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ACTI VI TY 1
Poeti c license and Zephaniah' s use of language
Seldom is students experience with poetry positive. At school,
poetry classes often entaildeciphering what the great poets have
said in concise, elliptic and often archaiclanguage. Therefore, it
is not surprising that students often turn to prose.
However, young people are immersed in a poetic environment
nowadays. Rock lyrics, folksongs, childrens rhymes, jingles and
football chants are good proof of how alive poetry is,though few
teachers or students would be willing to include them within the
field ofpoetry.Shouldnt poems be written in appropriate language?
Shouldnt they be the expressionof beautiful and elevated thought?
In view of the type of poetry hes written, a definite no
would be Benjamin Zephaniahs answer.According to my mood is a
good example of this.
According to m y moodI have poetic license,i WriTe thE way i
waNt.
i drop my full stops where i like..MY CAPITAL LetteRs go where i
liKE,i order from MY PEN,i verse the way i like(i do my spelling
write)
According to My Mood.i Have poetic license,i put my commers
where i like,,((())).(((my brackets are write((I REPEAT WHen i
likE.i cant go rong.i look and i. c.
Its rite.i Repeat when i liKE. I havepoetic license!dont
question me????
from City Psalms
The poems layout isnt what we equate with conventional poetry.
Zephaniah is evidentlyaiming at surprising his readers by showing
them something different from what theyexpected. He has resorted to
defamiliarising the text by modifying our habitualperceptions and
expectations of what a poem should look like.
ProcedureAfter asking students to readAccording to my
moodsilently and then aloud in class youmay wish to discuss the
points below with them:
1 Though its true that poets have traditionally taken greater
liberties than prose writers inthe handling of language, Zephaniah
here seems to have run the gamut of poeticlicenses1. Which
liberties has he taken regarding spelling, capital letters and
punctuation?Whats the effect of these instances of poetic
irreverence on the reader?
2 The tone of the poem is evidently humorous, however, its
purpose isnt banal. In it,Zephaniah is making a provocative
statement on his aim as a poet. Pick out the many
repetitions of words and sentences in the poem and discuss what
the poet wishes toemphasise by means of this device.
British Council Argentina - Words on Words
