Poetry Form and Function, Great lines from poems and songs

"The sound of silence" (Simon and Garfunkel song)

Poems evoke odd thoughts. They challenge us to see, hear, or experience things we have never imagined. Whoever thought of this four word line is a poetry master! Songwriters Gordon Jenkins and Nat Simon wrote it and I have no idea which one came up with the line. Actually the entire poem is master level poetry work and is used as an example of good style and poetic form in just about every poetry class I ever took. Lot's of excellent lines in this poem.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves - Jabberwocky by Lewis Caroll

What the heck is this? What does "brillig" mean? Slithy toves? And the whole rest of the poem goes on and on with words that sound truly foreign to our ears. If you ever get a chance to hear this poem read out loud by a performer, you will be amazed! The words roll off the tongue and entrance the audience with poetic sounds. It's a poem to be immersed in, to be savored like a great stew. Poems are supposed to be lyrical and fun! Watch the video and read along.

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Once, while in poetry class, a friend sent me a written note using alliteration. Maybe we were discussing it that day or something, but the note read:

Lela Lawler Licks Lollipops Lasciviously.

Yes, that used to be my name. Strange that when I married, my husband also has two L's in his last name. So I still have an affinity for the letter L. I would love to hear from this friend again and if you know of him, David Peabody, then tell him to get in touch with me. I'm on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter (as Austinstar), LinkedIn, LiveStrong.com, etc..

David is quite the poet and novelist. I once read a book by him under a pseudonym, Tristan McAvery. The book was called Tea for Twenty. Guess he loves his alliteration.

There are many poems that use alliteration as a tool. Jabberwocky is one and the other famous one is...

Between the Breasts by e e cummings

e e cummings is one of my favorite poets. We have the same birthday too. Maybe that's why. His poems are very alliterative. Quite easy to read. Many are sensual in nature, which is another good reason for writing poetry.

All lyrics for songs are poems. Poetry form and function lends itself to songwriting. The best lyrics are those that get stuck in your head. You know those song fragments that you just can't get out of your inner mind? That's the purpose of poetry, to be sticky.

Here are the lines from songs that I have wandering around in my brain, you guess the song:

• "out in the West Texas town of El Paso, I fell in love with a Mexican girl"
• "all we are is dust in the wind, Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
  All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see"
• "pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name"
• "I've been a miner for a heart of gold"
• "the warden threw a party in the county jail, the prison band was there and they began to wail"
• "smoke on the water and fire in the sky"
• "she's got a smile that it seems to me reminds me of childhood memories"
• "every day for us, something new, open mind for a different view"
• "why do we scream at each other? This is what it sounds like when doves cry"
• "deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans, way back up in the woods among the evergreens"
• "the full moon is calling, the fever is high, and the wicked wind whispers and moans"
• "Mother, mother, there's too many of you crying, Brother, brother, there's too many of you dying"
• "imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try"
• "And she said "we are all just prisoners here, of our own device"
• "Son, can you play me a memory? I'm not really sure how it goes, but it's sad and it's sweet, and I knew it complete, when I wore a younger man's clothes"

They say when you get a song stuck in your head, you're supposed to either sing the whole song through or start singing another song or hum the 1812 Overture. Well, whatever works, but listen to the flow of the words - that is the sound of poetry.