Poet Kathleen Driskells Use of Sound - Research Paper Example

Introduction The works of Kathleen Driskell show a contemporary format to poetry to show a main theme. Driskell uses a combination of literary techniques to show a specific theme and to prove a different point to the reader. The first part to this is the voice that is used, which includes a narrative format in the poem. This is followed by the use of sound and literary techniques, all which provide an understanding of the themes that are a part of her poetry. In the poetry book, “Laughing Sickness,” these different techniques work together to show a specific meaning to poetic themes while allowing the reader to look at a unique perspective of each idea. This is combined with each technique being used to create a set of words that become imagery to the poetry used. Doing this allows Driskell to work with the concept of culture and with central ideas from the reader to convey deeper universal principles of mankind. Voice of Driskell The voice that Driskell uses is one that takes on a narrative form, than moves into a metaphor by the end of the poem. Most of the poems that Driskell writes begin with a story that is conveyed by a situation or an image. One of the poems that represent this is Nativity. Throughout the poem, Driskell talks in the narrative point of view of “I” to show the main idea. This narrative is always on the outside of the situation and is providing a description or visualization of the circumstance or of an image that is important in the poem. Driskell begins the poem by stating, “It was the first and only time I had seen it, the way / the eyes lose everything, become unholy” (Driskell, 3). This line provides the voice of the narrative, which is followed by the description of the dog to show the perspective of the narrator from the outside. The narrative that is used in this poem further shows the main point through the use of dialogue and the thoughts of the narrator. In this sense, Driskell not only proves the main point through the use of a poetic voice, but also intertwines a sense of fiction into the poem for the representation of different ideas. At one point, Driskell writes “For a week, the vet placated me, / keeping her hooked on an IV, telling / me maybe, maybe, though he knew there was no chance, but just pregnant / with our first son… I would have nothing of anything but life” (3). These lines continue with the narrative to show the perspective from the dialogue that is occurring. This creates more imagery in the poem and allows the reader to see the perspective as though they are in the situation. The narrative response, of saying “I would have nothing of anything but life” is one that brings in the perspective of the narrator to intertwine thoughts with the imagery. This is also used to show the main theme that is in the poem, which relates to the idea of life and to understanding the way in which each figure in the story is connected to the other, including the child, mom and dog. It is the intertwining of thoughts, situations and imagery through the use of narrative that allows Nativity to lead to the final point. The use of voice in Driskell ends with a final thought from the narrator to prove the main theme of the poem. At the end of this poem, Driskell states “As if there is only / one heart for all of us, now strong enough, rugged / enough to make room for / any sort of letting go” (3). This is the main concept of the poem and is stated by the narrative and the thoughts from the narrator. At the same time, the different techniques related to the narration, which includes the imagery, thoughts and description of the situation are able to relate to each other with this main theme. Each of Driskell’s poems uses this main technique to create a different relationship to the reader about the main theme, specifically through the use of narration and point of view. The idea of voice and narrative that Driskell uses is not only to create a development of theme, but also associates with the central concepts related to language as culture. While Driskell is speaking through each of her poems, she creates the understanding and ability to relate to what is being said. When one is reading in the tone of the narrator, there is an instant association and understanding of the situation. This draws the reader into the story and creates a direct relationship with the narrator, similar to a friend telling a story about the situation. The combination of thoughts and imagery then become a natural thought process from the writer to the reader. This technique is one that is often used in poetry and is similar to a type of improvisation or narrative in a poem, story or song. The narrative that Driskell creates becomes similar to that of oral or spoken poetry, in which one is able to relate a set of thoughts and images to the listener or reader that seem to flow in a specific way and which involve the narrator. This introduces a specific formula to help lead to the main theme of the poem from the voice that is used (Magoun, 446). Use of Sound The second technique that Driskell uses throughout her poetry is that of sound. The poetry that Driskell writes