For our A.P. workbook assignment #3, we will be analyzing Maxine Kumin's, "The Sound of Night," on page 115. After reading/annotating the poem, as you would on the day of the exam, read through the 8 questions posed under "Using Skills to Understand the Poem" on page 116. You are to respond to any 2 of the 8 questions. Unless you are the first to respond, refer to (quote) an observation or insight made by one of your classmates that strikes you as interesting or controversial. Your response is to be a minimum of 250 words in total. As always, this is a formal written assignment; apply the conventions of standard written English.
Blog is to be posted before class on Friday, 12/9/11.
2.) Synesthesia is used in line three to link auditory and visual imagery together with the phrase “the air thick with their vesper cries (line 3)”, where thick is used as the adjective which has this dual imagery. Auditory imagery is recognized through “thick” by the fact that you can imagine hearing a layering of different sounds, which is enforced when “vesper” is used which means a church-bell like sound. Church bells are usually played simultaneously and layered to reproduce a song which draws church-goers to mass. Visual imagery is used because you can imagine a thickness in the dark of this heterogeneous sound which you group together visually because you cannot see the beings which produce this sound.
ReplyDelete8.) When Maxine Kumin says that the birds are “importantly” silent (line 23), she gives the word two meanings. One can be determined by tracing back to line 3 where she says the birds cries are “vesper”, which can be alarming for a person who is camping out in the woods by a lake and is not expecting that sort of day-time sound. The animals that are highlighted as night creatures, crickets and frogs, make a night sound that is a white-noise to campers because it is not audible enough to keep you from sleeping. The other meaning of “importantly” is that the bird is symbolic of the cue of the dawn, for example when the rooster crows to wake up the farmer to start his daily routine. Therefore, the bird is recognized by humans as natures’ alarm clock, as it is said in the poem, “importantly silent, for the crease of first eye-licking light.”
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ReplyDelete2.) In line three, “The air thick with their vesper cries”, the author demonstrates synesthesia by using a visual imagery to describe a sound. The author uses “thick” to describe the vast amount of sounds that are filling the air. I feel that the use of a visual adjective allows the reader to envision a dreary haze of intimidating sounds such as “squeak” and “chirp”. Also, due to the fact that the setting of the poem is at night, by describing the air as “thick” with sounds it portrays a very unknown and eerie mood. In addition as Ester said, “Vesper is used which means a church-bell like sound”, this helps you visualize the constant layering and repletion of sounds in the air.
ReplyDelete6.) In lines 5-6 the overall impression produced by the string of verbs is the aspect that the narrator is some what intimidated and scared. The narrator includes the verbs, “squeak”, “chirp”, “skitter”, and “skim” which portray creatures that are out during the night making sounds and movements. However, due to the setting of night the verbs take on an unknown or ominous meaning. The “skitter across the lake” and “skim on skates” illustrate how the creatures are out in the night encompassing them with their sounds and actions. Overall the verbs offer what the narrator is hearing and seeing and helps you analyze a sense of fear in the narrator.
-Russell
6) In lines 5 through 6, the overall impression given by the diction is that the bats lightly touch surfaces as they fly about. Their movements, by the impression given by the diction, are fast. “skitter across the lake”(line 5) shows, through the poet’s word choice that the bats move at such a speed that they don’t sink upon landing the water of the lake. Further evidence of this is “skim on skates” (line 6). The use of the words “squeak” (line 6) and “chirp” (line 6), fitting with the theme given by the title of the poem, is onomatopoeia that fills the night in which the bats fly. To extend the initial statement about the impression of the diction, the diction gives the impression that everything that the bats do is adding to the “Sound of the Night”
ReplyDelete7) The metaphors in lines 14 through 16 are “…paws, quiet/and quick and raindrops” (lines 15-16) and “crickets/chorus hallelujahs” (lines 14-15). The first metaphor listed relates the feet of crickets to raindrops. The sounds of the feet of the crickets on stone make a sound akin to rain landing on the stone. The second listed metaphor relates crickets to people giving praise. This shows that the perceived attitude of the crickets is joyous in the night that is rich with sounds. The metaphors are connected in that they are both relating an aspect of the crickets to something. The metaphors are also connected in their contrast to one another. The crickets are chorusing in this section of the poem, but their paws, are quiet as drops of rain.
