The cadence of poetry is much like the meter and rhythm of music. Many poetic devices, such as alliteration, where repetition and pattern of sound engage the listener, can be used to enhance an image or mood that you create with your poem. While there are hundreds of books and courses devoted to the concept of sound in poetry, I want to encourage you to learn more by describing some ways that I use sound in my poems.
For starters, consider literally describing sound in your poems. Begin by paying attention to familiar day (and night) sounds. What images and emotions come to mind when you hear car horns and people in a busy intersection, as opposed to wind gathering in the distance, or rain pounding on a tin roof? What happens creatively when you can feel sound, as you do when you hear drumming or the bass pounding of a car radio? Close your eyes and tune into the sounds around you; a creaking floor, warm air forced through a heater vent, a squawking jay, or the hoot of an owl.
This January, an unusually heavy snow brought me the sound of winter silence. Quiet provides the opportunity to write about its opposite – a burst of doves in a snowy field, for example.
Here’s a quick line incorporating description of sound to prompt emotion:
Metal wheels on track clatter and creak, what was comfort in childhood
vanishes as the train disappears into rain and darkness...
How many ways can you interpret that line? A last good-bye? Impending tragedy?
Back for a moment to music and poetry. Rhythm and rhyme in verse stretches from “roses are red” to Slam and Performance Poetry (Katie Makkai, Joshua Bennett) to Shakespeare’s sonnets and the poetry of E.E. Cummings. For now, try to ensure your reader feels the rhythm of your words. Explore different poetry forms that serve to enhance rhythm and sound. Here’s an example from a pantoum I wrote about hurricane Ophelia. These lines both literally describe sound and in the context of the form build momentum, suspense, and power:
“Gulls, crabs, and people go to hiding places, wind that once walked in breaks down doors,
cap and show mix in with planks and plastic, waves pound in carried by the storm...”
I’ll close with an important note – read your poem drafts aloud. Do this so you can hear what your poem sounds like. I’m betting on a first reading you’ll hear awkward phrases and find better wording. Reading your poetry aloud is one of the best ways to ensure you lift and carry the reader along with the sound of your words.
Be sure and check out this month’s “You Might Like...” as I’ve included links to more information on poetry and sound.
Happy (creative!) New Year!