Sound and Sense

1. Sound and Sense Aural imagery and Meaning Jennifer A. Bennett Sanderson High School Wake County Public School System North Carolina

2. Sound & Sense Devices • How a poet uses the individual or collected sounds in a poem to enhance or emphasize meaning (sense) within it • Aural imagery—Handing us the sounds of the things and/or emotions the poem is about • Important indicator of tone; can set mood • Subtle (if used well) and sometimes even subconscious • Avoid the brick-bat approach to these devices!

3. Types of S & S Devices • Alliteration • Consonance • Assonance • Euphony • Cacophony • Onomatopoeia

4. Alliteration • Occurs when the initial sounds of a word, beginning either with a consonant or a vowel, are repeated in close succession in a line or lines of a poem. • Mostly about beginning consonant sounds • Examples: • The snake silently slithered past Cyndi. • Repetition of “s” sound at the beginnings of words in • Close succession • SO WHAT? The repetition of “s” sounds imitates the sound of the snake, creating an aural image! • “Remembered with twinklings and twinges.” • SO WHAT? “tw” repetition actually imitates the concept of twinkling and semi-involuntary twinge.

5. Consonance • The repetition of consonant sound in close succession within a line or lines of a poem • sounds can be anywhere in the words • The snake silently slithered across the grass. • The repetition of the “s” sound appears at different places in the words, not just the beginning.

6. Assonance • Opposite of consonance • The repetition of a vowel sound in close succession throughout a line or lines of a poem • Usually in stressed syllables • Examples: • Twinkle, twinkle, little starHow I wonder what you areUp above the world so high,Like a diamond in the sky. • By and by, nor spare a sigh,Though worlds of wanwoodleafmeal lie.And yet you will weep and know why • Repetition of long “i” sounds suggests the sound of the sigh.

7. Advertising Slogans • Weather on the Ones (different letters, same sound) • Scooby, Dooby, Doo, where are you? • Wet Wipes • Dora the Explorer • KrispyKreme • Dunkin’ Donuts • Hannah Montana • Blues Clues • Berenstain Bears • The Now Network • Bear in the Big Blue House • Phil of the Future • RolliePollie Ollie

8. Onomatopoeia • The use of words that imitate or suggest the sound of the thing they present • Examples: buzz, clop, lash, roar, meow, crash, bombard, choke • Others: chew, whisper, murmur, mumble, strike, sizzle, chop, blast, zoom

9. Cacophony • Noise! • Combinations of sounds that create discord; harshness of sound produced by sharp, gutteral consonant and word combinations • Short, clipped vowel sounds and consonants • ex. “But notched and whelked and pocked and smashed” • appropriate lyrics for a lullaby . . . ?

10. Euphony • Sweet and pleasant sounding combinations of sounds/words that produce ease of articulation—soothing, flowing sounds • Sound & sense: these soft & flowing sounds suggest a pleasant atmosphere and meaning • Long vowel sounds, soft consonants • Ex.Dark faces pale against that rosy flame, The mild-eyed melancholy Lotos-eaters came. • Dark faces pale against that rosy flame, The mild-eyed melancholyLotos-eaters came. • Soothing effect: long vowels, soft consonants, and soothing hypnotic rhythm