The Saddest Noise, the Sweetest Noise

The Saddest Noise, the Sweetest Noise The saddest noise, the sweetest noise, The maddest noise that grows, -- The birds, they make it in the spring, At night's delicious close. Between the March and April line -- That magical frontier Beyond which summer hesitates, Almost too heavenly near. It makes us think of all the dead That sauntered with us here, By separation's sorcery Made cruelly more dear. It makes us think of what we had, And what we now deplore. We almost wish those siren throats Would go and sing no more. An ear can break a human heart As quickly as a spear, We wish the ear had not a heart So dangerously near

Analysis Blue pen: which technical features and meaning can you find?

Analysis Black pen: Can you find: enjambment syntax - error or line of interest sibilance modality paradox tetrameter tetrimeter internal rhyme lexical chain

Analysis Red pen: add the missing technical details and ideas.

The saddest noise, the sweetest noise, The maddest noise that grows, -- The birds, they make it in the spring, At night's delicious close.

sibilance in line 1 sibilance draws our attention to the sound of the line and slows the pace The saddest noise, the sweetest noise, The maddest noise that grows, -- The birds, they make it in the spring, At night's delicious close.

sibilance in line 1 sibilance draws our attention to the sound of the line and slows the pace repetition of noise further draws our attention to sound The saddest noise, the sweetest noise, The maddest noise that grows, -- The birds, they make it in the spring, At night's delicious close.

sibilance in line 1 sibilance draws our attention to the sound of the line and slows the pace repetition of noise further draws our attention to sound The saddest noise, the sweetest noise, The maddest noise that grows, -- The birds, they make it in the spring, At night's delicious close. full rhyme lines 2 & 4 draws attention to the increasing sound without yet stating what the noise is

sibilance in line 1 sibilance draws our attention to the sound of the line and slows the pace repetition of noise further draws our attention to sound Paradox how can something be both sad and sweet? The saddest noise, the sweetest noise, The maddest noise that grows, -- The birds, they make it in the spring, At night's delicious close. full rhyme lines 2 & 4 draws attention to the increasing sound without yet stating what the noise is

sibilance in line 1 sibilance draws our attention to the sound of the line and slows the pace repetition of noise further draws our attention to sound Paradox how can something be both sad and sweet? The saddest noise, the sweetest noise, The maddest noise that grows, -- The birds, they make it in the spring, At night's delicious close. full rhyme lines 2 & 4 internal rhyme draws attention to the increasing sound without yet stating what the noise is increases the sound devices in this opening stanza and draws attention to the opening paradox

sibilance in line 1 sibilance draws our attention to the sound of the line and slows the pace repetition of noise further draws our attention to sound Paradox how can something be both sad and sweet? The saddest noise, the sweetest noise, The maddest noise that grows, -- The birds, they make it in the spring, At night's delicious close. full rhyme lines 2 & 4 internal rhyme draws attention to the increasing sound without yet stating what the noise is increases the sound devices in this opening stanza and draws attention to the opening paradox allusion to lovers birds, spring and night all remind us of lovers

Between the March and April line -- That magical frontier Beyond which summer hesitates, Almost too heavenly near.

Between the March and April line -- That magical frontier Beyond which summer hesitates, Almost too heavenly near. lexical chain links the change of season with geographic or political borders; ‘between’ suggests a no-man’s-land

personification summer is personified as someone just out of reach Between the March and April line -- That magical frontier Beyond which summer hesitates, Almost too heavenly near. lexical chain links the change of season with geographic or political borders; ‘between’ suggests a no-man’s-land

syntax enjambment of 2nd and 3rd increases pace which is then slowed by comma after ‘hesitates’ causing the reader to hesitate at the end of the line personification summer is personified as someone just out of reach Between the March and April line -- That magical frontier Beyond which summer hesitates, Almost too heavenly near. lexical chain  links the change of season with geographic or political borders; ‘between’ suggests a no-man’s-land

syntax enjambment of 2nd and 3rd increases pace which is then slowed by comma after ‘hesitates’ causing the reader to hesitate at the end of the line personification summer is personified as someone just out of reach Between the March and April line -- That magical frontier Beyond which summer hesitates, Almost too heavenly near. lexical chain  links the change of season with geographic or political borders; ‘between’ suggests a no-man’s-land modality neutral and high modality of ‘almost’ and ‘too’ juxtaposed echoing the paradox of ‘saddest’ and ‘sweetest’ in stanza 1

It makes us think of all the dead That sauntered with us here, By separation's sorcery Made cruelly more dear.

narrative voice use of 1st person plural includes reader in the emotional experience of the poem It makes us think of all the dead That sauntered with us here, By separation's sorcery Made cruelly more dear.

