Introduction
In this session we will consider poetry and poetic construction, and will aim to develop a language and framework for analysis. Basic terms of poetic analysis will be introduced, and class examples will explore different approaches to the treatment of text in music from a structural perspective. Finally, we will consider the interplay between poetic and musical structural and formal characteristics in vocal music.
Preparation
- Consolidate last week’s session on Music-Text Relationships
- Re-read Stacey article Towards the Analysis of the Relationship of Music and Text in Contemporary Composition
- Construct your own one-page analysis of a vocal work, applying Stacey’s framework. Be prepared to present your analysis in class
- Explore the various documents in the section below, looking up any terms you do not understand
Class Documents
- Versification – Poetic Analysis Terms
- Scansion – Meter and Scansion (Purdue University); Connections (Grinnell College); For Better for Verse (interactive tool)
- Rhyme Schemes
- Auden – Night Mail
- Dryden/Purcell – Music for a While [text | score]
- Auden – Hymn to Cecilia [text | worksheet]
Class Examples
- Billy Collins, contemporary American poet, reading his poem Sonnet (search Google or YouTube for many more readings and interpretations of Collins’ poems).
- The GPO Film Unit film of Night Mail (poem sequence starts at 19’12”) [text]
- Walton – Facade: Jodelling Song, Scotch Rhapsody, Popular Song, etc.
- Alfred Deller – Music for a While (many other versions available on YouTube)
- Britten – Hymn to St Cecilia
Other Resources
- The Project CROW: American Literature site at Millikin University contains a basic but useful analysis of Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Follow-Up Work
- Consolidate your understanding of versification terminology and methods of poetic analysis by exploring the various resources listed above.
- Construct your own, one-page, annotated analysis of a poem (or song verse), using the scansion system introduced in class. Notate also aspects of rhyme, alliteration, assonance and consonance. Be prepared to introduce this to the class.
- Prepare for the next session by reading either (or both) Jonathan Culler’s book on Saussure, or the introduction and first chapter of Semiotics: The Basics, by David Chandler.