doesn’t contain any rhythmic structure or traditional mediums for sound. Instead, Driskell uses the everyday sounds that are a part of poetry to create an understanding of the main theme. This allows the reader to be a part of the poem and provides them with a different set of concepts that are related to the main theme. Driskell does this with a more subtle point of view and integrates it into each poem. For instance, in First Kiss, Driskell describes the sound of the water by stating, “listening to the hollow trickle of water… and then, sprung within that tension, smack – it happened” (Driskell, 7). These sets of sound are used as sound that turns into imagery and as a part of the situation. The hollow trickle of water describes the image that is a part of the scenery through the use of sound. When one thinks of this sound, it also creates a sense of peace toward the moment that the narrator creates. The smack is what describes the first kiss that is taken. This interrupts the main concept of peace and creates a change that leads to the changes of ideas in the poem. These combine together to show the main theme, which is the peacefulness of the situation being interrupted by the idea of a kiss. Other poems use this same technique to show the way in which sound becomes a part of the image, scene and main point of the poem. For instance, in Red Tea there are sounds in the poem; however, this contributes to the image of silence after the passing away of a husband. The phrase, “and how the sun lighted the red tea swishing / around in that wife’s china cup and how / before him, she did not think to drink his / tea” (13). This scene combines the image of the sun with the wife’s china cup. While the rest of this scene creates a setting that is more silent and reflective, it is the red tea swishing that breaks this. The sound of red tea swishing is one that uses sound not only to create a sound, but also relates to deeper meanings for sound. When one swishes their tea, it relates to contemplation. In this instance, it breaks the thoughts and contemplation of the woman who would have never has thought to drink her husband’s tea. The swishing of the tea not only is seen with this sound, but then relates to the overall theme of the poem, which is the uniting of the husband and wife, as the push of the needle from her husband is “the point of the needle has pushed into her” (13). The tea swishing moves beyond sound and into the image of this movement of moving back and forth between the wife and husband. The technique that Driskell is using in each of these poems is one that relates to the idea of sound symbolism. This is one that moves beyond phonetics, sound structure and the overall framework of the sound. Instead, the sound, such as the swishing or smacking, moves into a specific sound that helps to describe the image or the scene. The grammar and the sound of the word are able to relate to a conceptual message that is within the poetry and that is able to show a deeper sense of specific ideas. Further, the different statements and sounds that are made are said to relate to emotional and social attitudes that are a part of the sounds (Hinton, Nichols, Ohala, 327). The smacking is one that relates to an emotion and social idea of being caught by surprise and being startled out of peace. The swishing is one that has the same social and emotional meaning, all which move outside of the sound and into a sense of symbolism that is a part of the poem. Literary Techniques Used in Driskell While Driskell uses the contemporary techniques, such as sound and voice to show specific themes, there are also uses of other poetic concepts throughout each of the poems. One of the stronger techniques that Driskell uses is from the imagery used in each of the poems. This is tied into the voice and the sounds that are in each of the poems. This relates specifically to the use of metaphor and simile in each of the poems to convey specific ideas. These descriptions are used as a way to create a psychological relationship to the poem and to create awareness from the reader about the situation of the poem. The overall significance used with the metaphor and simile is one that is identified first to shape the perspective on specific issues by creating images in a poem. This is followed by identifying symbols that relate to this. This works together to create a main theme and symbol that is used within the poems (Bartel, 72). An example that shows how the metaphor, simile and images work in Driskell’s poetry with the poem Spat. The first image is from the fight that Driskell is describing from the narrative’s point of view. The simile is one that states that “the words, / tangled knots, trapped inside / like black flies battling within a lighted lampshade” (Driskell, 37). The words are described as black flies, with the use of personification and simile to create an image of the fight between the couple. This creates a specific tension to the poem as well as an understanding from the reader, specifically because of the images used. The simile of the black flies then turns from the words that are used into the people. This changes the simile and also allows the words