| Rhythm
and Pace in Poetry
The
essence of this workshop is to demonstrate effectiveness of rhythm and
pace in poetry using songs and popular music as a diverse and,
perhaps, familiar analogy.
Aim:
To familiarise students with the concepts of structure and movement of
a poem
Objectives:
- discuss
the importance of rhythm in a poem
- illustrate
the pace of a poem with reference to punctuation and diction
- use
punctuation effectively in a poem
- identify
a variety of structures that a poem that could have and to give
the students a sense of the implication of stanzas and their
importance to appearance of the poem
Teaching
Aids and Equipment:
Tape Recorder
Tape - Bend It Dave Dee Beaky Mick & Tich
- She's Leaving Home
The Beatles
Percussion instruments (simple, triangle, tambourine, and drum)
Lyrics: simple, clear, and easy to follow
Books (to be used as 'parcels')
Handouts:
1) Wilfred Owen's Dulce et Decorum est (without
punctuation/line breaks)
2) Copy of a rhythmical poem perhaps one of Benjamin Zephaniah's
3) Copy of one of the poet's own poem
Methodology
1. Introduction and Ice Breaker (whole group)
'Pass the Book'
Students stand in circle and pass books round to the beat of a
song, a beat that may contain two or three movements. I'd suggest Bend
It, which has varying tempo, from fairly slow to fast. This
demonstrates rhythm and accentuates varying pace. Invariably, it will
focus the students' attention on lyrics and the significance of a
beat, two commodities which are essential in poetry. And also it's a
nice fun 'ice breaker' activity focusing on the main objective of the
proceeding session.
2.
Rhythm (whole group)
Using the analogy of music, for instance putting lyrics to a tune and
using percussion to pound the beat, the class can then mark time and
the movement of a piece of prose or poetry. They will then translate
this skill or awareness of how the grouping or recording of words can
make a certain beat, or, what poets call rhythm. You can then discuss
meter and the way syllables in each line are stressed in a regular or
irregular pattern. Explain how stresses in the lines emphasise
particular words and how rhythm can help to create a mood (cheery,
depressing, up beat, melancholy etc,). Talk about the plodding,
effects of a sudden rhythm change. Discuss the use of certain
monosyllabic and polysyllabic words in relation to consonance and
assonance and how they affect the tempo of a poem.
Cut
out the lyrics to The Beatles' She's Leaving Home. Ask students
to arrange the song into stanzas. Ask if the song sounds cheery or
sad. Why? The students could use flip chart paper to write their final
version. This could be a small group exercise, perhaps groups of twos
or threes. Then take one or two examples from the groups and discuss
them with the rest of the class. Focus on the implications to the
movement of the poem (i.e. does a change of a line/stanza mark a
pause? Should it?)
Read
a poem with emphasised rhythm (i.e. Charge of the Light Brigade,
Tennyson or take any contemporary poet like Benjamin Zephaniah). Focus
the students' attention not so much on the meaning of the poem but on
creating a general impression of the mood of the poem/poet.
3.
Pace (individual or small groups)
Talk about pace (speed), the effect it has on poetry, length of lines,
mood, alliteration, long or short vowel sounds and ask students to
suggest how to change the pace of a piece.
Give
students a copy of Dulce et Decorum est without punctuation and
line breaks and ask students to write it how they think it should be
punctuated to change pace and thus make it more meaningful. Ask
students to write their final version on flip chart paper.
Discuss
one or two interesting examples with the rest of the class.
4.
Structure
Use of stanzas and verses.
Take
any poem and cut it up into pieces either by using its original
stanzas or by cutting the poem randomly. Perhaps the poets could use
one of their own poems. Ask the students to re-structure the poem the
way they think it should look. Ask them to explain why with reference
to rhythm?
5.
Using rhythm, pace and structure write a short poem
Ask
students to write one of their own poems paying a particular attention
to structure and pace.
Ask
students to read out their work and, perhaps, give out chocolate bars
as prizes.
Methodology
This can be amended and readjusted according to the level and needs of
a particular class. And if class is relatively small, or very keen or
familiar with poetry, then it might be appropriate to get the students
to work individually.
© Roshan Doug
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