• Poetry – Line
• Prose – Sentence
Poetry – Line
• Meter
Jack and Jill went up the hill
Poetry – Line
• Meter
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To die, to sleep, to sleep, perchance to dream
Poetry – Line
• Meter
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To die, to sleep, to sleep perchance to dream
There once was a lady from Niger
Examples
• Poetry
– “Circlings” by Leonard Nathan
– From “The Idea of Order at Key West” by Wallace
Stevens
Prose – Sentence
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Short, clipped sentences
Long, leisurely sentences
Long, hurried sentences
Run-on sentences
Sentence fragments
Front-end loaded sentences
Back-end loaded sentences
Examples
• Prose
– From Mao II by Don DeLillo
– From The March by E. L. Doctorow
Summary
• Develop your ear – read out loud
Summary
• Develop your ear
• Read your own work out loud
Summary
• Develop your ear
• Read your own work out loud
• Pay attention to sound
Summary
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Develop your ear
Read your own work out loud
Pay attention to sound
Know what works and why
Summary
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Develop your ear
Read your own work out loud
Pay attention to sound
Know what works and why
Metaphors – make sure the sound is right