Interpretation of Poetic Sound :: essays research papers fc

Understanding the Speakers VoiceThrough Interpretation of Poetic SoundClassical, Early European, Eastern and Modern poetry contribution structural similarities in their habituate of rhythm, meter and rhyme however, sound plays a more subtle role for purposes of interpretation. Poets combine structured rhythmic patterns and the formal formation of linguistic process with devices such as alliteration to create images in the readers mind. Two contrasting poems written by William Blake titled The Lamb from Songs of honour (1789) and The Tyger from Songs of Experience (1794), efficaciously illustrate how the fundamental use of poetic structure, selective alliteration and imagery, accentuates the underlying sounds of a poem thereby, enabling the reader to better discover the voice or tone being portrayed by the speaker.In Blakes opening lines of The Lamb, the speaker sets the initial tone for the conversation that takes place amid the fry and the gentle creature Little Lamb, who made thee/Dost thou know who made thee (Blake 1-2). As evidenced by the speakers selective use of diction, the soft and non-threatening nature of the actors line establishes an atmosphere of child-like innocence and wonder that echoes throughout the remainder of the work. As the conversation progresses, the setting is established through the use of the words stream and mead (Blake 4), which is intended to suggest that the conversation is taking place outside, in a peaceful meadow. In subsequent lines of the poem, the child poses a series of thinly worded phrases such as Gave thee clothing of delight/Softest clothing wooly bright (Blake 5-6). Although not initially obvious to the reader, through the selective use of alliteration, the speaker has effectively introduced the characteristics and subtle rhythmic sound that is consistent with that of a childhood nursery rhyme. The speakers melodious combination of repetition, diction and rhyme is further reinforce in the final two lines of the last stanza, Little Lamb God bless thee/Little Lamb God bless thee (Blake 19-20), which symbolically culminates in the childs belief that the miracle of creation resides in God himself.There is a stark contrast between the opening lines of The Lamb and the opening lines of Blakes gent poem The Tyger. In The Tyger, the speaker immediately establishes a very different setting for the conversation that takes place between the child and the fearsome beast Tyger Tyger eager bright/In the forests of the night (Blake 1-2). Unlike the peaceful setting of The Lamb, the image created in the readers mind through the selective use of words like burning, forests, and night, suggests that the conversation is taking place in an environment of uncertainty and darkness.