narrative voice use of 1st person plural includes reader in the emotional experience of the poem It makes us think of all the dead That sauntered with us here, By separation's sorcery Made cruelly more dear. lexical chain ‘sorcery’ links with ‘magical’ of previous stanza

narrative voice use of 1st person plural includes reader in the emotional experience of the poem It makes us think of all the dead That sauntered with us here, By separation's sorcery Made cruelly more dear. lexical chain ‘sorcery’ links with ‘magical’ of previous stanza tetrameter/tetrimeter final only scans if ‘cruelly’ is pronounced with 3 syllables dragging the word out and drawing attention to it

narrative voice sibilance use of 1st person plural includes reader in the emotional experience of the poem creates hissing, playing with sound and complementing the harshness of the image It makes us think of all the dead That sauntered with us here, By separation's sorcery Made cruelly more dear. lexical chain ‘sorcery’ links with ‘magical’ of previous stanza tetrameter/tetrimeter final only scans if ‘cruelly’ is pronounced with 3 syllables dragging the word out and drawing attention to it

It makes us think of what we had, And what we now deplore. We almost wish those siren throats Would go and sing no more.

narrative voice use of 1st person plural continues to include reader in the emotional experience of the poem It makes us think of what we had, And what we now deplore. We almost wish those siren throats Would go and sing no more.

narrative voice alliteration use of 1st person plural continues to include reader in the emotional experience of the poem of ‘w’ increases pace by gliding from one word to the next and further emphasises the plural 1st person voice It makes us think of what we had, And what we now deplore. We almost wish those siren throats Would go and sing no more.

narrative voice alliteration use of 1st person plural continues to include reader in the emotional experience of the poem of ‘w’ increases pace by gliding from one word to the next and further emphasises the plural 1st person voice It makes us think of what we had, And what we now deplore. We almost wish those siren throats Would go and sing no more. pronoun repeated emphasising the depth of sorrow and pain

narrative voice alliteration use of 1st person plural continues to include reader in the emotional experience of the poem of ‘w’ increases pace by gliding from one word to the next and further emphasises the plural 1st person voice It makes us think of what we had, And what we now deplore. We almost wish those siren throats Would go and sing no more. modality pronoun repeated emphasising the depth of sorrow and pain high modality of ‘deplore’ reveals strength of emotion

narrative voice alliteration use of 1st person plural continues to include reader in the emotional experience of the poem of ‘w’ increases pace by gliding from one word to the next and further emphasises the plural 1st person voice allusion It makes us think of what we had, And what we now deplore. We almost wish those siren throats Would go and sing no more. Greek sirens who lured sailers to their deaths modality pronoun repeated emphasising the depth of sorrow and pain high modality of ‘deplore’ reveals strength of emotion

An ear can break a human heart As quickly as a spear, We wish the ear had not a heart So dangerously near.

paradox how can an ear break a heart? links to ‘saddest sound’ ‘sweetest sound’ of opening line = “I love you” An ear can break a human heart As quickly as a spear, We wish the ear had not a heart So dangerously near.

kinaesthetic imagery paradox ‘breaking’ sudden and violent yet echoes cliché of broken heart how can an ear break a heart? links to ‘saddest sound’ ‘sweetest sound’ of opening line = “I love you” An ear can break a human heart As quickly as a spear, We wish the ear had not a heart So dangerously near.

kinaesthetic imagery paradox ‘breaking’ sudden and violent yet echoes cliché of broken heart how can an ear break a heart? links to ‘saddest sound’ ‘sweetest sound’ of opening line = “I love you” An ear can break a human heart As quickly as a spear, We wish the ear had not a heart So dangerously near. alliteration breathiness of aspirated ‘h’ suggestive of sobbing?

kinaesthetic imagery paradox ‘breaking’ sudden and violent yet echoes cliché of broken heart how can an ear break a heart? links to ‘saddest sound’ ‘sweetest sound’ of opening line = “I love you” An ear can break a human heart As quickly as a spear, We wish the ear had not a heart So dangerously near. alliteration breathiness of aspirated ‘h’ suggestive of sobbing? modality full rhyme and repetition of ‘heart’ in final stanza brings sound of poem to closure

kinaesthetic imagery paradox ‘breaking’ sudden and violent yet echoes cliché of broken heart how can an ear break a heart? links to ‘saddest sound’ ‘sweetest sound’ of opening line = “I love you” enjambment An ear can break a human heart As quickly as a spear, We wish the ear had not a heart So dangerously near.  alliteration rushes us on to ‘quickly’ and ‘dangerously’ breathiness of aspirated ‘h’ suggestive of sobbing?  modality full rhyme and repetition of ‘heart’ in final stanza brings sound of poem to closure

kinaesthetic imagery paradox ‘breaking’ sudden and violent yet echoes cliché of broken heart how can an ear break a heart? links to ‘saddest sound’ ‘sweetest sound’ of opening line = “I love you” enjambment An ear can break a human heart As quickly as a spear, We wish the ear had not a heart So dangerously near.  alliteration rushes us on to ‘quickly’ and ‘dangerously’ breathiness of aspirated ‘h’ suggestive of sobbing?  simile modality speed, violence and aggression of spear full rhyme and repetition of ‘heart’ in final stanza brings sound of poem to closure