Poetry and sound devices
Performer - Culture & Literature
Marina Spiazzi, Marina Tavella,
Margaret Layton © 2012
Poetry and sound devices
1. The origin of the terms
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Poetry derives its name from the Greek verb poiêin
which means ‘to create’. It was born as an oral art,
generally accompanied by dancing and music, and is
the oldest form of literature.
People used poetry as a means
to express the most
remarkable events
in their lives
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to convey the
feelings associated
with them
Poetry and sound devices
2. Musical patterns
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Poetry is characterised by musical patterns of sounds
which are based on the natural qualities
of spoken language.
Its language is far more condensed and intensified:
the poet combines words to make his reader feel what
he has felt, and experience what he has experienced.
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Poetry and sound devices
3. Basic structurals units
The structural units of poetry are
the line
(the basic unit)
the stanza
(a section of a poem
which consists of
several lines)
the canto
or book
All these can vary almost infinitely
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A line of poetry in English is usually from eight to
twelve syllables in length.
Stanzas are normally from two to twelve lines long.
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Poetry and sound devices
4. Common types of stanzas
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The types of stanzas are:
- the couplet (two lines);
- the tercet (three lines);
- the quatrain (four lines);
- the sestet (six lines);
- the octave (eight lines).
A complete poem may consist of only two lines, as in the
case of the epigram, while narrative poems may extend
over thousands of lines.
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Poetry and sound devices
5. Some fixed forms of poetry
Some fixed forms are
• the elegy, which
• the ballad, generally meant to be
combines natural
settings with poetic
lamentation or
speculation on death
sung and used to express basic
human emotions, such as love, hate
or fear and wonder at physical and
supernatural worlds
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Poetry and sound devices
5. Some fixed forms of poetry
Some fixed forms are
• the sonnet, which,
• the ode, which is another classical
though the most formal
among the lyric poems,
is capable of great
variety and intensity
form, is quite long and complex. Its
form however is determined by the
theme (usually the celebration of an
abstract concept) and situation
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Poetry and sound devices
6. Sound devices: assonance
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The repetition of the same vowel sound can ‘colour’
part of a poem with that vowel quality. This device is
called assonance.
He was sad at heart,
Unsettled yet ready, sensing his death.
(Beowulf)
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See how the line is permeated with the /e/ sound which
creates a sense of doom. Beowulf’s mood recalls
the mood of tragic heroes.
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Poetry and sound devices
7. Sound devices: allitteration
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The repetition of the same initial consonant sound
in consecutive words or words which are close together,
is called alliteration.
Grendel they called this cruel spirit,
the fell and fen his fastness was,
the march his haunt.
(Beowulf)
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Sometimes the alliteration can come in the middle
or at the end of words too. It can help create the tone of
the poem or affect the regularity of rhythm.
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Poetry and sound devices
8. Sound devices: repetition
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Phrases or lines may be repeated in the course of a
poem to create a musical effect. This device is called
repetition.
O where ha’ you been, Lord Randal my son?
And where ha’ you been, my handsome young man?
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Poetry and sound devices
9. Sound devices: onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia
refers
to a word whose sound illustrates its meaning.
crack
bang
screech
snuffle
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Poetry and sound devices
10. Sound devices:
end-stopped lines
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Lines are usually end-stopped. This is when the
end of a line coincides with a grammatical pause,
usually marked by a punctuation mark.
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Poetry and sound devices
11. Sound devices: run-on-line
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If a line ends in the middle of a phrase and the meaning
break comes in the next line, we call this a run-on-line
or use the French word enjambement:
So the company of men led a careless life,
All was well with them: until One began
To encompass evil, an enemy from hell.
(Beowulf)
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Poetry and sound devices
12. Sound devices: rhyme
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Poems are said to rhyme when the last word of two or
more lines has the same ending sound:
When in April the sweet showers fall
And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all
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Conventionally, rhyme has often been used to mark the
end of the line (which also makes the poem easier to
memorise). When rhyme is used within the line, it is
called internal rhyme:
Her breath was strang, her hair was lang
(Anonymous ballad, Kemp Owyne)
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Rhymes are identified by the letters of the alphabet.
The pattern they create is called rhyme scheme.
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