4. In line 4, the comparison between bats and kites describe both their shapes. The mental image that is formed is a flat and dull pointed creature, which is able to almost float because of the flatness and broadness of its body. The bats “skitter across the lake” like a floating kite that flies but almost stationary while it cruises through the wind. The contrast between silence and sound also occurs because the almost floating bats, like a stealth bomber, are contrasted with the “squeak, chirp, dip, and skim” it does while it glides over the surface of the lake.
ReplyDelete3. The alliteration, consonance and assonance in the poem make the sounds to be more realistic. The words of the poem itself make its own beat like in the line “squeak, chirp, dip, and skim,” it’s as though the poem has a 4/4 beat accompanying the description of the sounds. Also the words that have the same general sound like in line 8-9, “noisy as ducks, drunk on the boozy black, gloating chink-chunk,” makes the poem melodic in a sense that the similar words are like the words that appear on a song. With the description the acute sounds of the night, it seems as though sound is contrasted with silence. Adrian said that “sounds of the feet of the crickets on stone make a sound akin to rain landing on the stone. The second listed metaphor relates crickets to people giving praise,” with the sound of the minor creature of the light being highlighted, and the “music” of the poem, the life that occurs during the night is brought out due to the silence of the day creatures.
“The Sound of Night” by Maxine Kumin
ReplyDelete3) Alliteration, assonance, and consonance add more to the poem making it more complex and adding more meaning behind the use of these techniques. For example, the usage of assonance in the poem makes for a change in mood. The author uses assonance in lines 13-14 for example with the words ‘blankets” and “Crickets”. The author utilizes alliteration with the repetition of the words “dark” in lines 1, 10 and the word “Night” in lines 14 and 27. The repetition of these words shows the importance that they obtain in the poem. The poem is about how different and mysterious the creatures of the night are and the fact that they are misunderstood by the creatures of the day. The author’s use of consonance in the poem gives a sense of how important the sounds that the creatures make are. The use of consonance is evident in lines 8-9, 13-14, and lines 24-27. The author uses these literary devices in order to convey more meaning since the narrator is in the dark therefore unable to see the creatures of the night but hear the sounds that they make.
8) In line 23 the poet mentions the birds being “importantly” silent. There are two meanings to this adverb for example, the word “importantly” can also mean that the birds are being curiously silent since during the day they are not silent. As Ester mentions the word “importantly” has a second meaning that can be determined by looking back to the beginning of the poem in lines 2-3 “ Birds huggermugger crowd the trees, the air thick with their vesper cries.” From these lines it is evident that the calls of the birds are like wake up calls. The sounds of birds are usually the indicator that it is the daytime.
- Jasmine Berrios :D
2. The thickness is not merely relating to the width of something, but also to a much deeper understanding of the piece. First of all, I do believe that there is that aspect that the noise of the bells was very thick, in that they resonated well, but it is also the curtain of sounds in my opinion. The numerous noises being produced at the same time allows for this thick sheet of sounds which is overpowering when it is all put together. In addition to this, the thickness could be relating to weather conditions. In most of New England, and New Hampshire is no different, there is often a very thick fog which descends on towns during the morning and afternoons. This fog could be another meaning for the thickness of the entire atmosphere which can be difficult for lights and our vision to cut through.
ReplyDelete5. The description that Maxine gives for the frogs is very unique. For one, she says, “…noisy as ducks, drunk on the boozy black, gloating chink-chunk.” This has several interesting aspects. Primarily, we can see that Maxine is calling them drunk, and gloating. This is an interesting description as it makes them seem as if they are being described as this erratic and uncoordinated chorus of sounds which happen at no particular time what so ever. It makes it seem as if there is a much more sweeping and full noise that although they are only short sounds, together may seem a background cacophony coating the background with their chirps.
