"Why?" you may ask. (Please ask. Please always ask.)
Of all members in the 5Ws and an H cohort -- Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How -- "Why" is the W that vaults class discussion into the realm of higher-level thinking. "Why?" is the question that demands analysis. For some reason, though, this important query is often excluded from polite Language Arts society. (Where, for example, was Mrs. Why in A Wrinkle in Time? Talk about a snub!) Fortunately, she doesn't have to be excluded from your classroom. Invite her in -- daily! The level of classroom discourse will rise each day that Mrs. Why is invited to participate.
(I love you, Madeleine L'Engle, but where the heck is Mrs. Why?)
As I was saying, " . . . Internet resources for sound devices in poetry." Naturally, I found a TON of worksheets and PowerPoints with questions like these: "What sound devices can be found in poetry?", "What are the definitions for the those sound devices?", "Where do you see those sound devices in this poem?" But, who is missing from these questions?
So, today, let's assume your students have already learned to name, define, and identify rhythm, rhyme, repetition, alliteration, assonance, and onomatopoeia in poetry -- all of which are lower-level thinking skills. Don't stop there! All that work is merely the prelude to a deeper analysis beginning with a single question: "Why?"
I can think of no better poem for demonstrating my point than "Cheers" by Eve Merriam, the queen of sound devices in poetry for children.
“Cheers” by Eve Merriam
The frogs and the serpents each had a football team,
And I heard their cheerleaders in my dream:
“Bilgewater, bilgewater,” called the frog,
“Bilgewater, bilgewater,
Sis, boom, bog!
Roll ‘em off the log,
Slog ‘em in the sog,
Swamp ‘em, swamp ’em,
Muck mire quash!”
“Sisyphus, Sisyphus,” hissed the snake,
“Sibilant, syllabub,
Syllable-loo-ba-lay,
Scylla and Charybdis,
Sumac, asphodel,
How do you spell Success?
With an S-S-S!”
The letter S is repeated in Stanza Three so that we can actually hear the snakes as they hisssssss out their cheer. Make sure the kids connect the S sound to the onomatopoetic word "hissed" in Stanza Three.
Rhythm, while artfully applied in "Cheers," can be tricky for modern students because the poem harkens back to a time before spandex and glittery eye-shadow, back to the days when cheerleaders looked like this:
Begin by reading the poem aloud. Always begin by reading the poem aloud. Twice even. Then start by asking those "Who?, What?, When?, and Where?" questions:
- Where does this poem take place? A swamp.
- What are some words that let us know that? bilgewater, bog, log, sog, swamp, muck, mire
- Who is the poem about? Frogs and serpents
- What's another word for a serpent? Snake
- What are they doing in this poem? They're cheering for their football teams.
- Does this poem convey a deep life message? Obviously, no.
So why did Eve Merriam write it? Take a few answers from those daring souls who always have an idea. But if you discover that your students really don't know yet, explain that, sometimes, poetry is written just for fun! Sometimes poets -- Eve Merriam, especially -- just love to play around with words and sound!
In Stanza Two, repetition of the consonant B is obviously alliteration, but why is the letter B repeated? Why not L or T? Well, who's cheering in Stanza Two? Read the stanza aloud once more and really belch out those words beginning with B as if YOU are a big, ol' bullfrog.
The letter B is repeated in Stanza Two so that we actually hear the sound of the frogs as they belch out their cheer!
Stanza Three is even better.
In Stanza Two, repetition of the consonant B is obviously alliteration, but why is the letter B repeated? Why not L or T? Well, who's cheering in Stanza Two? Read the stanza aloud once more and really belch out those words beginning with B as if YOU are a big, ol' bullfrog.
The letter B is repeated in Stanza Two so that we actually hear the sound of the frogs as they belch out their cheer!
Stanza Three is even better.
- What consonant sound is repeated in the third stanza? S
- Now apply what you learned from Stanza Two. Why is the letter S repeated in Stanza 3?
Rhythm, while artfully applied in "Cheers," can be tricky for modern students because the poem harkens back to a time before spandex and glittery eye-shadow, back to the days when cheerleaders looked like this:
"Roll ‘em off the log,
Slog ‘em in the sog,
Swamp ‘em, swamp ’em,
Muck mire quash!”
Can't you just hear those old-time "yell leaders"? No? Well, if you can't, your students surely can't either. What better opportunity to get those kids up out of their desks to devise some old-fashioned moves for this old-fashioned cheer! And if they're totally wrong, who's to say?
Once you've settled everyone back into their desks, it's time to pose the lesson's final, "Why?"
- Why did Merriam want to create that particular rhythm in her poem, "Cheers"?
Merriam wants the reader to hear the actual sounds of a football game, so the rhythm of Stanzas Two and Three imitates the rhythm of an old fashioned cheer.
As National Poetry Month draws near, pull out some old friends -- "Cheers," "The Highwayman," "Casey at the Bat" -- but, this year, ask them a brand new question: Why?
You'll be happy you did.
As National Poetry Month draws near, pull out some old friends -- "Cheers," "The Highwayman," "Casey at the Bat" -- but, this year, ask them a brand new question: Why?
You'll be happy you did.
Want to try something new with poetry this year? Dig into Feasting at the Poetry Buffet.