Sound and Sense

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Sound and Sense

• By Alexander Pope
• Instructor Ms. Doris L.W. Chang

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Group Members

• Read the poem --------------------
  Michelle
• Introduction -----------------------
  Miranda
• Paraphrase -----------------------
  Julia
• About Alexander Pope ---------
  Toby
• Main idea Divided parts ---------
  Miranda
• Vocabulary Diction ------------ Eri
• Speaker and Listener -------------
  Toby
• Sound effects and Imagery -------------
  Michelle
• Conclusion ---------------------------
  Michelle

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Introduction

• An Essay on Criticism
• This poem was written in 1709, when Pope was
  twenty years old. It is considered his first
  mature work. It was published in 1711.
• This poem was divided into three parts.
• Part I Introduction
• The poem starts with a discussion of the rules of
  taste which ought to govern poetry, and which
  enable a critic to make sound critical judgments.
  

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Introduction

• Part II In this part, it emphasizes on some
  fixed and unchangeable form of the poems at his
  age. Sound and Sense is part of this part.
• Pope uses a structure of idea?examples?idea?examp
  les to present his criticism toward those poets
  who only care for the sound rather than sense.
  Also, he emphasizes the wit very much. His
  ideal poem is to write with wit, rhymes, and
  beauty combined. Therefore, the beautiful sense
  could be echoed by the rhyming sound.

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Introduction

• Part III Conclusion
• At this final part, Pope discusses the moral
  qualities and virtues inherent in some ideal
  critics. And he laments for the decay of them.
• The information was adapted from
• http//65.107.211.206/previctorian/pope/eoc.
  html

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18th Century Poetry

• 18th century? The Age of Satire
• 18th century is The Age of Reason, which is
  totally opposite to the Romantic period. In this
  age, people believed that through Reason, Man
  could reach perfection. Therefore, satire became
  one of the popular types of literary works. And
  in this kind of work, Wit was highly valued. Lots
  of satires were written in this kind of biting
  wit attitude.
• Disciplined Invention Wit
• The poet must have the invention, quickness of
  mind to create the representative and lively
  images for his poem. And poets should have the
  ability to perceive resemblances between things
  apparently unlike and to enliven the poem with
  appropriate images, similes, and metaphors.

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Heroic Couplet

• A couplet?
• 1) it has two lines rhyming
  together.
• 2) the two lines included a
  complete unified thought.
• 3) it ended with a terminal mark of
  punctuation.
• A heroic couplet is a strictly iambic
  pentameter couplet,
• strongly end-stopped, and with the couplets
  prevailingly
• closed. And it is the principle form of English
  neoclassical style.
• The information is adapted from
• http//www.eng.fju.edu.tw/English_Literature/perio
  d/18cent_brit.htmSensibility

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About Alexander Pope

• Alexander Pope (16881744)
• Pope was born in London and his parents were
  Catholics.
• A devastating illness struck him in childhood,
  and made him
• deformed. He never grew taller than 4ft 6in and
  was subject to
• violent headaches. Until he was 12 years old,
  he was educated largely
• by priests, and afterward he was much educated
  by his relatives and
• he was also self-taught.
• And because he attacked his literary
  contemporaries viciously and
• often without provocation that he had many
  literary enemies.
• Pope used the heroic couplet with exceptional
  brilliance, giving it a
• witty, occasionally biting quality. His success
  made it the dominant
• poetic form of his century, and his poetry was
  translated into many
• languages.
• The information was adapted from
• http//www.island-of-freedom.com/POPE.HTM

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Paraphrase

• But most people judge a poem by the melody. They
  judge if a poem is right or wrong by whether the
  tone is smooth or rough.
• Though Muse, the Greek goddess of poetry,
  conspires thousand charms, all these tuneful
  fools who haunt Parnassus not mend their mind but
  to please their ears, admire her voice. That is
  similar to some people going to the church for
  the music there but not for the teaching.
• The syllables are equally required though the ear
  is often tired with the open vowels. While filler
  words join their weak and silly aid and ten low
  words are often put in one dull line. While they
  ring the same unvaried chimes over and over again
  with certain returns, expected rhymes.

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Paraphrase

• Wherever you find the cooling western breeze,
  in the next line whisper through the trees
  appears. If there is crystal streams with
  pleasing murmurs creeps, you can easily predict
  the next word sleeping.
• Then, at the end and only couplet, full of
  unmeaning things which poets call a thought ends
  the poem with a needless Alexandrine (a six-foot
  line, used in pentameter poems to vary the pace
  mechanically). That is like a wounded snake
  dragging itself along.
• Poets leave such thing to tune their dull rhymes
  and they think that they know what is roundly
  smooth or languishingly slow. People also praise
  this easy energy of a line and think that
  Denham's strength, and Waller's sweetness join in
  it.