--Brandon Harris
Question number 2
ReplyDeleteBy definition synethesia is a stimulus that causes a color to perceived by the mind through the authors choice of words. When kumin talks about the "thick air" she is referring to the craziness of noise being produced by the surrounding animals. To connect this with the color part of the definition she goes on to say the "vesper cries". Vesper is like a mix of two colors sometimes three so i think theres a connection between a heavy mixed color combination and the different noises in the swamp/lake.
Question 8
I think the author is trying to show that these people who are stuck in this place are really scared and are like sitting tight hoping nothing bad happens and they figure that as long as the birds don't go anywhere like in the movies that they should be ok like the peace is not broken or like the context says silence.
The first definition "of much or great significance or consequence" fits because the peace the birds have now symbolizes a sort of balance as oppose to the birds being frightened and flying away symbolizing danger.
Another definition that works "of considerable influence" like I stated above the sensitivity to danger that birds have is something that one should consider as a stranded person also it does influence a stranded persons decision as to do i run or stay in place.
Michael Javier (Amazing ..... Bulby 900)
1.)
ReplyDeleteAccording to the dictionary, the word “chitter” is a verb, meaning to twitter or chirp. However in line 1, “And now the dark comes on, all full of chitter noise”, “chitter” is used as an adjective to modify the word “noise”. Huggermugger as defined by the dictionary is a noun, meaning disorder or confusion. Kumin uses the word in order to give a sense of avian chaos in the trees, or just a mass gathering of birds. I feel that the placement of “huggermugger” is strange, especially with the Kumin’s diction with the previous word, choosing to use the plural “birds” as opposed to the possessive “bird’s”, which would have created a less abstract line. Vesper can be used as a noun or an adjective, but in this poem Kumin is using it as an adjective, and therefore it is defined as “relating to the evening”. Kumin uses vesper to extend the imagery of late evening, already created in line 1, with “And now the dark comes on”
7.)
The two metaphors that Kumin uses in lines 14-16 compare the chirping of crickets to a chorus of hallelujahs or a church choir, the sound of mammals walking on stones to the sound of raindrops. What connects these two metaphors is that she is using auditory imagery. I respectfully disagree with Adrian in his analysis that Kumin is comparing the feet of the crickets to the raindrops. Her use of the word paws, leads me to think that she is referring to a small mammal of some kind, not the crickets that are already creating the “chorus of hallelujahs”; otherwise i agree with him fully
Keye Frank
4) In line four, author Maxine Kumin compares bats to the image of a kite. “…and bats, snub seven-pointed kites…”Bats have pointy corners in their wings and ears, just like a kite. Bats, like kites, also fly high in the air, soaring above everything else. The wings of a bat resemble a kite in that it looks like a skin drawn taught over a wooden framework. This helps create the image of the thin skin on a bats wings, and the prominent framework of the bones in the wings. I disagree with Franz who said that the metaphor gives the allusion of a, “flat and dull pointed creature”. Unlike a kite, bats are not bright and colorful. Therefore, the image of a kite can not be compared to the image of a bat in this sense.
ReplyDelete6) The verbs used in lines 5-6 are: skitter, swing, squeak, chirp, dip and skim. Skittering out across the lake and swinging out gives the image of bats flapping their wings and flying over the lake. The swinging out reminds me of the path a dragonfly, long, spindly and elegant. These string of words paint the images of the movements certain animals take in the night. For example, birds chirp, frogs may dip into the water, insects can skim on skates. All these things further develop the theme of the night life and the things that the night animals do and the noises they make. These words can capture one minute of of being outside at night. All the sounds that you would here are captured in this one stream of words in poetry.
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ReplyDelete2.) The expression “air thick with their vesper cries” works well in this piece because it visualizes and makes tactile the idea that the air is filled with sound. It is a poetic use of the word, not meant to be taken literally. As Russell said, “the use of a visual adjective allows the reader to envision a dreary haze of intimidating sounds such as ‘squeak’ and ‘chirp’”. We get an intense sense of color, if you will, that illuminates the multiple levels that the poem is working on.
