Palindrome Definition: “A palindrome is commonly thought of as a word (e.g., “deified”), phrase or sentence (e.g., “Able was I ere I saw Elba”) that reads alike both backward and forward. The word, derived from the Greek palindromia, literally means a running back again.” The ordering of the lines in the first half of the poem is reversed in the second half (and/or the ordering of words and even letters may be reversed in the two halves of the poem). (Braid and Shreve 130) - Any number of stanzas of any length - No set metre or syllable count required - No Rhyme scheme required - Repetition is the key - Palindromes are flexible: you can alter the punctuation - Unfortunately, they are limited in scope because you cannot really make them lyrical and you have to focus on the repetition - There are themes of tension, balance, resolution and juxtaposition. They are usually some kind of narrative. SATOR square Examples in the textbook: “Loop” by Fiona Tinwei Lam “Mobius Strip” by Anne Simpson “ATM” by Elizabeth Bachinsky “if you can't eat you got to...” by e.e. cummings http://plagiarist.com/poetry/289/ - This example is palindromic in many ways (phrases, syllables, lines per stanza etc). Class Activity: http://www.sporcle.com/games/bigmothaD/identify-the-palindromes I managed to solve all but one, as I could not remember Fiona Lam’s middle name. Reflection: Daniel gave us this link to look at: http://www.palindromelist.net/ . I feel that because of the popularity of sentences like these, people have a difficult time taking this poetic form seriously. The fact that it’s nearly impossible to be clever, eloquent or significantly lyrical when using a letter palindrome. The lesser-known variations with words and sentences can, in fact, have more flow and I think if they were a bit more popular, the form would be thought of more as poetry. An interesting alternate activity would have been to change a poem of a different form into a palindrome, though I suspect that this would have taken far too long for it to be viable within the time constraints. It would have been a very valuable insight into the constraints of the form. Ode Definition: The Ode is a poem of praise. - Long lyric poem - Serious in subject and treatment - Elevated in style - Elaborate in its stanzaic structure - Poem of celebration - Pindaric Ode: a close imitation of the classic ode consisting of a strophe (two or more lines repeated as a unit) followed by a metrically harmonious antistrophe, concluding with a summary line (called an epode) in a different metre. These three parts corresponded to the movement of the chorus to one side of the stage, then to the other, and their pause midstage to deliver the epode (Brittanica, 2011). - Horatian Ode: In contrast to the passion, visionary boldness, and formal language of typical odes, they are calm, meditative, and colloquial as well as shorter. They are also usually homostrophic (Abrams & Harpham, 2009). They are typically short lyric poems written in stanzas of two or four lines. In contrast to Pindaric Odes, they are intimate and reflective; they are often addressed to a friend and deal with friendship, love, and the practice of poetry (Brittanica, 2011). - Irregular Ode: Imitates the classic ode and matter but disregarded the recurrent stanzaic pattern and instead allows each stanza to establish its own pattern of varying line lengths, number of lines, and rhyme scheme. They are free to alter in accordance with shift and mood. Irregular Odes are the most common style of English Ode (Abrams & Harpham, 2009). Ode to my Hips: - Celebrates hips; empowers women. - It's an irregular ode in blank verse. - There’s repetition, which creates rhythm. Class activity: - We were assigned http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/america/ and tasked to figure out which type of ode it was and why. - We decided it was irregular because it did not have a rhyme scheme or follow a set meter. Alternate Activity: Students would be advised to search their iTunes libraries and youtube for a recent song that meets the definition for ode. They would then be tasked to decipher which kind of ode it was and whether setting it to music enriched the poetic value (for example, if the bass line is really deep and makes the poem sound more forceful). Pantoum Definition: A Malay verse form consisting of quatrains with an ‘abab’ rhyme scheme in which the meaning of the first couplet usually makes only indirect allusion to that of the second couplet, and (when occurring in a series) with the second and fourth lines of one quatrain repeated as the first and third lines of the next. (OED) - Originated in Malaysia in the 15th C. shorter and more lyric than