to become a part of the couple and the image of them fighting. The lines “she lies in the dark / trying to settle herself down with sleep, / but into her drops the sputter, / heated buzz falling through / they find only each other to fly into” (37). Changing the main metaphor and simile of the words as black flies to the couple being the words and black flies creates a different meaning and understanding of the poem while describing the tension of the fight that the couple has had. The overall meaning of the poem is one that is able to come through the literary techniques, such as metaphor, simile and personification. Themes in Laughing Sickness The themes that are used in Driskell’s poetry are designed to relate to lifestyles in the contemporary world. The material that Driskell uses takes ordinary situations and turns them into deeper thoughts and understandings that one can relate to. For poetry, one of the main concerns is to link the universal thought and world with the use of words and language. This is one that consists of the addresser, which leads to the context, message and code. These three elements are designed to go to the addressee to show the main theme and point. The use and function of language, as well as the poetry that is used, is specifically to define the message from the addresser to the addressee. This is one that has to be done from a cultural and social approach, as well as in a way that any individual can relate to when contemplating different aspects of life (Jakobson, 353). The universal thought that Driskell latches onto is based on the context of each poem written about. Driskell ties this together with the main theme of the book of laughing sickness. When one has laughing sickness, they are unable to stop laughing, until it becomes hazardous. Driskell combines this with everyday situations that are dramatic from one perspective, but are also a part of everyday life. The themes that Driskell bases her works from include everything from a housewife to a woman who is waiting for her drunk husband to strike and instead finds him asleep in Not Listening, Hearing. These main themes are based on everyday situations that are common for the culture of the time. Some of the situations are based on more tragic concepts, such as the loss of a husband or the changes from losing a dog and being pregnant. However, these all relate to the main theme to show how universal themes relate to the smaller and larger situations in life. The lifestyle that every poem is based on for the different poems is designed not only to create a link with culture and the lifestyle that is current for the day. More importantly, Driskell uses this to create deeper meanings and themes that are able to provide others with a deeper perspective to the everyday lifestyle situations that occur. For instance, in A Mother Considers Housework, there is a different depiction of the several tasks a mother has to do. However, the ending line states “They stand in the dark / hallways, whisper, / Would not another child / hold a spoon in exactly / the same way?” (42). Changing from the everyday tasks to this last line is one that Driskell does to show the deeper meaning of everyday life. Even though it is only describing what a child would do in a situation, it also shows the concept of love from a mother to a child. The children are not able to understand why a mother would care about the idea of holding a spoon, which shows the perspective of a child. However, when looking deeper into this poem, one can see that it is also describing how a mother cares for a child enough to allow them to change different ideas and to guide them through the smaller things. This is all described to show the universal concept of love. Using dialogue and description is then one that can link to the cultural and social meaning, as well as the universal concepts of love. Conclusion The poetry of Driskell is one that uses several types of techniques to convey different points related to the human element, universal concepts and contemporary culture. This is done through literary techniques such as metaphor, personification and simile. This is also done through the use of specialized techniques that Driskell uses consistently throughout her poems and which set her specific voice as a poet. Her use of narrative and voice to describe different situations is one of the techniques used. This is combined with the use of sound that is created as an image and a symbol in several of the works. These combine together to create a universal understanding of the deeper meaning behind the contemporary lifestyle and the situations that occur in one’s life. Works Cited 1. Bartel, Roland. Metaphors and Symbols: Forays Into Language. National Council of Teachers of English: Illinois, 1983. 2. Driskell, Kathleen. Laughing Sickness. Fleur – de – Lis Press: Kentucky, 1999. 3. Hinton, Leanne, Johanna Nichols, John Ohala. Sound Symbolism. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 4. Jakobson, Roman. Style in Language: Linguistics and Poetics. Wiley: New York, 1980. 5. Magoun, Francis. Oral – Formulaic Character of Anglo – Saxon Narrative Poetry. Speculum 28 (3), 1953. Read More