Words
Words
Words
Words
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=0uu
CNAwXGaQ
Tanya Tagaq
Tanya Tagaq
http://www.tanyatagaq.com/
Rhyme on My Mind Pt. 1
When I was younger
I used to wonder
how I would handle
The life I was given—living like I'm on a trampoline
Feelin' the seconds jump from days to months
To years, some of my peers now be lying in dust
Ashes to ash—used to skip class
but now I teach it
Reaching my goals
Tho I was told I couldn't reach it
Music is pursuit for fools
and maybe dreamers getting caught in the floss
Getting lost and always scheming for that next deal
Impossible to put the pen to the side
—picking formats of logic—
I never meant to be ostracized
but to realize my vision
Come in the night like a lady in white
bringing the insight
So I write because I have to
Release the locks that got my brain all blocked
and backed up
I'm acting up when I'm repressing
Tryna progress
and clear my ears so I can finally hear the lesson.
1. What was it like reading the poem silently?
Did you find yourself following any rhythm in
your head as you read it?
2. How was reading the poem out loud different
from reading it silently?
3. Besides rhythm, does the poem incorporate
other elements that could be called oral? If so,
identify them.
Wendy Braithwaite, "Rhyme on My Mind Pt. 1," in Motion in Poetry (Toronto: Women's Press, 2002).
Sound Devices
Sound devices, also known as "musical devices"
make poetry a special art form. Frost called his
poems "talk-song" as a means of conveying his
slant on the musical qualities of poetry.
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Oral Traditions an important part of all cultures
Rhythm and rhyme as sign-posts for storytellers
Structured “craft” of poetry
Free-verse rebellion
Music = rhythm and rhyme
Sound Devices
It is not difficult to find alliteration, assonance
and consonance in almost any poem or song.
The use of these devices is part of the
craftsmanship of poetry - this is what makes
language sound beautiful. Frost was a master of
sound. He said, "The sound is the gold in the
ore."
Sound Devices
"Conversations on the Craft of Poetry" (1959)
"One of the things that I notice with myself is that I
can't make certain word sounds go together,
sometimes they won't 'say.' This has got something
to do with the way one vowel runs into another, the
way one syllable runs into another. And then I never
know -- I don't like to reason about that too much. I
don't understand it, but I've changed lines because
there was something about them that my ear refused.
And I suppose it has something to do with vowels
and consonants.... I don't want any science of it."
Definition of Onomatopoeia
One of the most obvious poetic techniques—
one with which you may already be
familiar—is onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia
is the tendency in language to produce
words that mimic the sounds that they
represent—like crack or burble.
In onomatopoeia, sound actually becomes meaning.
Definition of Alliteration
The repetition of the initial sounds (usually consonants)
in neighboring words or at short intervals within a line or
passage, usually at word beginnings. Again, alliteration
depends on sound, not spelling, thus chime and cease are
NOT alliterative. Used effectively, alliteration should
create a connection or contrast between ideas.
Examples:
• Nothing Gold Can Stay: Green is gold (g's) ; Her hardest
hue to hold (h's) ; dawn goes down to day (d's)
• Stopping by Woods: the only other sound's the sweep (o's
and s's)
• Storm Fear: When the wind whispers (w's) (alliteration and
assonance) , the cold creeps (c's)
Definition of Alliteration
English poetry used alliteration even before it used
rhyme. You can see this in the opening lines of the
medieval play Piers Plowman, written in verse. A
translation from middle English is provided.
In a somer seson, whan soft was the sonne,
I shope me in shrouds, as I a shepe were
—William Langland
In a summer season, when soft was the sun,
I wrapped myself in shrouds, as if I were a sheep
Definition of Consonance
The repetition of the same consonant sounds, but
with different vowel sounds, within or at the end
of a line, such as "bad and sod", (d's) or "when
furnaces burn", (n's). Tip: Consonance begins
with a consonant and it governs consonants.
Examples:
• Looking for a Sunset Bird in Winter: died of cold (d's),
thought....alight, sweet and swift (t's) and more
• The Vantage Point: slope where the cattle keep, (p's)
Definition of Assonance
The relatively close juxtaposition of the same or
similar vowel sounds, but with different end
consonants in a line or passage, thus a vowel rhyme,
as in the words, "same day." Assonance does not
occur simply by having the same vowel spelling, eg.
lost and most. Say the words out loud. Tip: Assonance
begins with a vowel and it governs vowels.
Examples:
• Stopping by Woods: ... the sweep / Of easy wind
... Rose
• The Black Cottage: should sugar in the natal dew.
Definition of Euphony
Euphony is derives from Greek meaning "good
sound." The quality of having pleasant, easily
pronounced, or smooth-flowing sounds, free
from harshness; the pleasing effect of such
sounds; the opposite of cacophony. It is an
elusive subject: readers often sense it without
being able to explain it
Often created with a large proportion of vowel
and soft consonants.
