American Division Literature [ 15 ]

15- ] American Division Literature .

Poetry .

Forms From France .

1-] Rondeau : a poem of 15 lines in three stanzas . Lines 9 and 15 begin a refrain . The rhyme scheme is a a b ab / a a b a  / a a b b c c / . Eight-syllable lines . Alternative forms of rondeau have 12 lines [ a b b a / a b c / a b b a c] and the rondeau redouble [ six quatrains of a b a b rhyme scheme , lines 1 – 4 form the last lines of quatrains 2, 3 , 4 and 5 ] .

2-] Villanelle; a poem of 19 lines . Lines 6,12 1nd 18 repeat line 1 . Lines 9 , 15 abd 19 repeat line 3 . The rhyme scheme is a b a / a b a  aba  / a b a  a b a / a b a a / . Ex . is “ Your  Best For The Test .”

3-] Triolet : a poem of eight lines . Lines 7 and 8 repeat lines 1 and 2 . Line 4 repeats line 1 . The rhyme scheme is a b / a a / ab a b / . Ex of Triolet by W.E . Henley .

 Sound Effects .

Tone in a poem is also a product of sound effects [ their uses and tonal qualities ] . Here are a few of the more commonly found sound effects .

1-] Onomatopoeia : It refers to words that imitate sounds such as “ hiss and  buzz . It refers to words , lines and passages whose sound , size , movement and overall effect denote the sense or meaning . The sounds work together to carry meaning . Ex .Tennyson’s “ The Princess /Come Down , O Maid – 1847]

    “ …..The moan of doves in immemorial elms ,

       And murmuring of innumerable bees .

2-] Phonic echo devices :

There are major devices in which sound is repeated or “ echoes” .

A-] Alliteration : The initial consonant or consonant cluster sounds in stressed syllables are repeated [ generally in successive or closely associated  stressed syllables ] .

Ex.         Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers .

               She sells sea-shells by the sea-shore .

B-] Assonance : the same [ or similar ] vowel sounds are repeated in nearby words [ usually in stressed syllables ] . Assonance repeats only the vowel sounds and ends with different consonant sounds .

Ex.         I wish I were where Helen lies ,

              Night and day on me she cries ,

              O that I were where Helen lies ,

                      On fair Kirconnell lea !

“ I” and “ night” both contain the long “ ai” sound . This assonance is emphasized in the rhyme of “ lie” with “ cries .”

C-] Consonance :  final consonant sounds of stressed syllables are repeated while the preceding vowels are different . Consonance is often used in conjunction with alliteration [ as in reader and rider ] , however , initial alliteration is not always a factor [ as in lean , torn ] . The aural appeal can be heard in George Wither’s use of consonance in the last stanza of “ Shall I Wasting in Despair” in which d , r , v , l and t are repeated

                       Great  , or good or kind or fair

                       I wil ne’er the more despair

                       If she love me , this believe

                       I will die , ere she shall grieve .

                       If she slight me when I woo ,

                       I can scorn , and let her go .

                                 For , if she be not for me .

                       What care I for whom she be ?

D-] Cacophony And Dissonance :

Both  terms refer to harshness of sounds that produce an unpleasant or unsettling tone . A sound has dissonance when it is harsh , inharmonious or discordant with the sounds and the rhythm that surround it . A sound has cacophony when it is simply harsh in and of itself , regardless of the sounds and rhythms that surround it . Cacophony is often an accident , dissonance on the other hand [ discordance with surrounding sounds and rhythms ] can be very deliberate .Note the conscious use  of dissonance in “ Broken-Down Car” by C. Myers – Shaffer. 

 A budget bruised , bent blistered broken relic needin-fixin                             Dented dimpleddinges from fender benders galore-grief over grime and time .

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Courage : There goes cash on four tires .

Frame and bumpers look in good – not me still under hood .

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Clank….grind….bang…..grime grating against mental and skin .

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Start and stop motor again – not again , sorry mess

Headin’ for the Tunk-heap next , I guess

Cacophony , harsh sounds [ words ] that are unpleasant in and of themselves , can result from many things , such as too many unvoiced plosives in a poem . Some poets feel that overuse of “ s”or “ sh” sounds have a cacophonic effect and try to avoid them .

E-] Euphony : It refers to sounds that are pleasing and easy to pronounce , producing a pleasant tone . Sounds exhibiting euphony [ the opposite of cacophony ] generally contain more vowel sounds [ thought to have more        “ sonority” or resonance  than consonants and to cause more vibration or       “ voicing” sounds ] and lean toward the liquids , nasals and semi-vowels [ l , m , n , r , v , w ] with the voiced consonants being heard as “ softer” [ b , d , g , v , z ] and the unvoiced consonants as “ harsher” [ p , t , k , f , s ] . Poetry exhibiting euphony tends also to avoid difficult-to – pronounce sound combinations and to stress sound patterns that include repetitions .