1. Poetry and sound devices Performer - Culture & Literature Marina Spiazzi, Marina Tavella, Margaret Layton © 2012

2. Poetry and sound devices Performer - Culture & Literature 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 1. The origin of the terms to express the most remarkable events in their lives to convey the feelings associated with them

3. Poetry and sound devices Performer - Culture & Literature 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. 2. Musical patterns

4. Poetry and sound devices Performer - Culture & Literature 3. Basic structurals units A line of poetry in English is usually from eight to twelve syllables in length. Stanzas are normally from two to twelve lines long. the line (the basic unit) the canto or book the stanza (a section of a poem which consists of several lines) All these can vary almost infinitely The structural units of poetry are

5. Poetry and sound devices Performer - Culture & Literature 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. 4. Common types of stanzas

6. Poetry and sound devices Performer - Culture & Literature the ballad, generally meant to be sung and used to express basic human emotions, such as love, hate or fear and wonder at physical and supernatural worlds 5. Some fixed forms of poetry the elegy, which combines natural settings with poetic lamentation or speculation on death Some fixed forms are

7. Poetry and sound devices Performer - Culture & Literature 5. Some fixed forms of poetry the sonnet, which, though the most formal among the lyric poems, is capable of great variety and intensity the ode, which is another classical form, is quite long and complex. Its form however is determined by the theme (usually the celebration of an abstract concept) and situation Some fixed forms are

8. Poetry and sound devices Performer - Culture & Literature 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) 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. 6. Sound devices: assonance

9. Poetry and sound devices Performer - Culture & Literature 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) 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. 7. Sound devices: allitteration

10. Poetry and sound devices Performer - Culture & Literature 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? 8. Sound devices: repetition

11. Poetry and sound devices Performer - Culture & Literature Onomatopoeia refers to a word whose sound illustrates its meaning. Onomatopoeia refers to a word whose sound illustrates its meaning. crack screech bang snuffle 9. Sound devices: onomatopoeia

12. Poetry and sound devices Performer - Culture & Literature Lines are usually end-stopped. This is when the end of a line coincides with a grammatical pause, usually marked by a punctuation mark. 10. Sound devices: end-stopped lines

13. Poetry and sound devices Performer - Culture & Literature 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) 11. Sound devices: run-on-line

14. Poetry and sound devices Performer - Culture & Literature 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 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) Rhymes are identified by the letters of the alphabet. The pattern they create is called rhyme scheme. 12. Sound devices: rhyme