ReplyDelete4.) The image of bats as compared to kites helps create another mental image. Bats look a bit like kites, as they fly and are relatively flat. But more importantly, the use of the word “kite” solidifies the image that the bats are motionless in the sky. This is a tranquil image, one that has much synergy with all other examples of the beauty and sound of night. It is also important to note that bats and kites do not make much, if any, sound while flying, which is a stark contrast to the rest of the poem, which deals primarily with the sound of night, not the visuals of night. I believe this is an important and intentional distinction, which elevates a reader’s awareness of what senses are being explored.
6. The verbs in lines 5-6 create a tone that is playful, carefree and pleasant. This impression is brought out by the words and phrases “skitter”, “swing out” and “skim on skates”. The verbs within the two lines provide a bit of levity to the piece because usually when the words “night” or “dark” are incorporated in a piece it symbolized evil and obscurity. The author used a significant amount of personification to express the actions displayed by the various animals in the poem to create a graceful as well as a playful scene. I agree with Adrian that the onomatopoeia in line 6 correlate with the title of the poem.
ReplyDelete8. What the author means when she says that the birds are “importantly silent” is that the night belongs to the animals of the night such as bats, frogs and crickets. The use of the birds within the piece symbolize the morning or day time. The author uses the literary device of repetition to provide how the night affects the birds. In the beginning of the poem it is said that the birds fill the air with their “vesper cries” meaning that the birds are active in the day time, and later in the poem they are “silent”; the birds are not active in the night. Another meaning to the phrase “vesper cries” is that the word “vesper” is associated with the night, this could mean that the birds cry at night because they are not given the chance to be audible during the night.
4) In line 4, Kumin creates a metaphor between bats and kites. "bats, snub seven-pointed kites." This metaphor is used to show the similarities between the flight and look of bats and kites. Both bats and kites glide through the air and use the wind to help fuel their flight. This metaphor also helps also helps the reader form a mental image of a bat. Kites have a thin sheet of material which is normally stretched over a four “+” like shape. So, when the author says a bat is like a “seven-pointed” kite, it is not hard for the reader to imagine the bat, specifically the wings.
ReplyDelete6) This string of verbs used in lines 5-6 produce a distinct image of he bats in flight. They first “skitter across the lake.” In my mind I could see the bats flying low over the lake, nearly touching the water. The bats then “swing out” meaning they shoot up into the sky, away from the lake. Next, the bats “squeak, [and] chirp.” The picture of he bats using their sonar to hunt and feed. Then, the bats “dip, and skim on skates of air.” The bats dive again and glide through the air. This string of verbs used by the author creates a vivid image of the bats flying through the night.
3. A variety of literary terms can be found in this poem but the alliteration, consonance and assonance in the poem assists the poem by making it sound more practical. When alliteration is used in the poem it gives a soothing vibe to the poem which may conflict with the natural belief that the night is a frightening period of the day. An example is, in line 6 of “The Sound of Night”, the poet says, “squeak, chirp, dip, and skim on skates.” Assonance and consonance can also be identified in this poem. This device can be found in line 8 when the author mentions, “noisy as ducks, drunk on the boozy black, gloating chink-chunk.” This gives the poem a more realistic sense which coincides with Adrian and Franz.
ReplyDelete8. When the author called the birds “importantly” silent displayed how birds always take the limelight at the night. The common belief is that when one describes the sounds in the night, birds and insects seem to always be mentioned. This is due to the serenity of the other aspects of the night like the lake for example. In a sense, birds seem to be noise of the night. In this poem, however, it gives other animals that thrive in the night a chance to be expressed. Rather than one class of animal dominating the soundwaves, the animals of the night work together. I also agree with Esteer she said, “The bird is recognized by humans as natures’ alarm clock, as it is said in the poem, “importantly silent, for the crease of first eye-licking light.” I agree with this because it is a phenomenon that birds do stay quite during the night and other not so loud animals may make a little noise like the cricket. I felt that the poet was trying to illustrate that when he said “importantly.”
