Sound in Poetry Flashcards
role of sound in poetry (2 roles)
- gives meaning
- sets mood/tone
how is music/sound represented in poetry? (2 ways)
- the words
- the speed/pacing
how does sound give meaning in any literary work/language?
- meaning is embedded in sound
- sound gives us clues to determine language, no matter what language we’re speaking -> ie. through vowels, hard/soft sounds, speed of sound, etc.
What do Kiki and Bouba teach us about the meaning of sound?
- Kiki: people associate sharp sounds with sharp objects
- Bouba: people associate soft sounds with blobby, soft objects
Role of sound in mood-setting
Can set a mood and help give meaning to a poem, just like it does in a movie
Three types of sound effects in poetry
- percussive sounds
- breathy sounds
- onomatopoeia
Percussive sounds
- b, d, g, p, t, k
- ex. “peak breaker, god thumper”, etc. from volcano poem.
- set assertive tone and draw attention
- stop plosives: p, t, k (hit, kick, slap)
Breathy sounds
- f, th, s, sh, ch
- ex. hissing, whispering, churn
Onomatopoeia
- words that sounds like they mean
- buzz, whir, crash, ping, plop
What are the different ways to use sound in poetry?
- rhyme (true rhyme, slant rhyme)
- alliteration
- enjambment
- consonance
- assonance
true rhyme
- same end sound (vowel and consonant)
- found in children’s poetry and traditional forms (ie. sonnets)
- difficult to use well because they’re predictable (ie. cat/hat = boring. Cat/combat, on the other hand, is more interesting)
slant/near/half rhyme
- an imperfect rhyme, altering the vowel or the consonant
- found in contemporary/modern poetry and lyrics
- much more variation/choice -> ie. bone/thin, crime/scam, park/start
Alliteration
- repetition of initial consonants
- ex. she sells seashells by the seashore
- ex. “Ragged Rebellions Drooped as Drapery”, “lip-glossed Pouts and all those Pants” from Patricia Smith’s poem, Building Nichole’s Mama
Enjambment
- unnatural stop (rather than a natural stop or end stop)
- creates intrigue or surprise
- ex. “the cat licks”
Consonance
- the repetition of consonants that are not at the beginning of the word
- ex. “drooPed as draPery” from Building Nichole’s Mama
Assonance
- repetition of vowel sounds
- for some poets alliteration is too noticeable, and they prefer to echo the vowel sound
- greatly affects musical quality of words
- ex. “they rOwed until the reached the cOve”
what is the effect of the repetition of sounds on a poem?
- punctuates/highlights
- shows exhaustion/monotony
pace in poetry
- the speed/momentum of a poem (slow -> fast)
- how the poem moves (deliberate and mediative; hasty and chaotic, etc.)
features of fast pace in poetry
- long sentences
- little punctuation
- little white space
features of slow/meditative pace in poetry
- lots of punctuation
- lots of white space
