This is more on the techy side of it. And actually I'm doing this for prose right now, and am writing this down partly to help myself - but there's a lot in common.
You need to be sure to breath, or you'll soon be gasping for breath. But not take breaths too often.
When talking we tend to take breaths every few words. But that breaks up the text a lot. And we also have a lot of hesitation, half finished phrases, and so forth.
You don't notice that in conversation but you can notice it acutely if someone is reading something aloud to you.
If you have a long sentence, you may not be able to say the whole thing in one breath. And if you break it up in an unnatural place, that spoils the flow.
I'm an amateur musician and when you play a wind instrument, if a passage is particularly demanding - sometimes you have to play lots of short notes in a single long phrase with no obvious place to take a breath - you may need to go through and mark where you plan to take a breath and practice how you do it.
So, you could do that also, mark where you plan to take a breath.
You need to "look ahead" - ideally anyway while you are reading one part, to kind of be aware of what comes next. Musicians do this all the time if they are reading music, they have to be aware of two parts of the music at once - the part they are playing right now, and the part they are about to play. Professional musicians often read several measures ahead of the notes they are actually playing.
So - well you do that when reading as well. Actually we do anyway but most often, just one or two words ahead of where you have got to with your speech. So if a sentence takes a surprising turn and you realize that you've completely misread what it meant - you have to either stop and start the sentence again - or just keep going but you read it in a way that doesn't really make sense.
So that again is very noticeable if people read something to you as they read it, especially if they are reading it for the first time as they read it out to you.
They usually don't understand what they are reading, until after they have finished reading it out loud.
When they are half way through a sentence, they don't know yet how it is going to end because they haven't got that far yet. They might guess, but guess wrong often.
Which of course is no use at all when it comes to reading it in a way that helps the listener understand what they are saying. I think this is one of the main reasons it can often be quite hard to understand something if someone else reads it out loud to you as they read it themselves.
So - as with the musician - you can deal with that, and learn to read aloud even words you have never seen before. To do that the only solution is to be able to read a long way ahead. As you get to the start of the sentence, then you have already got all the way to the end and know what it is going to say.
If you are a very fast reader, one way to do that is to read the whole sentence to the end, and then back to the start, all in a fraction of a second, for instance as you take your breath, or a natural pause.
Or, like the musician, I suppose you could keep your eye always a long way ahead of what you are actually saying. That's a tricky technique though. I can't do it, trying it just now but maybe could learn to do it.
Other than that, well you just have to know where it is going from reading it before.
Here I'm assuming of course that you are reading from a page - if you memorize it then that bit about reading ahead doesn't apply.
Either way though, to have some awareness of what is coming next, and to know when you plan to breathe.
Another technical thing. Vary the pitch and emphasis of your voice. Like - not in a forced way. But your voice will naturally go up and down in pitch. And some words will be more emphasized and some will be quieter. So a case of just paying attention to that. And then - maybe do it just a little bit more, slightly wider pitch change or whatever.
And - though often you say important words a bit higher in volume - something to be aware of, that saying a word suddenly really quietly - but clearly and distinctly - that can sometimes be an attention catching thing depending on the context.
And varying the timing, for instance, to say a word just a little bit ahead of when the reader expects it, or just behind it. Never fall into a totally predictable monotonous rhythm. Even if the poem has a lot of meter to it, ideally you want the reader to be pleasantly surprised by the rhythm, not put to sleep by it, so some slight variations are natural, faster sometimes, slower sometimes. Sometimes after a significant word, you may pause completely, for what seems far too long, but it works.
You want the text to "come to life" and almost nothing does that more than to have a variety of rhythm and timing. Every single word can be just a tiny bit unpredictable. But of course not in a random way. The timing fits in with the meaning.
This is used in music in a style called "Entasis". That's a way of playing music inspired by the patterns of speech, so their insights may be useful the other way around as a way to read text more fluently.
The basic ideas are -
That is unless of course the style requires you to speak in a robotic fashion.
And record yourself of course, because it's only when you hear a recording of your voice speaking that you can get a good idea of what is going on.
You need to understand what you are saying obviously, when reading out loud (not so important of course if just reading to yourself).
So, if you don't know what a word means, look it up.
If you find you stumble over things as you talk, sometimes it is just because it's a little bit of a "tongue twister". Just try repeating that phrase over and over until you "get it".
For instance, in that poem, Ragnarök may be an unfamiliar word and it's a tricky combination of syllables. So, you need to repeat it until it just rolls of your tongue no problem.