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ReplyDeleteQuestion number 2
ReplyDeleteAs Mike said in his question the definition of synethesia is a stimulus that causes a color to perceived by the mind through the authors choice of words. So when the author uses diction such as "thick air" there must be a different thought process for this such as the author maybe referring to something within the noise of the animals. Like Josh said the words the author chose in the line where it says "vesper cries" it's not meant to be taken literally. After some research I did I saw that Vesper is a mix of two colors and now you make the connection of noises in the swamp or lake like Mike said.
Question number 4
In lines 4-5, Mr. Kumin (author) tries to compare the bats to the "image" of the kite, "and bats, snub seven-pointed kites” Bats are like kites in sense that they are both are capable of being able to see from a different perspective which in this case is watching above everyone which is flying. Like, Amina I disagree with Franz thinking of this, I don't see how the metaphor that is given can be seen as "flat and dull pointed creatures." If you think of the kite like Franz did, then I think you're not actually comparing the bat to the kite. Bats are not colorful in the sense that they are only black and come out at the night time of day unlike the kites which only appear during the day, therefore, making the kite a bright and colorful "creature."
- Marc Cortes :)
2) As synethesia means associating a color with a sound and vesper is another word for evening, line 3 is creating a visual that the sound of night is like a heavy fog during the day. When “the dark comes on, all full of chitter noise” (line 1) and each of those noises is distinct with different tones and pitches is then given its own color, “the air thick with their vesper cries” (line 3) is now the combination of all the distinct colors from each bird, this then creating a color fog. As Andrew said in New Hampshire, where the poem takes place, “there is often a very thick fog which descends on towns during the morning and afternoons”. Kumin could also be inferring the noises that come from night are so heavy they leave an after effect like dust still settling in the wind.
ReplyDelete4) Bats and kites are probably more alike then anyone has ever cared to notice before. In line 4 bats are referred to as, “snub seven-pointed kites”. The seven points are most likely coming from, 1 for each foot, 2 per wing and 1 for the head. The most obvious comparison between the two is that they both function/ fly high in the sky but that is not what the author is taking on. The fact that snub is added to the comparison puts a negative tone to the metaphor. As people we think of kites as fun and cool things that are used during the day. Since snub is like rejected the author is saying that bats are like kites evil twin brother. Bats do not come in bright fun colors, they are not typical pets and they are only out during the night. The metaphor makes you mentally picture this lone poor misunderstood bat sweeping across the lake.
2) As the question states, air cannot literally be “thick” with sounds. In line three the author uses synesthesia, a linkage between the senses, to express how much sound is going on during the night. As it cannot exactly be expressed using the sense of hearing, the author is trying to use a different sense to articulate how there is a lot of sound throughout the area. When the author is talking about the birds and “the air thick with their vesper cries” she is trying to get you to envision a thick haze of sounds. I think Russell said it best when he said, “I feel that the use of a visual adjective allows the reader to envision a dreary haze of intimidating sounds such as ‘squeak’ and ‘chirp”
ReplyDelete5) The frogs that the author described in lines five through seven have a rather unusual word choice, in that it uses both onomatopoeia and alliteration. These devices are seen in “chink-chunk”, “boozy black”, and “ducks, drunk”. I like the explanation Karl gave when he wrote, “These words extend the poem beyond visual imagery and gives the reader auditory imagery” In other words, this passage, like the passage in question two, uses synesthesia in the fact that it links the visual and auditory senses. It gives the sights sounds to go along with it. This enhances the reader’s experience when they read this poem.
-- Alex Thim
4). In line 4 the bats are subject of a metaphor. Similar to what Kiara said to number four "in line 4 bats are referred to as,"snub seven-pointed kites"" and therefore a comparison between them would be the fact that they fly. However the metaphor that is being portrayed could be a comparison between death and the bat swooping in the night. This is supported also from the title of the passage "The Sounds of Night" when night is representing death. How the kite reference helps me form a mental image of the bats is that the "snub seven-pointed kites" is giving reference to the shape of the bats wings in sort of a gliding shape.
