Certain rhythms crop up again, and again. There's the famous iambic pentameters of the opening line of Rebecca - Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. And you can put certain poets to other rhythms...
Try Emily Dickinson. Poor, frail Emily...
Because I could not stop for Death/He kindly stopped for me
The carriage held but just ourselves/And Immortality
or
My life closed twice before its close;/It yet remains to see
If Immortality unveil/A third event to me
Now try singing the lines to the tune of The Yellow Rose of Texas.
Sorry, Emily Dickinson fans. You're going to have The Yellow Rose of Texas winging through your brain for the rest of the day. See where thinking about rhythm gets you.
(All together now...
Because I could not stop for Death/He kindly stopped for me
The carriage held but just ourselves/And Immortaliteeeee!)
2 comments:
Enjoyed this post! Would also add that in my now far-off teaching days, reluctant readers might be encouraged to get in the swing of things by use of a shiny tambourine... or [if I was feeling particularly brave] a drum and stick. Every little helps.
Have you ever come across 'Music and The Mind' by Antony Storr?
I like the idea of using a tambourine to beat out the rhythm. I've not thought of using music before, but will have to explore - i'll check out the Storr book.
Post a Comment