Sometimes it is a combination of several words following each other, or a short phrase.
First, if you just keep reading from the start all the way through to the stumble, hoping to get through it, just bash away from the start hoping eventually you'll "get it" - in music anyway that approach seldom works well. It can often reinforce your tendency to stumble, even, as you get more and more anxious as the tricky section approaches. So I expect it's the same with poetry and prose.
And it also means you spend most of your practice time repeating things you can already say easily - and also - those parts get more and more boring for you as you have to get through them to the only part you are working on right now. It's not only reinforcing the mistake, it's also a very unproductive way of rehearsing, and can have a backwards effect of making the whole performance more "lack lustre" and lifeless continually playing parts that you are not actually working on and without expression because all your attention is on the stumble you know is coming up.
Instead, try repeating any tricky word or phrase several times at a pace just a bit faster than you plan to do it.
Then one last time a bit slower and it will sink in better.
You need to include a word or two before and after the phrase, here, to put it in context, so it flows easily into the rest of the piece when you play / read the whole thing.
You'll be surprised how easily and quickly it sinks in with this technique, which is also very effective for music practice. After perhaps as few as three or four fast repetitions and one slow repetition, you can soon say that phrase fluently.
Then - you can repeat the whole phrase, or just that verse, with your new phrase in context. Or just keep going through the piece, practice all the tricky sections as you get to them.
There's quite a lot common between reading poetry or prose and performing music, so I think these tips may help.
If you've been doing a lot of technical work - at the end of your session, forget about technique, and read the piece really enjoying it, and trying to let the passion, humour, enjoyment, melancholy or whatever it is really shine through.
The end of the line is very important in poetry. In the poem you plan to read, it makes clever use of the end of the line.
And each verse ends with "because" you'll surely want to emphasize that a little, so the listener hears that pattern, e.g. with a pause after the "because".
And - you don't need to pause at the end of every line. If you run them over, well the reader has got the idea where the end of the line is from the previous lines. You can let the lines run over because of that.
If the reader hasn't got some idea of where the lines end from your reading, it is more like prose with use of interesting rhythms and word sounds, rather than poetry, I think. Though sometimes the line between poetry and prose is rather blurry.
Anyway, there's no harm in emphasizing the line endings a bit, pause a bit more, the lines are part of the structure of the poem.
There are many different styles of reading in poetry.
T.S.Elliot for instance, he emphasizes the ends of the lines a lot, often pausing just because it is the end of the line although you never would pause at that point if it is prose. And he has quite a flat style of delivery, not going up and down in pitch much - I think he wants the words to have impact by themselves, somehow gets you to focus more on the words themselves and the music of them.
For the poem you chose, I think you do want to pause at the end of almost every line slightly - indeed most of the lines are written in such a way you can't help but pause, but as to whether you run a few of them over to each other like a single sentence, that's artistic choice.
And - because it is part of the fun and wit of the poem I think surely have to pause after the "because" as I already said. Well could be other ways of doing it but I think that's a natural way of marking the end of the verse.
Oh, and I don't think there is any symbolism in this poem. Sometimes it's used but poems don't have to use symbolism at all. I hesitate to explain it - but - all the way through you are thinking "why are they (the you of the poem) not paying attention to these world changing events happening around them" - and with each "because" you think you'll find the answer - and then at the very end you find out why and that's the gentle humour of the piece. That's all there is to it really, but for someone who loves the rhythm of words and apt choice of words, it is so cleverly and nicely done :).
And - no don't rewrite it, it's bound to fall flat on its face unless you have amazing talents for prose yourself.
BREATHING
You need to be sure to breath, or you'll soon be gasping for breath. But not take breaths too often.
When talking we tend to take breaths every few words. But that breaks up the text a lot. And we also have a lot of hesitation, half finished phrases, and so forth.
You don't notice that in conversation but you can notice it acutely if someone is reading something aloud to you.
If you have a long sentence, you may not be able to say the whole thing in one breath. And if you break it up in an unnatural place, that spoils the flow.
I'm an amateur musician and when you play a wind instrument, if a passage is particularly demanding - sometimes you have to play lots of short notes in a single long phrase with no obvious place to take a breath - you may need to go through and mark where you plan to take a breath and practice how you do it.
Breath mark (music)
So, you could do that also, mark where you plan to take a breath.
UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING BEFORE YOU READ IT, NOT MID SENTENCE
You need to "look ahead" - ideally anyway while you are reading one part, to kind of be aware of what comes next. Musicians do this all the time if they are reading music, they have to be aware of two parts of the music at once - the part they are playing right now, and the part they are about to play. Professional musicians often read several measures ahead of the notes they are actually playing.
So - well you do that when reading as well. Actually we do anyway but most often, just one or two words ahead of where you have got to with your speech. So if a sentence takes a surprising turn and you realize that you've completely misread what it meant - you have to either stop and start the sentence again - or just keep going but you read it in a way that doesn't really make sense.
So that again is very noticeable if people read something to you as they read it, especially if they are reading it for the first time as they read it out to you.
They usually don't understand what they are reading, until after they have finished reading it out loud.
When they are half way through a sentence, they don't know yet how it is going to end because they haven't got that far yet. They might guess, but guess wrong often.
Which of course is no use at all when it comes to reading it in a way that helps the listener understand what they are saying. I think this is one of the main reasons it can often be quite hard to understand something if someone else reads it out loud to you as they read it themselves.
So - as with the musician - you can deal with that, and learn to read aloud even words you have never seen before. To do that the only solution is to be able to read a long way ahead. As you get to the start of the sentence, then you have already got all the way to the end and know what it is going to say.
If you are a very fast reader, one way to do that is to read the whole sentence to the end, and then back to the start, all in a fraction of a second, for instance as you take your breath, or a natural pause.
Or, like the musician, I suppose you could keep your eye always a long way ahead of what you are actually saying. That's a tricky technique though. I can't do it, trying it just now but maybe could learn to do it.
Other than that, well you just have to know where it is going from reading it before.
Here I'm assuming of course that you are reading from a page - if you memorize it then that bit about reading ahead doesn't apply.
Either way though, to have some awareness of what is coming next, and to know when you plan to breathe.
PITCH AND EMPHASIS
Another technical thing. Vary the pitch and emphasis of your voice. Like - not in a forced way. But your voice will naturally go up and down in pitch. And some words will be more emphasized and some will be quieter. So a case of just paying attention to that. And then - maybe do it just a little bit more, slightly wider pitch change or whatever.
And - though often you say important words a bit higher in volume - something to be aware of, that saying a word suddenly really quietly - but clearly and distinctly - that can sometimes be an attention catching thing depending on the context.
TIMING AND SURPRISE
And varying the timing, for instance, to say a word just a little bit ahead of when the reader expects it, or just behind it. Never fall into a totally predictable monotonous rhythm. Even if the poem has a lot of meter to it, ideally you want the reader to be pleasantly surprised by the rhythm, not put to sleep by it, so some slight variations are natural, faster sometimes, slower sometimes. Sometimes after a significant word, you may pause completely, for what seems far too long, but it works.
You want the text to "come to life" and almost nothing does that more than to have a variety of rhythm and timing. Every single word can be just a tiny bit unpredictable. But of course not in a random way. The timing fits in with the meaning.
This is used in music in a style called "Entasis". That's a way of playing music inspired by the patterns of speech, so their insights may be useful the other way around as a way to read text more fluently.
The basic ideas are -
- Notes should be subtly unequal - having no three notes the same helps to keep the music alive and interesting and helps prevent any feeling of sameness and boredom in the music - the idea of "Entasis"
This technique is especially challenging in its application, because musicians today are so rigidly trained in metrical regularity. Yet, like the beating of the heart, the musical pulse needs to fluctuate in speed as the emotional content of the music fluctuates. Like the natural shifting accents in speech, musical accents need to shift according to the meaning being expressed. To feel perfect, music must be metrically imperfect.
- Notes and musical phrases can be organized in gestures – particular patterns of rhythm that come naturally – rather than strict measures.
- Individual notes can be delayed slightly – when you expect a particular note e.g. at the end of a musical phrase – just waiting a moment or two before playing the note:
The cognitive partner of hesitation is anticipation: anticipation is created by building up assumption on assumption about what will happen. When the event which should occur fails to happen at the expected time, there exists a moment of disappointment. Disappointment, however, is soon transformed into a rush of pleasure when the anticipated event is consummated. The art is always in the timing.This just touches on some of the ideas; for more details, see The Craft of Musical Communication
That is unless of course the style requires you to speak in a robotic fashion.
And record yourself of course, because it's only when you hear a recording of your voice speaking that you can get a good idea of what is going on.