ReplyDelete5). From the poets description on lines 7-9, there is something unusual about the word choice. On line 8 and 9 the author say the frogs are "drunk.....chink-chunk" which makes it unusual because it is difficult to grasp. Similar to what Brandon had said these words have "several interesting aspects". They are basically being used as a way to describe the frogs almost in a disordered manner as if they were "drunk". But what is added by the sounds of the words is it seems that the sort noises made by the frogs are almost interrupting the sounds of the night off setting the beat of the poem. This is sometimes used in poetry to bring the attention of the read back to the poem.
-Brandon Simone
1. Chitter, according to Dictionary.com, is a verb. Despite this, it is used as an adjective in the poem which reads “all full of chitter noise” (line 1). In this case chitter is being used as “chitter-like” which would make more sense grammatically, but chitter alone works better because it provides better structure. The first line has iambic meter that makes the poem flow well. Huggermugger means concealing, which is used to describe how the crowd of birds conceals the trees. It is used as a verb in this case, which is interesting since it is more often used as a noun or adjective. Vesper pertains to the evening, and is used in the line “the air thick with their vesper cries” (line 3). It adds to the mood of night time being mysterious and eventful. I feel that the author is suggesting that nighttime is in its own way highly active, despite being uneventful to the average person.
ReplyDelete5. The frogs in lines 7-9 are unique to the poem because they are presented using both alliteration and consonance. These frogs are seemingly active because they are described using words such as “wake”, “prink”, “noisy”, “drunk”, and “gloating”. The incorporation of the “k” sound creates liveliness in the simple noises of the frog. The word choice is unusual because the meanings of the words are not directly associated with frogs. The frogs are personified by being described with human characteristics, as a frog doesn’t typically get drunk. Yet, it accurately describes the disorganized croaking sounds that frogs make. The overall effect is that the sounds of the frogs are made very distinct, and this further strengthens the importance of auditory imagery in the poem.
In response to Josh, I find it very interesting that the bats in the poem were compared to kites. He said that the imagery of bats is”a tranquil image, one that has much synergy with all other examples of the beauty and sound of night.” I agree with this statement because I believe Kumin was very successful at creating auditory imagery to relate to the beauty of night. However, I find it a little unusual that Maxine Kumin uses unnatural objects to describe nature. The way bats are described as kites, and how they “skim on skates of air”, as well as the frogs that were described as drunk, and the “chorus hallelujahs” was especially unusual in my opinion. It’s odd to me how well the author was able to convey the sounds of night using sounds that weren’t part of what we think of nature, and how they were related to the various sounds of the animals.
4. In line 4 of the poem “The Sound of Night” author Maxine Kumin describes the bats as “snub seven-pointed kites.” This metaphor is used to show how bats, like kites, glide through the air in a seemingly effortless manner. This comparison also helps the reader visualize a bat because a kite flies because a thin material stretched over a wooden frame catches wind while on a bat, the thin skin of the wings, on a bone frame, catch the wind. Josh says that the comparison creates “a tranquil image, one that has much synergy with all other examples of the beauty and sound of night.” I find this interpretation profound as I had not thought of it that way. Upon a second reading you can truly appreciate what this image contributes to the overall feeling of the poem
ReplyDelete5. In lines 7-9 Maxine Kumin writes “the fat frogs wake and prink/wide-lipped, noisy as ducks, drunk/on the boozy black, floating chink-chunk.” The word choice for this is very unorthodox because the author uses onomatopoeia in words like “prink” and “chink-chunk.” When I hear these words I think of the frogs blinking their eyes making the cartoony sound of prink while the chink-chunk is used to represent their croak. These words extend the poem beyond just visual imagery and gives the reader auditory imagery to further immerse them in the scene set by Kumin and enhancing the experience.