Jan's Master Class--ENJAMBMENT/END-STOPPING

[glorybee]

Thanks, Verna! That poem has enjambment in nearly every stanza. I really like this one:

Yet when her cousin, Mary, came
To share her promised joy,
Her infant leapt inside her womb
For Mary’s Baby Boy.

***

Hey, y'all, another note, not just for this poem, but for all rhymed poetry that features enjambment. I mentioned this a bit when I mentioned Holly's poem, and although this is a class on writing, not dramatic reading, it's a pet peeve of mine, so...

If you ever have opportunity to read a rhymed poem aloud, resist the temptation to pause at the end of every line. Or if you must pause, do so for just a tenth of a second, and barrel through--if the line is enjambed. That shows that you're reading for the meaning of the poem, which after all is more important than the rhythm.

[glorybee]

Oh Jan, that was a soapbox of mine for so many years. I would tell my students to read to the punctuation. You haven't lived till you've heard a Shakespeare play read aloud by eighth graders who think all poetry should be read:
Da dum da dum da dum da dum da dum
Da dum da dum da dum da dum da dum
ad infinitum.

I've heard it from 9th graders - does that count?

Yes, it counts! Grasp those 9th graders firmly by the ears and tell them to stop it, immediately!