LOOK UP ANY WORDS YOU DON'T KNOW
You need to understand what you are saying obviously, when reading out loud (not so important of course if just reading to yourself).
So, if you don't know what a word means, look it up.
TRICKY WORDS AND PHRASES
If you find you stumble over things as you talk, sometimes it is just because it's a little bit of a "tongue twister". Just try repeating that phrase over and over until you "get it".
For instance, in that poem, Ragnarök may be an unfamiliar word and it's a tricky combination of syllables. So, you need to repeat it until it just rolls of your tongue no problem.
Sometimes it is a combination of several words following each other, or a short phrase.
MUSICIAN'S TIP FOR TRICKY WORDS AND PHRASES
First, if you just keep reading from the start all the way through to the stumble, hoping to get through it, just bash away from the start hoping eventually you'll "get it" - in music anyway that approach seldom works well. It can often reinforce your tendency to stumble, even, as you get more and more anxious as the tricky section approaches. So I expect it's the same with poetry and prose.
And it also means you spend most of your practice time repeating things you can already say easily - and also - those parts get more and more boring for you as you have to get through them to the only part you are working on right now. It's not only reinforcing the mistake, it's also a very unproductive way of rehearsing, and can have a backwards effect of making the whole performance more "lack lustre" and lifeless continually playing parts that you are not actually working on and without expression because all your attention is on the stumble you know is coming up.
Instead, try repeating any tricky word or phrase several times at a pace just a bit faster than you plan to do it.
Then one last time a bit slower and it will sink in better.
You need to include a word or two before and after the phrase, here, to put it in context, so it flows easily into the rest of the piece when you play / read the whole thing.
You'll be surprised how easily and quickly it sinks in with this technique, which is also very effective for music practice. After perhaps as few as three or four fast repetitions and one slow repetition, you can soon say that phrase fluently.
Then - you can repeat the whole phrase, or just that verse, with your new phrase in context. Or just keep going through the piece, practice all the tricky sections as you get to them.
There's quite a lot common between reading poetry or prose and performing music, so I think these tips may help.
GIVE YOURSELF SOME TIME TO PLAY AND ENJOY THE WHOLE THING
If you've been doing a lot of technical work - at the end of your session, forget about technique, and read the piece really enjoying it, and trying to let the passion, humour, enjoyment, melancholy or whatever it is really shine through.
END OF LINE IN POETRY
The end of the line is very important in poetry. In the poem you plan to read, it makes clever use of the end of the line.
And each verse ends with "because" you'll surely want to emphasize that a little, so the listener hears that pattern, e.g. with a pause after the "because".
And - you don't need to pause at the end of every line. If you run them over, well the reader has got the idea where the end of the line is from the previous lines. You can let the lines run over because of that.
If the reader hasn't got some idea of where the lines end from your reading, it is more like prose with use of interesting rhythms and word sounds, rather than poetry, I think. Though sometimes the line between poetry and prose is rather blurry.
Anyway, there's no harm in emphasizing the line endings a bit, pause a bit more, the lines are part of the structure of the poem.
There are many different styles of reading in poetry.
T.S.Elliot for instance, he emphasizes the ends of the lines a lot, often pausing just because it is the end of the line although you never would pause at that point if it is prose. And he has quite a flat style of delivery, not going up and down in pitch much - I think he wants the words to have impact by themselves, somehow gets you to focus more on the words themselves and the music of them.
For the poem you chose, I think you do want to pause at the end of almost every line slightly - indeed most of the lines are written in such a way you can't help but pause, but as to whether you run a few of them over to each other like a single sentence, that's artistic choice.
And - because it is part of the fun and wit of the poem I think surely have to pause after the "because" as I already said. Well could be other ways of doing it but I think that's a natural way of marking the end of the verse.
Oh, and I don't think there is any symbolism in this poem. Sometimes it's used but poems don't have to use symbolism at all. I hesitate to explain it - but - all the way through you are thinking "why are they (the you of the poem) not paying attention to these world changing events happening around them" - and with each "because" you think you'll find the answer - and then at the very end you find out why and that's the gentle humour of the piece. That's all there is to it really, but for someone who loves the rhythm of words and apt choice of words, it is so cleverly and nicely done :).
And - no don't rewrite it, it's bound to fall flat on its face unless you have amazing talents for prose yourself.
About the Author
Robert Walker
Writer of articles on Mars and Space issues - Software Developer of Tune Smithy, Bounce Metronome etc.Studied at Wolfson College, Oxford
Lives in Isle of Mull
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