Aim: How does Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Bells” convey and reinforce the meaning of the life cycle through his choice of poetic sound devices?
Do Now:
For today’s do now, it was a team challenge where we were given 2 minutes to think in our groups. We had to make a list about all the types or kinds of bells we have heard of. The group with the highest number of words would share out and get the points.My group, who had the highest number of words, came up with 18 different types of bells such as doorbell, cowbell, church bell, sleigh bell, fire bell, taco bell, and many more.
After the do now, we went on to read about Edgar Allan Poe’s life in a book called Oh, Woe is Poe! (Oh Woe is Poe! PDF). After we read the book together, I have learned many new things about Edgar Allan Poe that I did not know before. We discussed Tuberculosis which was a very disease that killed many people in the 18th century including many of those Poe was close to. Furthermore, we read about his alcoholism and how he was a “disaster magnet.” One big mystery till this day is Poe’s cause of death. Doctors suspect that a possible rabid animal had bitten him which made him act the way he did, but we may never know.
Vocabulary:
Musical or sound devices: convey and reinforce meaning or experience through the use of sound
Cacophony: Cacophony comes from the Greek word meaning, “bad sound.” Or involving or producing a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds. Uses consonants such as k, t, d, p, h, and hissing sounds like ch-, sh, and s.
Example: He is a rotten, dirty, terrible, trudging, stupid dude!
Euphonious: involving sounds that are soothing or pleasant to the ear. It includes all the vowels and constants such as l, m , n, r, etc.
Example: “While the stars that oversprinkle all the heavens seem to twinkle”
Alliteration: A stylistic device in which consecutive words or words that occur close together in a series all begin with the same first consonant letter or sound
Example: Jackrabbits jump and jiggle jauntily.
Onomatopoeia: A word which imitates the natural sound of a thing.
Example: The buzzing bee flew by
Repetition: Repeating words, phrases, lines, or stanzas. Repetition is used to emphasize a feeling or idea, create rhythm, and/or develop a sense of urgency
Example: Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
Rhyme: a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words (especially common at the ends of words). Rhyme is pleasing the ear and also lends a sense of rhythm and order to the language.
Perfect rhyme occurs when stressed syllables of the words, along with all subsequent syllables, share identical sounds (ex: pencil" and "stencil”)
Imperfect rhyme or “slant rhyme” involves the repetition of similar sounds that are not quite as precise as perfect rhyme (ex: “uptown” and “frown”)
Figurative Language and Sound Devices [4:59]
In our groups, we were asked to highlight the words that were cacophonous. My group said that in the first sentence, words such as beware, jabberwock, jaws, bite, claws, and catch were cacophonous. In the second sentence we said that every word after the word of was cacophonous. Words such as culverins, muskets, pistols, bullets, attacks, etc. After the time was up, we discussed and read out the answers.
After reading the definition of Euphonious, we were asked to highlight the words that were euphonious in our groups. After discussing in our groups, we answered that words such as season, mist, mellow, and fruitfulness were all euphonious in the first sentence. In the second sentence we said that words such as stars, oversprinkle, heavens, and twinkle were euphonious.
After reading the four stanzas, my group found many examples of literary and sound devices. Throughout the four stanza, Poe used repetition (ex. Bells, bells, bells), onomatopoeia (ex.clang, clash, and roar), rhyme (ex. Night and affright), alliteration (ex. Tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells), and both cacophony( ex. clamorous appealing to the mercy) and euphony (ex. Molten-golden notes.) We had also discussed that the mood from stanza one and two has greatly changed from being joyful and happy to one of desperation and death. We said that the four stanzas symbolize one's life from their childhood and youth to their adulthood and death in the end. In addition to that, we had said that Poe’s use of different materials for the bell was not only to show that the sound of the bell was getting worse but also the value of the material was also getting worse. It went from silver and gold, which is valuable, to that of brass and iron.
Analyze the first two stanzas. How do they compare, in terms of similarity?
The first two stanzas are similar due to the fact that they talk about the occasions the bells are used and how the bells symbolize joy and cheerfulness. In the first stanza, it talks about the excitement of the holiday season with the bells twinking; and in the second stanza, it mentions the happiness often associated with the harmony of bells on a wedding day.
Now, compare the bells in stanzas 1 and 2 with the bells in stanzas 3 and 4. How does Poe’s mood shift in his poem?
Poe’s mood shifts in his poem, which the comparison between stanzas 1 and 2 with stanzas 3 and 4 makes clear, as it gets progressively darker and more negative. Instead of describing the joyful occasions, the bells are associated with as he did in stanzas 1 and 2, he opts to talk about situations where “loud alarum bells” ring. He further makes his point clear by consistently using the word “terror” to emphasize the fears associated with the loud sound of the bells. Also, instead of describing the bell’s sound as jingling and twinkling, musically well, and euphonic; he starts to describe the bells as screaming, clashing, clanging, roaring, and “swelling in the anger.”
How does Poe use sound devices to imitate the sound of bells?
Compile a list of the devices you believe he used.
Poe uses sound devices to imitate the sound of bells by using onomatopoeia (ex. jingling, tinkle, and shriek, ), alliteration (ex. a tale of terror...their turbulency tells), repetition (ex. Bells, tinkle, rolls, tolling, and shriek are words Poe repeats in the stanzas), rhymes (ex. swells and bells), euphony (ex. a world of merriment their melody foretells, a gush of euphony voluminously wells), and cacophony (ex. scream out their affright, the clamor and the clangor of the bells).
4. This poem is as much about sound as it is about meaning.
Why do you think Poe places a heavy emphasis on sound in this poem?
What message does it help to express?
How is this poem symbolically a metaphor for life?
Poe places a heavy emphasis on sound in this poem because Poe wants to show the differences between the tones of joyfulness and other negative feelings such as terror and annoyance. By doing so it helps him express that there are happy moments in life as well as hardships. The tones between happiness are completely different, so readers can easily understand if Poe is talking about something positive or negative. This poem is symbolically a metaphor for life because it can also represent the stages of life: the merriment of childhood, the happiness of youth, the struggles of older adulthood, and eventually the end of a lifetime.
Reflection:
Overall, throughout this lesson, I have learned the importance of figurative language and sound devices in poetry. In today’s lesson, we read through Edgar Allan Poe’s poems and saw how he incorporated repetition, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and rhyme. Using these devices, he was able to create an emotional response with the reader. This lesson taught me the power and effect of sound devices in poetry. It makes the reading more enjoyable and more understandable. When the class was reading through the poems, I was even able to hear the ringing of the bells when the repetition and figurative language was said. I was able to see that sound devices and figurative language helped with imagery and was able to create the sounds and sights. I think this was taught so when we would write our own poems we are able to use these devices and make our poetry connect with the reader more and create a better experience. When we write our poems we can use imagery, figurative language, and sound devices to develop a visual image while also creating the mood and tone. The use of euphony and cacophony is also very important because it creates the whole mood and makes it more interesting. Although I have heard of these tools before, I have yet to use them in my writing but now I know how touse these new tools to enhance any piece of writing. Overall, this lesson has given me a great deal of information that will be very helpful in the future
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