Class Notes: Weeks 4-5 (10/11/10-10/22/10)

Tone, Voice, and Style:

tone: speaker’s tone

· includes emotion

· described in emotional terms

· attitude

· revealed through: author’s techniques-e.g. diction, figurative language, syntax, etc.

· vocabulary = very important in order to recognize shades of meaning/emotional responses

voice: speaker’s voice

· includes personality

· described in character terms

· revealed through: author’s techniques-e.g. diction, figurative language, syntax, etc.

style: author’s way of expressing him/herself

· includes characteristics/personality of author

· similar to a person’s style of dress

· dwell more on literary techniques: e.g. syntax, regionalisms

· more careful descriptions, because we’re talking about a real human being

Perrine’s Chapters 15 and 16:

*attempt to evaluate poem should never be made before understanding it

3 basic questions for judging poem:

· 1) What is its central purpose?

· 2) How fully has this purpose been accomplished? perfection

· 3) How important is this purpose? significance

2) How fully has this purpose been accomplished?

· can only judge poem as it contributes or fails to contribute to central purpose

· a few generalizations:

o wholly successful poem contains no excess words-don’t bear full weight in contributing to total experience or just used to fill out meter

o each word = best word for expressing total meaning; no inexact words forced by rhyme scheme or metrical pattern

o word order = best for total meaning; distortions or departures from normal order = for emphasis or some other meaningful purpose

o diction, images, figures of speech = fresh, not trite (except if trite to achieve irony)

o sound doesn’t clash with form; both contribute to total meaning

o organization = best possible; images + ideas = so effectively arranged that any rearrangement would be harmful to poem

*Remember: good poem also has flaws!

3 ways poem can fail to achieve excellence:

· 1 ) sentimentality: indulgence in emotion for its own sake; expression of more emotion than occasion warrants

o gushy; exaggerate sadness and joy

o aims primarily at stimulating emotions rather than directly communicating

experience truly + freshly

· 2) rhetorical: uses language more glittering + high-flown than substance warrants

o superficial because it is too oratorical, overelegant, or articially eloquent

· 3) didactic: primary purpose = teach or preach

o appeals primarily to people who read poetry primarily for noble thoughts or inspiring lessons + like them prettily expressed

some general advice:

· go with your gut instinct, THEN compare your opinion to others

· categories are somewhat arbitrary; in reality, most poems probably fall into a blend of several categories

3) How important is its purpose?

· great poetry:

o engages the whole person: senses, imagination, emotion, intellect

o seeks not merely to entertain but to bring pure pleasure and fresh insights, renewed insights, important insights into nature of human experience

o gives broader + deeper understanding of life, other people, ourselves

o this kind of insight isn’t necessarily summed up in simple “lesson” or “moral”

o it = knowledge of complexities of human nature + tragedies and sufferings, excitements and joys

o no formula for this; sometimes, depends largely on personal preference