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In one form or another, repetition is used in poetry for a variety of purposes. The familiarity created by this technique can create a common thread woven through the piece to strengthen the cohesiveness of the composition. It can also be used as a resonant echo for emphasis to produce greater impact. By skillfully playing the familiar against the unexpected, the poet composes a lyrical quality that is used to support the theme of the poem. SOUNDS: The most common type of sound repetition is the rhyming discussed in Lesson 4. In addition to the familiar end-rhymes used to establish a specific pattern, poets frequently use various forms of internal sound devices to soften the strident cadence effect often created by the attention-drawing perfect end-rhymes. Partial rhymes which use matching sounds within a word are effective musical devices in English language poetry. One of the most important devices in establishing musicality is the forming of partial rhymes using identical vowel sounds, known as assonance. The vowels can be long, such as the 'o' in 'tone,' 'home,' and 'cope,' or short as the 'o' in 'hot,' 'rod,' and 'cop.' The pitch can also vary from a low 'doom' to a higher 'squeal.' The repetition, variation, and arrangement of vowel sounds are important in creating a lyrical quality in your poems. Remember that it is not just the vowels, but the sounds which contribute to that effect. Thus, 'mystique' can be a match for 'his cheek.'
EXERCISE: Turn on your radio or CD player and listen to the way different artists use the vowels in their songs. The repetition of consonant sounds is also an important element in the creation of internal music in poetry. Alliteration refers to the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of the word (dank, dark, dreary days). Repetition of consonant sounds that aren't at the beginning of the words is known as consonance. Words that both begin and end with the same consonant sounds is said to have rich, or full, consonance (stress, peace). Ending words with identical consonant sounds is called partial consonance, sometimes also called terminal alliteration (pain, soon, mine). The consonants are considered the 'physical' identity of the word, and the vowels are the 'spirit,' providing the musical, breathy part of any syllable. You can usually read a sentence with the vowels left out, but it is the vowels that provide the melody in the language (oo, ee, ah).
These repetitions of sound tie phrases together musically and create a subtler effect than the ordinary end-rhymes. Poets make conscious use of these devices, carefully selecting every syllable to shape phrases that will generate a particular voice, tone, pace, or shade of meaning. Repetition and variety are both important in making your poetry flow gracefully. IMAGES: Repeating images such as the sun, a river, tree, or mountains can provide a linkage that will help to strengthen the bonding of the composition into a cohesive unit. By mixing specific images with others that have clear associations, the poet can control the tightness of the bonds while preventing the repetition from becoming too predictable. STRUCTURE: Repetition of words or phrases sprinkled throughout a poem or stanza will create an echo to reinforce a particular tone or establish a mood. This type of repetition is known as repetend. Repeating words or phrases at the beginning of lines is referred to as anaphora. This technique can provide thrust to the lines, impelling them forward with great energy, but overuse can create a predicable pattern which will bore the reader. Sometimes entire lines, known as refrains, are repeated to produce a sense of excitement or passion.
Repetition of a stanza pattern can be used to control the pace and enhance the tone of the poem. Repeating specific stanza structures, such as the quatrain (four-line stanza), will evoke a sense of orderly stability, while significant changes in structure will project a state of flux or agitation. Shorter lines and stanzas produce a quicker pace indicating excitement and intensity, while longer lines and stanza manifest a slower pace exhibiting a calmer tone with a smoother flow. RHYTHM: Repeating particular patterns of sound devices or syllable accent will strengthen the bonds similar to the imagery effect, as well as enhancing the musicality of the poem and bringing additional pleasure to the reader. Just like the composer of a piece of music, the poet painstakingly arranges these sound stresses in clusters or disperses them sparingly to create rhythms that will support the theme of the poem. USAGE: These are only a few of the repetition techniques used by poets to develop a particular voice, tone, pace, and shade of meaning that will convey a message to the reader more effectively. Repetition and variety are both important in making the composition flow gracefully. Just like the gourmet chef uses great discretion in sprinkling spices into a culinary concoction to obtain just the right flavor, the poet recognizes that too much or too little repetition can make the difference between success and failure, according to each person's individual tastes. PANTOUM: The Pantoum is a Malaysian form which originated in the fifteenth century and was later introduced to European poets by French and British writers, such as Charles Baudelaire and Victor Hugo, in the nineteenth century. It features a pattern of line repetition where the second and fourth lines of the first quatrain become the first and third lines of the second quatrain, with a rhyme scheme of ABAB, BCBC, CDCD, and so on until the final stanza, where the first and third lines of the first stanza are repeated as the second and fourth lines respectively, of the last stanza. Thus, the first line of the poem is also the last line. Here is one that I wrote:
More examples can be found at the following link: http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/pantoum.html ASSIGNMENT: Write a Pantoum about some recent experience. Let the creativity flow from your soul!  Dave "The Poet's Place " {/sig} |
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