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Paraphrase

• True ease in writing comes from art not from
  chance, as those who have learned to dance can
  move easily. It is not enough to only focus on
  the sound, the sound must be an echo to the
  sense.
• When poets describe Zephyr, the western wind,
  breezing gently, the strain is soft and the
  smooth stream flows in smooth numbers. But, when
  describing loud surges lashing the sounding
  shore, the hoarse and rough verse should like the
  torrent roar.
• The line and the word should move slowly and with
  difficulty to show how hard Ajax strives to throw
  some heavy rock. Not so like Camilla swiftly goes
  through the plain, flying over the unbending
  corn, and moves quickly alone the main.

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Paraphrase

• Hear how surprise lays in Timotheus varied
  lines, and reveals alternate passions fall and
  rose! While, at each change, the son of Libyan
  Jove burns with glory and then melts with love,
  his fierce eyes with sparkling fury glow, sighs
  steal out and tears begin to flow.
• Persians and Greeks like to found their thoughts
  in the turns of nature, and the poets are
  conquered and only focus on the sound. However,
  the power of music should allow our hearts to
  respond to our sense, just like Timotheus in the
  past and Dryden nowadays.

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Main Idea

• True ease in writing comes from Art, not Chance,
  As those move easiest who have learn'd to dance.
  'Tis not enough no harshness gives offence The
  sound must seem an echo to the sense.
• This is the key point of this poem. The first two
  sentences was written in a heroic couplet form
  and became an ideal model of this kind of form,
  while he was criticizing the pots follies when
  writing heroic couplet. Then the next two
  sentences he mentioned that sound must be
  corresponded with sense. He emphasizes on sound
  must be created out of emotion.

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Divided Parts

• This poem divided into three parts.
• Part I
• But most by numbers but the music there. (line
  337343)
• General criticism of the follies?Pope talks about
  the common
• way of people judging a poets poem.
• In the bright Muse tho' thousand charms
  conspire, Her voice is all these tuneful fools
  admire (line 339)
• Here, we think that he is being sarcastic about
  those fools who admire muse blindly. Also, those
  fools go to the church only for the music rather
  than the doctrine.

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Divided Parts

• Part II
• These equal syllables drag its slow length
  along.
• (line 344357)
• Here, he starts to really criticize the
  unchangeable form and the predictability of
  poetry.
• While expletives their feeble aid to join (line
  346)
• He criticizes those poets adding the words to
  help their poems become rhyming. However, this
  makes the poem not so beautiful because of those
  useless words.
• And ten low words oft creep in one dull line
  While they ring round the same unvaried chimes,
  With sure returns of still expected rhymes
  (line 347349)
• These three lines are criticizing the
  unchangeable form of poetry

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Divided Parts

• Where'er you find the cooling western breeze,
  In the next line, it whispers thro' the
  treesIf crystal streams with pleasing murmurs
  creep, The reader's threaten'd (not in vain)
  with sleep (line 350353)
• These four lines are the examples used by Pope to
  laugh at the predictability of poetry.
• Then, at the last and only couplet, fraught With
  some unmeaning thing they call a thought, A
  needless Alexandrine ends the song, That, like a
  wounded snake, drags its slow length along.
  (line 354357)
• These four lines are not only keep on satirizing
  the unchangeable form of poetry, but also
  complain about the long, dull ending of those
  poems, just like the wounded snake dragging its
  body.

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Divided Parts

• Part III
• Leave such to tune is Dryden now. (line
  358383)
• Popes ideal poem?This part, Pope starts to
  emphasize the main idea, which mentioned in
  line365 that the sound must seem an echo to the
  sense.
• Leave such to tune their own dull rhymes, and
  know What's roundly smooth, or languishingly
  slow And praise the easy vigour of a line Where
  Denham's strength and Waller's sweetness join.
  (line 358361)
• These four lines, Pope starts to talk about the
  poets who add the rhymes without concerning the
  inner sense. They just care about the rhymes.

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Divided Parts

• True ease in writing comes from Art, not Chance,
  As those move easiest who have learn'd to dance.
  'Tis not enough no harshness gives offence The
  sound must seem an echo to the sense. (line
  362365)
• These four lines are the main idea of the poem.
  Pope believed that the sound must come from sense
  naturally, rather than created by poets.
• The following fourteen lines are the examples
  that Pope provides to show how sound should be
  the echo to the sense.
• Persians and Greeks like turns of nature found,
  And the world's Victor stood subdued by sound!
  The power of music all our hearts allow, And what
  Timotheus was is Dryden now. (line 380383)
• The last four lines are the conclusion about the
  main idea

