Poetry 101: The Tools of the Trade (Class 2)

[Shasta Rana Wanderlust]

4. WHEN WORDS ARE SOUNDS ((ONOMOTOPOAEIA)) Onomotopoaeia is described as a word that makes the same sound as a sound. Boom, thwack, pow, bang, crunch, skid, break, shatter, pop, tinkle, ring, gong, and click are all good examples. Remember the old Batman tv show, with its epileptic "BAM!"s and "POW!"s and "SOCK!"s? Well, that's exactly what we're talking about here. Using onomotopoaeia is a tool that is very effective when associated with either parallel or conflicting imagery. Parallel imagery involves putting a onomotopoaetic word with an associated image. For instance, a creaking door, a bubbling brook, a whistling wind, a schlurk of a knife entering flesh, an "ommmmmmminus hummmmmm" of a weapon charging up (as seen in Schlock Mercenary). Using this tool causes the reader to not just see the image, but hear the action. Effectively immersing your reader in the situation is nearly impossible without this tool. That's not to say it doesn't happen, but the next time you read a story or a poem, count how many words can be considered onomotopoaetic. Almost any adjective describing a noise is, and quite a few other ones are not. Remember how sounds tinge the emotions of words from section 3? Well, "burnt" has an "r" in it (obviously), but that "r" makes it an angry, growling word, much like the flames that caused that burn. Similarly, "icy" has that cool "c" in it that even causes your breath to be lower temperature than normal.Conflicting imagery is designed to startle the reader and make them focus on a word again. A "clicking spider" doesn't make sense if you take it literally, but you can envision the spider's legs clicking on a wall. A conflicting image is specifically chosen to force your reader to think about the image you've just given them. A "clicking spider" makes sense if you think about it, but a "tinkling drum set" doesn't ever really make sense. Use caution when using conflicting imagery, but don't be afraid of it. Onomotopoaeia is an effective tool, but don't abuse it. If you abuse your listener with all sorts of "sounding words", then not only will they have to muddle through pages of adjectives, they will also develop an earache.5. IMAGES AND WORDS ((IMAGERY)) Next to rhyme, imagery is the tool most frequently used by poets. After all, the purpose of poetry (at least when I write it) is to evoke a scene, an emotion, or a state of mind. Evoking something like that is difficult when you don't put an image of what you're trying to get across into your reader's head. The problem I have seen most frequently is that the image fails in its' attempt to make me feel. That is to say, when they say something like...Quote:...gonna take you down to the front linewhere your blood is a fine wineserved as a nicotene overdosewith a gasoline tracerfuel for a racer cuts through dangerlike that knife in your hand cuts through paperor through your skin, moving in, on a whim......most readers won't relate to that. There are definite images of self-abuse, of defiance, of racing, of drug overdose...but the majority of readers have no connection to those words. Sure, it sounds pretty, especially when read aloud...but that's not the point. Your reader needs to be able to relate to what you're saying to the point of yelling (out loud and in public), "YES! I'VE BEEN THERE! I'VE DONE THAT! I KNOW HOW THAT FEELS!" You need to make your reader feel that they're NOT ALONE. And that feeling is drastically underrated. Most people don't realize that that feeling is the true reason for the use of imagery. Of course, there ARE poems about feeling alone, but even they are relatable to other people. Everyone has felt alone at one point or another, but writing a poem about being alone that no one can relate or understand is going to alienate your audience, and then you'll REALLY be alone.6. THE ART OF ANIMATION ((PERSONIFICATION)) Personification is a tool that is best reserved for short stories, weird articles about your internal organs ("I am Jack's colon. I get cancer. I kill Jack." -Fight Club), or poems written from the perspective of an inanimate object. Actually, there is a fourth use: tales of the bizarre, like "Alice in Wonderland," or "Through the Looking Glass." In fact, I hardly ever use personification, so I'm going to forward you there for the best example I can think of. Practice with this one is your best bet, but don't expect to use it very often. Remember, my child, without innocence, the cross is only iron, hope is only an illusion, and you're nothing but a name.Edited by: Shasta Rana Wanderlust  at: 2/24/04 5:05 pm