Mary Lou L. Narowski
Certainly, some might say that poetry has an economical, textual structure, with a capitalized first word in each line, and an aligned left margin. There are lines of poetry and sometimes stanzas much like the lyrics in a song. Most people recognize these standard aspects of the definition. Of course, e. e. cummings would push back on the capitalization, Gary Synder, on the alignment. Still, this is the structure of traditional poetry. But unlike traditional verse, modern poetry does not always follow standard rules of grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. There is still a semantic sense that is infused and considered, but form and structure vary greatly. Nonetheless, these definitions are the rigid, mechanical understandings of poetry and do not really explain what poetry is or what it does. All of these features are
part
of poetry but what brings poetry to life is its sound sense or voice. Frost says, "The vital thing…in prose or verse, is the ACTION of the voice --- sound-posturing, gesture. Get the stuff of life into the technique of your writing."
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Initially, poetry was largely an oral tradition in which word meaning interplayed with sound to cause tension and an emotional interest. Poetry was born of a basic human yearning to communicate not just the meaning of words, but also the feel or sense of them. This precise, semantic blending of words with a lyrical voice created a cadence, a beat, a musical instrument of words for all to hear. These feelings and ideas were then put to paper. There was a commitment of intent. But poets didn't just write to write. They needed to write. It was often an intense, emotional need that drove their selection of words. They were chosen deliberately and with passion. And throughout the ages, poets have tried their hand at defining exactly what the process meant once completed.
"Wordsworth defined poetry as 'the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings;' Emily Dickinson said, 'If I read a book and it makes my body so cold no fire ever can warm me, I know that is poetry;' and Dylan Thomas defined poetry this way: 'Poetry is what makes me laugh or cry or yawn, what makes my toenails twinkle, what makes me want to do this or that or nothing.'"
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The fact is, poetry is elusive. Winston Churchill once wrote of Russia, "It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma."
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This, too, defines poetry. It is like a riddle, mysterious and full of questions; it is like a snowflake; no two are the same; and like a breeze, impossible to catch.
Tone: The Sounds That Are Poetry
If I invited my students to answer the question, "what are the sounds in a given piece of poetry?" most would immediately begin the search for the actual, acoustic sounds or noises that nouns make in the lines of poetry. The bird sang, wind whistled, and the horn blew would be the typical responses and they would be correct. These are the sounds that birds, wind, and horns make. They are literal and concrete. But sound in poetry digs far deeper. What are the poem's own sounds? What sounds do its words make? Sound in a poem is that which the mind hears as we read the words in context. We not only need to recognize and identify the tangible, physical sounds embedded in the words in each line, but also the sounds of initial syllables, sounds of repetition, sounds of rhyme, sound devices, and sounds of accent. These make up the sense of the poem. Throw into this mix the subtleties of duration, syntax, punctuation, arrangement of internal pauses as well as the human voice that reads the words and poetry can be heard or, should I say, heard on a more intense level.
But poetry encapsulates not only sound but context as well. According to Robert Frost, the sound of our words is always shaped by context in
dramatic situations.
"Everything written is as good as it is dramatic...Sentences are not different enough to hold the attention unless they are dramatic...All that can save them is the speaking tone of voice some how entangled in the words and fastened to the page for the ear of the imagination."
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Together, these create an ambience, a feeling, or mood. This mood is called
tone
. Tone hinges on the questions of sound and meaning and how they blend together.
Tone is the author's attitude or expression of feeling toward the subject of his poem. According to Yale Professor Dr. Langdon Hammer what is important is not only what the author is saying about something, but how he feels about saying it, and saying it to us (tone creates a relationship to the reader). It could be any of a myriad of feelings: sarcastic, nostalgic, playful, dark, bitter, funny, fearful, loving, resentful, or respectful to name a few. But all these descriptions hold more than just attitude or feeling. They beg understanding of the context. Tone is the hub of a poem. Everything else permeates from it according to Frost. And all else is blanketed by it. Its intent is to influence the reader to see, hear, feel, taste, touch, smell or think in a certain way. It is the voice providing the emotional coloring, the meaning, and the cadence of the poem.
But once written, voice intonation is lacking in a poem. It is removed from the equation and, thus, part of the meaning is lost. It is activated by listening, which is interpretation, and takes the form of internally voicing the poem, or reading it aloud. This repetition of reading is required to actually "hear" the intention of the poet. The reader must to learn to hear the anger, doubt, reverence, disgust, or saddest that tone provides. He must learn to place the emphasis on certain words. He must learn to make the facial expressions and provide the pause where the poet wants them. He must find the drama then play it out in his own mind or speak it as the poet intended. He does this, in part, by recognizing the visual images created by the words of the poet. And he does this by recognizing the sound images that are written as well. Tone is achieved through language carefully selected. Taken in isolation, words hold meaning, but they gain more meaning within context. The patterning of words, especially those that embrace sound, blossoms when placed together in a line of poetry. It is not merely sound but rather how it is used in the poem that makes an impact. Consider the line, "the whistling wind wound wildly through the trees." This pattern and placement of words, and as an extension, its sound, becomes infinitely more powerful when strung together in this way. Here, sound reinforces the context, the milieu. Individually, the words express sound but together they also have strength, authority, and a visual presence. They are richer and we understand more. Of course, overuse or misuse of sound devices will cause an artificiality that distracts from the pleasure and meaning of the poem. The question then becomes, "How do we capture the complete appreciation of sound and content together?"
When we first read a poem, should we immediately focus on the visual image or the verbal sound? Do we need to separate or break them down, and, if so, do we lose any meaning in doing this? Is it the collective whole that we seek or is it enough to focus on just one aspect? The poet is often in charge of the answer to these questions through the use of specific language and patterning but in the end they must be considered as mirror images of each other, or as Alexander Pope put it "Sound must seem an echo to the sense."
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As a teacher I have noticed that my inexperienced students focus on the content, the meaning, or the message. Again, "It's a sad poem about the break-up of a loving couple." End of story. This is where they lose interest if they do not immediately understand the intent of the poet. Recognizing sound elements such as onomatopoeia, accent, internal pauses, and alliteration are often hard to do and needs to come with practice, scaffolding, and guidance. This recognition comes from repetition and patience. They need this scaffolding to arrive at the statement, "OK, that makes sense, but make me hear it. Read it aloud to me so that I get that feeling too…" How do we read the words so they make sense? The thing that must be pointed out to my students is that they already communicate using these sounds features all the time. Shifting their focus and making them aware of this will need to be emphasized. Helping them recognize accent, internal pausing and punctuation is more a matter of degree and requires repeated exposure and a trained ear. So in order to understand the visual imagery and verbal sound that make up tone and, thus, the meaning of the poem itself, we must consider content, language, imagery, form, and syntax. These elements form the construct which we will use to develop a deeper appreciation of poetry.
