Week 7 (Response to spoken-word poetry and sign-language poetry)

How is spoken-word poetry similar and different from written forms of poetry?

Spoken word is nothing new. However, there is something to be said about the difference between poetry that is spoken aloud and meant to resonate in the moment, and verse that is written on paper which is meant to be scrutinized and interpreted. Poetry in its most classic sense was meant to be heard, not read. Poetry has existed since long before literacy was considered to be the norm. Poetry was a form of entertainment presented by performers in venues ranging from theatres filled with the common classes all the way to the courts of kings and queens. It was only as literacy became more common place that the written word became the standard of poetry. This is not to say that spoken word is any better than written word, or vice versa, but they should be seen in perspective. Todays spoken word artists, and the beat poets before them, are actually a return to the roots of poetry and the oral traditions that have been around since the dawn of civilization.

How is sign-language poetry similar and different from written poetry and spoken-word poetry?

Poetry uses various elements and devices, such as alliteration, rhythm, simile, metaphors, and onomatopoeia. Often poetry relies heavily on imagery and metaphors. In this sense, poetry and visual-manual (sign) language are somehow a natural complementarity. It uses specific language devices to maximise the significance of the poem, just as in the poetry of spoken languages, although the language devices are rather different from the rhymes and alliteration that are familiar to most hearing audiences. The metaphors and images used in sign language poems may also be different from those in spoken language poems. In general, though, the basic idea of maximising the message through specially heightened language is the same in poetry in all languages, whether signed or spoken.