How can rhythm create meaning?

maestrowork said:

I am not sure if rhythm creates meaning, but it certainly creates feelings through flow, tone, and voice. In poetry, rhythm may very well create meaning. In prose, it's more about feelings, IMHO.

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Feeling is meaning.

caw

I have noticed that a monotonous sentence pacing tends to create a very disengaged, numbing kind of feeling, which can be deadly if you don't want that effect, hugely evocative if you do. That's not quite creating meaning, but we're getting close.

One of D.H. Lawrence's books (sorry, can't remember which one - read it for an English class eons ago) there is a scene where the young man and woman are working in the field. Lawrence used rhythm very effectively to create a palpable sexual tension, without ever mentioning anything sexual. That has got to be the clearest example of creating meaning through rhythm that I have ever seen.

I've been thinking about this...

and I still can't get the ideas straight and the words right to say what I feel about rhythm, but yes, it does create meaning.

So far I can only mention that you can see this in Dialogue, which without the correct rhythm is often meaningless or does not convey the correct meaning. Getting it right in dialogue is vital for writers as the readers don't hear the words spoken aloud. The rhythm of the written speech must be able to convey the meaning to the reader.

Actors often have exercises to do where they practise saying one sentence a million different ways. Try it. It is the rhythm of the words which changes their meaning not just tone of voice.

Then I keep thinking back to the first films which were silent but had a special musical score created by the accompanist. The accompanist had to see the film first before s/he could play the right music, but the audience knew what was happening because of the rhythms of the music.
That's what we try to do with words as writers.

Michael Pearce, whose books are noted for the excellent dialogue, says that he hears his novels. I think that might have something to do with rhythm too. Isn't that why the advice about reading our writing aloud is so helpful. We are actually listening to the rhythms we have created and our ears should be telling us where it doesn't work.

Winston Churchill's wartime speeches are a superb example of using rhythm to inspire.

Sorry I can't be succinct about rhythm yet or come up with a pithy phrase but it's such an important part of writing.
I have a theory that editors look instinctively for rhythm and it's what makes something publishable or unpublishable for them.

Certainly, rhythm creates meaning. Rhythm created meaning for our ancient ancestors before they ever had speech.

The rhythm of the words, the rhythm of the sentence structure, adds to the impressions the reader takes away from the work. Short. Staccato. Bursts. Make for a more martial read. They add tension. Make the reader read faster. This gives meaning to the action. Whereas longer, more languorous sentences slow the reader down and let them ease into the action and descriptions along with the characters. The same is true of short words versus longer, more leisurely syllables that elongate the verbal passages.

blacbird said:

Feeling is meaning.

caw

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I meant they don't have meanings on their own, but given the contexts, and the words underneath the rhythm, they do add "meaning" (what I call feelings) to the prose.

This is a difficult topic but...

worth thinking about.

Is the 'can't get it published' problem for new writers actually the problem of not having found their voice and rhythm?

I'm thinking of all those bland, technically/grammatically all-correct stories which appear in the SYW section for crits.

Does lack of an individual writer's voice = no rhythm?

Is this where rhythm and meaning tie up?

I don't know if this is actually a good way of doing it--I suppose we'll see when I have to edit the mess--but my WIP has become something of a rhythmic monster.

Slipping into the character and his voice (it's first person) means the sound of the words, the rhythm, becomes the order of the day. Sometimes I find myself adding words, redundant ones, just so his voice flows the way I want it. Assonance, alliteration, rhythm and rhyme all come into play. And to me it seems very effective, even if what he says, the "meaning" of it, really isn't exactly what I intended. It fits because the "sound" of the words is right.

Besides, it's not what you say, it's how you say it. On paper, with the written word, we don't have tone of voice and inflections to give clues to meanings. We have to use what we got, and that boils down to rhythm, alliteration, assonance and the like. The beat of the words, how they fall onto the page. I think it can add tremendous meaning.

Birol said:

The rhythm of the words, the rhythm of the sentence structure, adds to the impressions the reader takes away from the work. Short. Staccato. Bursts. Make for a more martial read. They add tension. Make the reader read faster. This gives meaning to the action. Whereas longer, more languorous sentences slow the reader down and let them ease into the action and descriptions along with the characters. The same is true of short words versus longer, more leisurely syllables that elongate the verbal passages.

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I agree with Lori. For example, bringing the reader into tense situations should involve a cadence that puts him/her on edge. This makes rhythm a tool, right up there with word choice, use of descriptors, and the like. A great way to startle a reader at the same time as the character in the story is startled is to lull the reader into a false state of calm with melodic prose, only to spring a staccato surprise on him/her. Rhythm of non-dialogue prose can be used in characterization much like dialogue quirks, so the actions of one character may be described in brusque prose, another in sing-songy skirt-twirling prose. Tone of a scene can come from prose rhythm.

It's a tool.

ClaudiaGray said:

My first take on this was not rhythm as in an actual, musical beat, but the flavor and cadence of prose. It's not always important, but sometimes it is. Tight, fast dialogue may accentuate the importance and tension of an action scene, or the writer could slip into slightly more descriptive, lyrical language if portraying the thoughts of a character who's contemplative and relaxed. In both cases, the rhythm of the scene would create mood and meaning without the writer ever having to explicitly say "They were tense" or "She was completely at ease." . . .

Maybe that's not what the phrase meant, but that was what I thought of, anyway.

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This would be my take on rhythm; cadence, speed, sound and even the look of the words could contribute to expanded meaning. Rhythm is not rhyme but the way the word swing, fast or slow, regular or staggered, long or short, and all the mixes. It could even be the mix of Latinate or Anglo-Saxon or the subtle surprises of metaphor, recurring patterns that might delight or comfort the reader.

Thanks for the most interesting thread, Julie. Another thing to think about.

Proper rhythm maintains interest. What good id the most brilliant statement if it is not organized in thought or pattern. The message must get through and must be readily received.
In this case I am not sure it is creation more than it is the evolution of message and communication.

I think the length of the pause between, "I love you," and "l love you too," is very meaningful.