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Vocabulary

• muse to think carefully about something for a
  time, without nothing what is happing around.
• conspire to plan to do something bad or illegal
  with a group people
• Ex A group of terrorist were conspiring to
  blow up the plane
• tuneful musical, pleasant to listen to
• doctrine a set of principles or beliefs,
  especially religious ones
• expletive a word, especially a rude word, that
  you use when you are angry or in pain
• feeble with no energy or power weak
• unvaried same, unchanged

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Vocabulary

• couplet two lines of poetry of equal length one
  after the other
• fraught (use about people) worried and nervous
• (use about a situation) very busy so that people
  become nervous
• Alexandrine a six foot iambic pentameter
• Iambic having one short or weak syllable
  followed by one long or strong syllable
• vigor strength or energy
• echo a sound that is repeated as it is sent
  back off surface such as the wall of a tunnel
• strain part of tune of music

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Vocabulary

• Zephyr soft gentle breeze
• surge a sudden strong movement in a particular
  direction
• lash to strike something or somebody with a
  whip
• hoarse sounding rough and quiet
• verse writing arranged in lines with have a
  definite rhythm and often finish with same sound
• torrent a strong fast flow of something,
  especially water
• strive to try very hard to do or get something

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Diction

• 18th Century Poetry compared with Romantic
  poetry, it used difficult and hard understand
  words. These words could change easy and simple
  words to understand. For example, conspire (line
  339). It means to plan to do something bad or
  illegal with a group people. We could change to
  unite. And doctrine (line 343) changed to theory.
  Feeble (line 346) changed to weak. Fraught (line
  354) changed to worried, nervous. Vigor (line
  360) changed to strong, fine. Strain (line 366)
  changed to tune, tone. Romantic poetry was
  written by easy words. If that time wrote this
  poem, this poem became understand easily.

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Speaker and Listener

• The speaker of this poem is the poet, Alexander
  Pope, he wrote the poem to express his criticism
  toward the type of writing poems at his age. He
  criticized that some people emphasized on the
  sounds and rhyme when they write poems.
• And the listener could be all the people at his
  age, especially those who write poem in the way
  which Pope criticized. In other words, we think
  the purpose for Pope to write this poem probably
  is to point out that it is no use to emphasize
  the sound if the lines do not make any sense. And
  that is why we say that the listener could
  especially be those who emphasize on sound when
  writing poems.

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Sound Effects and Imagery

• Predictable rhymes
• In the poem, Pope criticized that other poets
  would use some stale words as the rhymes. And the
  listener can easily predict it!
• Ex
• Wherere you find the cooling western
  breeze,
• In the next line, it whisper through the
  trees
• If crystal streams with pleasing murmurs
  creep,
• (line350353)

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Sound Effects and Imagery

• The pace
• With the paces, we can easily image how the
  things are going. And we can easily catch the
  feeling and form a picture from words.
• Ex
• That, like a wounded snake, drags its slow
  length along.
• (line357)
• Whats roundly smooth or languishingly slow
  (line359)
• Here, the poet used long vowels such as those in
  wounded, snake, slow, along, roundly,
  and smooth help to slow down the pace. And the
  commas provide nearly a full stop in the midst of
  these lines to make the lines as long and slow as
  the snake.

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Sound Effects and Imagery

• Onomatopoeia
• The poem uses many onomatopoeia words and paces
  of the lines which can spot the imagery more
  clearly. With the clear imagery, the listener can
  get the poets point, sense, and the atmosphere
  easily.
• Ex
• Soft is the strain when Zephyr gently blows,
• And the smooth stream in smoother number
  flows
• But when loud surges lash the sounding shore,
• The hoarse, rough verse should like the
  torrent roar.
• (line366369) 
• Compare these lines with the western breeze
  lines, Pope express that the sound must seem an
  echo to the sense. in the whole poem.

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Irony

• 1.
• Where'er you find "the cooling western
  breeze,
• In the next line, it" whispers through the
  trees"
• If crystal streams" with pleasing murmurs
  creep,"
• The reader's threatened (not in vain) with
  sleep
• (line 35035)
• 2.
• Then, at the last end only couplet fraught
• With some unmeaning thing they call a
  thought,
• (line 354355)

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Conclusion

• As we know that Alexander Pope is a poet and a
  critic. He associate his two specialties, wrote a
  poem which criticized other poetry. In this way,
  what he wrote had become ironic, and his attitude
  was sarcastic. He criticized the poets who wrote
  only for meeting the form of heroic couplet, and
  this caused lots of repetition in poems. For the
  rhymes are important in this style of writing,
  the poets only concentrated on the sound but not
  the sense. The poets did not think about how to
  blend the sound with the sense or beauty.
  Therefore, we can find those ideal ways to
  combine them through Pope's examples. And through
  this poem, we can not only notice the biting wit
  of Pope, but also can reflect to the literary
  style of 18century.