As part of the class I'm taking, I need to experience podcast production. I couldn't think of anything inspiring or interesting to say (that I didn't think could be said better in blog form, anyway) so I decided to take someone else's words. Lewis Carroll's, to be exact.
Michael graciously agreed to employ his vocal pyrotechnics for me, and he recited Lewis Carroll's "The Jabberwocky." I like that poem because it is fun to say; it is pleasant to shape your mouth around the gibberish words. Try it - you'll see.
What I hadn't noticed, however, is that Lewis Carroll manages to paint an incredibly vivid - and entirely comprehensible - picture using words that don't actually exist. What does brillig mean? What is a vorpal sword, and how does one outgrabe? Individually, the words are nonsense, but put them together, and you know exactly what they mean. Not only that, but once you have the picture in mind, words like brillig and vorpal do a better job at describing the scene than any other word would. This poem is a masterpiece of construction.
I really think you need to hear it to truly understand it, though. So, here you go. Let me know what you think of it. Could you understand the poem? Do the words seem real to you, or are they still just a collection of sounds? How does the music impact your reaction to the poetry? Just for comparison, here is the poem read again, but with no background music. Which do you like better?
I absolutely loved it. It was beautiful on so many levels and really shows how effective and deeply entertaining a Podcast can be.
ReplyDeleteThe music perfectly matches the reading. I kept flipping between music and no music as my favorite(and I listened to them MANY times). Each evokes a different experience of the poem and I decided that I am happy to have them both to listen to. Michael's voice is incredible and blew me away!
I also love the way that the 'nonsense' words are able to convey their meaning. It's as if the words themselves carry the intention of the thing they represent.
Listening to this podcast was a wonderful way to spend part of my afternoon. Thanks for this beautiful presentation of an old favorite.