current ones, with rhyming couplets. - Pantoum says everything twice, but in a specific order: first line of one stanza is the second in the next, third line of one stanza is the fourth line in the next. - Why do we write pantoum? - You change your punctuation, which means you can change your meaning. - They’re incantations because of their interlocking and repetitious nature. - This is the "evocation of a past time" because you're thinking about something. - Pros: you don't have to worry about meter/number of syllables per line, and you only have to write half as many lines. - Cons: very strict: your lines have to make sense when you rework them. Evening Harmony - Charles Baudelaire Empty Chairs Class Activity: We were assigned a pantoum poem with some of the lines missing and instructed to write new ones to complete the poem as per the structure. The lines with asterisks are the ones that were written by our group. Our pantoum: While building castles in the sand I paused a while and pondered. *And held them in my hand *Plucked from whence they wandered. I paused a while and pondered What these little creatures were. *Plucked from whence they wandered *I wasn’t really sure. What there little creature were Was not quite clear to me. *I wasn’t really sure *Why hadn’t I let them be? Was not quite clear to me I had caused their liberation *Why hadn’t I let them be? *I felt a new sensation: I had caused their liberation *And held them in my hand. *I felt a new sensation While building castles in the sand. Reflection: Is pantoum a fugue? I think that pantoum and fugue are very similar, but that pantoum is not a subclass of fugue. Fugue seems to me to be more of an emotional message, and with pantoum you can tell a story. That being said, the discussion that we had in class raised some good points: both make use of frequent repetition, which is the main characteristic of the genre. Perhaps instead of being mother and daughter, these forms are sisters. The first result on a Google of “pantoum” is the Wikipedia page, which says that it is very similar to a villanelle. Further research mentions the two in the same breath as a sestina several times, which is another form with a characteristic type of repetition. Prosody of Rap Definition: According to Oxford English dictionary, prosody can be defined as the patterns of rhythm and sound used in poetry. Thus, it is defined as the patterns of stress and intonation in a language. - Traditional and nonmetrical prosodic study. Meter: trochaic pentameter. Flow is important, as is vocal presence, enunciation, breath control (taking in air without interrupting delivery). Rhyme is key. - Subjects treated include social struggle, monetary boasts, sex; all are important themes. - Issues concerning racial class: rap originated in the African-American community. - They will often use ungrammatical contractions and curse words, which means that this will never be a high poetic form. - Flow, speed, content and rhyme are the four main factors to a rap. Changes by Tupac: - Repetition of "myself" > he is talking about what he thinks - Forced rhyme right afterward (common in rapping: they take advantage of their accent) - He’s trying to use humor to lighten the social burden. Class Activity: We were given the take home assignment of writing a couple of lines of rap over the instrumental of a Chris Brown song. I went a little overboard and came up with the following: Brony be Illin’ Dashing like I'm Rainbow, fly like Fluttershy All dem Friendship haters still cannot understand why I'm kickin it like Applejack - rocking magic e'ery day Pinkie brings the party time so here is what I gotta say Incoming from Doctor Whoof: shake a flank and drop the beat Spike'll troll Celestia; DJ P0n-3 cannot compete Trixie's here to stir things up; Derpy Hooves' is Ditzy Doo Big Macintosh got so much swag and Luna's back for Season Two Rarity's my mane girl; Twilight is the cutest filly If you haven't joined the herd, don't you dare to dally, dilly 20% cooler; everypony know it's true: They gonna love and tolerate the shit right outta you. Reflection: - I think that rap is a great way for those who don’t have especially musical voices to express themselves. As I’m sure you can see, I don’t think that it has to be limited to serious issues such as violence or money. - The etymology of the word “rap” is debatable: various sources say that it might come from “Rhythm And Pitch,” the homonym “rap” (as in to rap on someone’s door), or the word “repartee.” I think that this ambiguity is an interesting factor, and when I get the chance to, I intend to ask my Historical Linguistics professor if he has any insight into where this term came from.