Making Sense Of Sounds: Onomatopoeia

 

Tweet tweet tweet!!!

Whoosh… Whoosh…

Ka-boom!!!! Ka-boom!!!

There is a whimsicality about certain sounds in the natural world… the songs of birds or even monkeys playing. Some sounds possess a calm feeling, such as the booshy whoosh of a restless sea against the cliffs. Some are not so peaceful… such as a volcano erupting, fireworks, or animals fighting.They all invoke emotions…. playful, serene, fearful…

These sounds may be incorporated into poetry through onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia  is simply an obnoxiously long (and weird to spell term!) referring to using action words in a sentence that sound exactly like what they say… essentially “word sounds”… words like POW, BANG, and CRASH!!!  

Onomatopoeia is a favorite device used in children’s poetry since it engages a child’s imagination. It works for adults as well!! Take this fun poem by Jaymie Gerard called Piddle-Paddle for example… it is most effective in its simplicity… the suggestions of the sounds facilitating particular actions:

“Piddle paddle, piddle paddle,

splash, splash, splash,

into the pool with a great big dash!

“Piddle paddle…” implies friends playing about, “splash splash….” making a commotion in the water… and finally “Into the pool with a great big dash”… suggesting a running cannonball!

Another example could include “The Fourth” by Shel Silverstein. Although Silverstein also wrote children’s poems, his work always had depth and used many poetic tools. Here, explosions of fireworks accentuate the action between the lines of this poem… as if a conversation were being interrupted during each cannonade…

“Oh

CRASH!

my

BASH!

it’s

BANG!

the

ZANG!

Fourth

 WHOOSH!

of 

BAROOM!

July

WHEW!”

Another form of onomatopoeia is known as phanopoeia, which is a sort of blanket perception based on sounds within the words themselves. D.H. Lawrence does this in a poem entitled “Snake”, where he used constant alliterations with the s consonant to simulate a hiss… suggesting a snake.

Onomatopoeia is such an engaging device! It really can incorporate different dimensions within poetry due to its sensory invocations, prompting readers’ imaginations based on sounds rather than imagery or cognitive suggestion alone! 

The very idea of a noise near you should instantly make your mind say, “What was that?!” Poof!!

Matt Elmore