Presented in two speech classes at Malcolm Bridge Middle School on February 27, 2020.
Notes on Spoken Word Poetry
Bob Ambrose, class leader
Outline:
- Experiencing Poetry
- Presenting Poetry
- Memorizing Poetry
Example Poems
“Witness” (my own, used to introduce myself and the first section of class)
“Dover Beach”
by Matthew Arnold, 1867
The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.
Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the Ægean, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.
The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.
Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.
Crossing the Bar”
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1889
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.
Experiencing Poetry
Elements of Rhythm
iamb: ˘ ′ “Whose woods these are I think I know”
trochee: ′ ˘ “Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire, burn, and cauldron, bubble.”
spondee: – – “Bright star! would I were steadfast as thou are.”
dactyl: ′ ˘ ˘ “This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,”
anapest: ˘ ˘ ′ “For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of beautiful Annabel Lee;”
caesura: | “Forlorn! the very word is like a bell.”
Line Length
dimeter: 2
trimeter: 3 “The sea is calm tonight.
tetrameter: 4 The tide is full, the moon lies fair
pentameter: 5 Upon the straights; on the French coast the light
pentameter: 5 Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
pentameter: 5 Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.”
hexameter: 6
some patterns: 5-5-5-5-5 … ; 4-3-4-3 ; 3-3-2-2-3 ; 2-1, 2-1, … ; irregular
Elements of Sound
Sound quality of letters
vowels: a, e, i, o, u, sometimes w, y
consonants: liquids: l, m, n, r mutes: b, d, k, p, q, t, c-hard, g-hard
Patterns of sound
alliteration: “Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea.”
assonance: But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.”
rhyme: star - bar; me - sea; foam - home; bell - farewell; place - face
masculine: asleep - deep; dark - embark
feminine: buckle - knuckle
slant rhyme: down - noon
patterns: aa, bb, cc, … ; abab, cdcd, efef, gg ; aba, bcb, cdc, …
General
Tone: formality metrical, grand, authoritative versus free, conversational, friendly
mood angry, indignant, fearful, sad, wistful, serene, playful, bawdy
Voice: agent speaking through poem; persona
Presenting Poetry
You are the cover artist. Own it!
Relax. There is no one right way to present a poem
(but there are a few inferior ways).
Internalize the poem’s voice. Adopt the persona. Reflect the mood.
Notice the audience. Focus on individuals (but not too intently).
Your approach to the stage sets the initial mood. Be deliberate about it
(whether playful, energetic, somber, dignified, friendly).
Breathe. Smile (if only internally). Bless the audience (but not out loud).
Clearly introduce the title and author.
Speak the proper distance from the microphone.
Not too close. Don’t breathe into the mic (some mic’s make popping sounds).
Not too far away. Don’t make them strain to hear you.
Listen for the mic’s effect. Let the audience hear you comfortably.
You may say a few words introducing the poem, but keep your comments brief.
No idle chatter! Do not go on and on about yourself or what the poem means to you.
Let the poem speak for itself. You are only the medium.
Speak slowly enough to enunciate the words clearly
(unless you are demonstrating virtuosity, as in some hip-hop).
Try to match your pace with the poem’s mood.
It is better to underplay emotion than to be too dramatic.
But it depends on your persona.
Overplaying emotion can have a comical effect.
Don’t lapse into sing-song (unless casting a spell on an infant).
Watch your posture. Your body language and facial expressions are part of the presentation.
Keep centered, your focus on the poem. Trust your internal cues.
If (when) you slip up, don’t panic. Try to keep going even if you miss some words.
When you finish the poem, let the audience know gracefully. There are signals.
Don’t bury the last line of your poem. Enunciate it clearly. Then breathe.
Look at the audience, nod, say thank you, smile (if appropriate), acknowledge applause.
If you are holding the mic, set it down or lower it away from your face.
Step back from the mic. Or, if bold, mic-drop (kidding - don’t do that).
Then walk away. No nervous chatter about you, the poem, or the performance.
Sit down, breathe slowly, congratulate (or console) yourself. Be kind to yourself.
Memorizing Poetry
Phase 0 – general familiarization
Read through the poem a few times. Look up unfamiliar words.
Notice the structure – rhythms, line lengths, rhymes, stanza
Determine the voice and tone, the point of view.
Phase 1 – Committing the words to memory
Print out the poem and carry it with you.
I prefer a slip of paper folded to fit easily in wallet, pocket, or palm of hand.
Establish a regular time each day to practice.
I devote my early morning walks to the task.
Take on small chunks of the poem at a time.
Speak the lines out loud (not just in your head).
You mouth will learn the motor reflexes as your brain stores the lines.
It helps to use facial and body expressions as you memorize.
repetition - repetition - repetition - repetition -repetition - repetition -repetition - repetition
Practice the bridges between lines, sections, and stanzas. Build internal cues.
Focus on passages that are difficult – some are hard to enunciate or don’t want to ‘stick’
Work on those intently.
You might have to focus on the raw sounds as cues to get through these patches.
This initial phase ends when you can repeat the poem to yourself without your cheat sheet
(preferably at least a week before your presentation).
Phase 2 – Perfecting the Voice
Repeat the poem with different rhythms.
Exaggerate the pace, both faster and slower
Repeat it metrically, then conversationally
Experiment with emphasizing different words.
Find how to render the poem in your own voice, how you can best cover the poem.
Be true to both yourself and the author.
Phase 3 – Preparing for Performance
Test yourself at odd moments throughout the day. Build your confidence.
Begin at different places within the poem, and recite a few lines from there.
Recite the poem in bed before sleep. Repeat as you wake in the morning.
You want to be able to recite the poem mechanically while your mind observes the progress.
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