"Heaven opened wide
Her ever-during gates, harmonious sound,
On golden hinges turning."
Definition of Euphony
The moan of doves in immemorial elms
And murmurings of innumerable bees
–Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Definition of Cacophony
The word cacophony originates from the Greek
word meaning "bad sound". The use of harshsounding words; the opposite of euphony.
Though poets ordinarily avoid cacophony, on
occasion they may use it deliberately to reinforce
meaning.
A line in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient
Mariner” illustrates cacophony:
With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,
Agape they heard me call.
Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
Repetition is about returning: to a theme, a word,
or an important phrase.
Repetition intensifies the subject matter of a
poem.
Repetition emphasizes and points to the important
elements in a poem.
Time to Rhyme
Rhyme, you would think, is self-explanatory: you
look at two words and they sound the same—no big
deal. But even with rhyme there are a few different
things going on that aren't always immediately
apparent.
The rhyme that people tend to recognize—the
cat/hat variety—is known as perfect rhyme, and
readers usually expect to see it at the end of a line.
End rhyme is perhaps the most common variety of
rhyme, but it's not the only one and neither is
perfect rhyme. There are many different kinds of
rhyme.
Time to Rhyme
When poems have a regular pattern of end rhyme, a
rhyme scheme can be worked out.
Mary had a little lamb.
Her fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went,
The lamb was sure to go.
a
b
c
b
Varieties of Rhyme
Type of Rhyme
Definition
Examples
perfect rhyme
also known as true
land/sand; mute/fruit
rhyme; rhyme in which
the vowels and final
consonants of the
rhyming syllables
sound exactly the
same
imperfect rhyme
also known as slant, off,
room/storm; be/fly
or half rhyme; rhyme
in which the vowel
sounds are different
but the final
consonants, if any, are
the same (though
perhaps not identical)
sight rhyme
also known as eye
laughter/daughter;
rhyme; rhyme in which
creak/break
the words look
identical but sound
different
Varieties of Rhyme
Type of Rhyme
internal rhyme
Definition
rhyming words within one
line
Examples
Each narrow cell in which
we dwell
- Oscar Wilde
end rhyme
Rhyming words at the ends
of two or more lines
He was my North, my South,
my East and West,
My working week and my
Sunday rest
- W. H. Auden
Varieties of Rhyme
Type of Rhyme
masculine rhyme
Definition
a type of end rhyme in
which the final rhyming
syllables are stressed
feminine rhyme
Rhyming words at the ends
of two or more lines are
unstressed
Examples
behold/scold
touch/much
Rhyming/chiming
Mountain/fountain
snow having only 1 syllable is accented
making it masculine
be-low is accented on the last syllable
making it masculine
sea-son is accented on the second to last
syllable making it feminine
Ah, when to the heart of man
Was it ever less than a treason
To go with the drift of things,
To yield with a grace to reason,
And bow and accept the end
Of a love or a season?
Stand still, and I will read to thee
A lecture, love, in Love's philosophy.
These three hours that we have spent
Walking here, two shadows went
Along with us, which we ourselves produced.
But now the sun is just above our head,
We do those shadows tread,
And to brave clearness all things are reduced.
“Lecture upon the Shadow” by John
Donne
Ah, when to the heart of man
Was it ever less than a treason
To go with the drift of things,
To yield with a grace to reason,
And bow and accept the end
Of a love or a season?
“Reluctance” by Robert Frost
“Birches” by Robert Frost
• As a class, we will analyze the poem “Birches” for use of
figurative language, sound devices, and imagery.
• On your own, you will be asked to create a purpose
statement for this poem [ask yourself “what is the author
trying to show or tell me?”]
• Finally, as a class we will discuss how we would plan to
write a critical analysis essay for this poem
A critical analysis essay is a formal paper in which
you ask yourself “What is the relationship
between purpose and form in this poem” or
“What form contributes to the effectiveness of
this poem.”
“Birches” by Robert Frost
This essay would have:
• A formal introduction paragraph, each with an
introduction to the context, the name and title of the
poem, a clear thesis, and an indication of what form will
be used to support your thesis
• An appropriate number of body paragraphs, each with a
topic sentence, appropriate textual evidence, and a clear
connection to your thesis
• A concluding paragraph that restates your thesis and
reflects on the effectiveness of the form in supporting
that purpose/thesis.
Writing Assignment -
to be placed in your writing folder for assessment
Read both Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” and Wilfred Owen’s
"Dulce et Decorum Est.“ Choose one of these amazing poems
to work with.
Using the Comprehension Strategies sheet and your notes of
poetic terms, complete a preliminary analysis of the poem you
have chosen. As you analyze this poem, make marginal
annotations directly on the page.
You will be evaluated on your marginal annotations, specifically
the effort and understanding they demonstrate.
You will have the rest of this class to work on this and half an
hour of class time on Tuesday. You will need to take some time
tonight to work on this in order to be successful.