“The Sound Must Seem an Echo to the Sense”: Experiencing Oral and Silent Reading of Poetry

Abstract

Poetry originates in social orality: music and voice are fundamental for the way it functions. Important are both the emotional ingredients in poetry as an experience (van Peer and Chesnokova, Experiencing Poetry: A Guidebook to Psychopoetics, London, Bloomsbury, 2022) and the oral and social nature of its delivery. Reading a poem means first and foremost experiencing it through our auditory senses, and in the distant past all literature was public, meant to be performed aloud, memorized and recited. The ancient Greeks listened to the Iliad while the singer accompanied himself on the lyre. It was only in the eighteenth century that the silent reading of literature became more common. Since then, most poetry has been confronted privately, with less involvement of the auditory sense.

Nowadays, however, we are witnessing a return to the original oral and public nature of poetry, as seen in its widespread distribution over the internet and the massive participation, both live and online, in slam festivals. As evidenced by YouTube views, and social media in general, poetry is being widely consumed and savored, but no longer in the private way. However, we remain largely unaware of whether reading a poem silently or hearing it read aloud makes any difference in how we understand the text or in how it affects us emotionally.

To investigate this question, this chapter will present the results of two experiments, in which respondents read the same poems (both traditional and modernist) aloud or in silence. We then probed their cognitive, aesthetic, emotional, social, musical and sensual reactions, using a Likert scale. The statistically significant differences between the groups highlight some differences between auditory and visual senses in encountering poetry.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Variables Grouped by Dimensions

COGNITIVE:

• Easy to remember

• Deep meaning

• Full of expectation

• Enigmatic

• Surprising

AESTHETIC:

• Beautiful

• Dynamic

• Inspiring

• Elevating

• Moves me to tears

EMOTIONAL:

• Sad

• Overwhelming

• Breath-taking

• Melancholic

• Depressing

SOCIAL:

• Deserves to be translated into other languages

• Relevant today

• Heartfelt

• Compassionate

• Genuine

MUSICAL:

• Musical

• Rhythmic

• Melodic

• Lyrical

• Songlike

EROTIC:

• Pleasurable

• Bewitching

• Passionate

• Intimate

• Sensual

Appendix 2: Poems

Verse

Verse Dylan Thomas Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. And you, my father, there on that sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Verse

Verse Mary Elizabeth Frye Do not stand at my grave and weep I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning’s hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I did not die.

Verse

Verse Joseph Brodsky I wish you were here, dear, I wish you were here. I wish you sat on the sofa and I sat near. The handkerchief could be yours, the tear could be mine, chin-bound. Though it could be, of course, the other way round. I wish you were here, dear, I wish you were here. I wish we were in my car, and you’d shift the gear. We’d find ourselves elsewhere, on an unknown shore. Or else we’d repair to where we’ve been before. I wish you were here, dear, I wish you were here. I wish I knew no astronomy when stars appear, when the moon skims the water that sighs and shifts in its slumber. I wish it were still a quarter to dial your number. I wish you were here, dear, in this hemisphere, as I sit on the porch sipping a beer. It’s evening, the sun is setting; boys shout and gulls are crying. What’s the point of forgetting if it’s followed by dying?

Appendix 3: Questionnaire Sample (Translation from Ukrainian)

REACTION TO POETRY

This questionnaire will be used in an empirical research, and your participation is vital to the successful outcome of the investigation. You might need about 15 minutes to fill in the form. This is an anonymous questionnaire.

We thank you for your collaboration.

1) Your gender

( ) male

( ) female

2) Age ______

3) I am

( ) a student

( ) a staff member

Please read the poem SILENTLY, and then circle the number on the scale that corresponds best to your opinion.

[POEM BY DYLAN THOMAS]

There are no right or wrong answers as your genuine reactions are what is important to us. Please be attentive: number 1 means that you do NOT feel that the statement applies and number 7 indicates your absolute agreement. Thus, for instance, if the question is asked whether you find the poem ‘beautiful’, you circle number 1 if you think it is not beautiful at all, and number 7 if you think it is absolutely beautiful. With all positions in between, of course.

I feel that this poem is:

easy to remember	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
beautiful	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
sad	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
deserves to be translated to other languages	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
musical	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
deep in its meaning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
dynamic	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
overwhelming	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
relevant today	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
rhythmic	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
full of expectation	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
inspiring	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
surprising	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
heartfelt	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
melodic	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
pleasurable	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
bewitching	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
enigmatic	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
elevating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
melancholic	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
compassionate	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
lyrical	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
intimate	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
breath-taking	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
moves me to tears	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
depressing	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
genuine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
songlike	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
passionate	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
sensual	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

Now read the second poem ALOUD, EMPHATICALLY and again indicate your feelings on the scales.

[POEM BY MARY ELIZABETH FRYE]

I feel that this poem is:

easy to remember	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
beautiful	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
sad	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
deserves to be translated to other languages	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
musical	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
deep in its meaning	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
dynamic	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
overwhelming	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
relevant today	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
rhythmic	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
full of expectation	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
inspiring	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
surprising	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
heartfelt	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
melodic	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
pleasurable	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
bewitching	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
enigmatic	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
elevating	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
melancholic	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
compassionate	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
lyrical	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
intimate	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
breath-taking	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
moves me to tears	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
depressing	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
genuine	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
songlike	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
passionate	2	2	3	4	5	6	7
sensual	1	2	3	4	5	6	7

Place for additional comments:

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I hereby give my consent to participate in this experiment ___________________________

Signature

THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION!