The Artists Rhythms

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The Artists Rhythms

• The Music Of Parallel Structures

ideas quoted, paraphrased, and modified from
Harry Nodens Image Grammar
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Twilight Zoneweekly T.V. 1959-1964 through 156
episodes

• You unlock this door with the key of imagination.
  Beyond it is another dimension a dimension of
  sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind.
  Youre moving into a land of both shadow and
  substance, of things and ideas. Youve just
  crossed over into the Twilight Zone!

http//www.tk421.net/gallery/sounds/
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Twilight Zoneweekly T.V. 1959-1964 through 156
episodes

• Youre traveling through another dimension, a
  dimension not only of sight and sound but of
  mind a journey into a wondrous land whose
  boundaries are that of imagination. Thats the
  signpost up ahead your next stop, the Twilight
  Zone!

http//tzone.the-croc.com/
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Twilight Zoneweekly T.V. 1959-1964 through 156
episodes

• There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is
  known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space
  and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle
  ground between light and shadow, between science
  and superstition, and it lies between the pit of
  mans fears, and the summit of his knowledge.
  This is the dimension of imagination. It is an
  area which we call THE TWILIGHT ZONE. (31)

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Serlings structure is still imitated

• Between the past and the future, between sanity
  and madness, between dreams and reality, lives
  the mystery of the 12 Monkeys. (Universal Studios
  - 12 Monkeys)
• Between what can be seen and what must be feared,
  between what lives and never dies, between the
  light of truth and the darkness of evil, lies the
  future of terror. (United Artists Lord of
  Illusion)

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Parallel Structure

• Structures that add rhythm and balance to images
• Gives prose a musical quality that adds emphasis
  and sound to central images
• For years authors and speech-makers have relied
  on these rhythms
• Catchy, memorable, flowing, interesting

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Example 1

• From Charles Kuralts A Life on the Road
•           If you are in search of the authentic
  America, seek out the little river that runs
  under the bridge at Concord. Pay your respects to
  the Suwannee, the Shenandoah, the Appomattox.
  Walk in the grass beside the Little Bighorn and
  think about what happened there. Spend an
  afternoon waist-deep in the Henrys Fork with a
  fly rod in your hand, in the fall when the
  trumpeter swans fly low over the river. Walk down
  to the banks of the Missouri, which used to
  change its course so often that farmers along it
  complained they never knew whether their crop was
  going to be corn or catfish.
•           America is a great story, and there is
  a river on every page of it.

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Example 2

• From Carl Sagans Cosmos
•           The Cosmos is all that is or ever was
  or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of
  the Cosmos stir us---there is a tingling in the
  spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation,
  as if a distant memory of falling from a height.
  We know we are approaching the greatest of
  mysteries.
• The size and age of the Cosmos are beyond
  ordinary human understanding. Lost somewhere
  between immensity and eternity is our tiny
  planetary home. In a cosmic perspective, most
  human concerns seem insignificant, even petty.
  And yet our species is young and curious and
  brave and shows much promise. In the last few
  millennia we have made the most astonishing and
  unexpected discoveries about the Cosmos and our
  place within it, explorations that are
  exhilarating to wonder. They remind us that
  humans have evolved to wonder, that understanding
  is a joy, that knowledge is a prerequisite to
  survival.

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Example 3

• From the Bible (Ruth I.16)
•            Where thou goest, I will go and where
  thou lodgest, I will lodge thy people shall be
  my people, and thy God, my God.

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Literal Repetition

• Dramatic effect or to emphasize emotional stress
• Be careful repetition is an occasional choice
  when a certain element needs to stand out
• Leo Buscalia, author of Living, Loving, and
  Learning published an anonymous letter by one of
  his students to her boyfriend, a Vietnam soldier.
• Could be unintentional literal repetition
• Listen for the beat on the following examples

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Letter

•           Remember the day I borrowed your brand
  new car, and I dented it? I thought you'd kill
  me, but you didn't. And remember the time I
  dragged you to the beach, and you said it would
  rain, and it did? I thought you'd say, "I told
  you so," but you didn't. Do you remember the time
  I flirted with all the guys to make you jealous
  and you were? I thought you'd leave me, but you
  didn't. Do you remember the time I spilled
  strawberry pie all over your car rug? I thought
  you'd hit me, but you didn't. And remember the
  time I forgot to tell you that the dance was
  formal, and you showed up in jeans. I thought
  you'd drop me, but you didn't. Yes, there were
  lots of things you didn't do. But you put up with
  me, and you loved me, and you protected me. There
  were lots of things I wanted to make up to you
  when you returned from Vietnam. But you didn't.

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Repetition for Special EffectEdgar Allen Poes
The Tell-Tale Heart

• I talked more quickly more vehemently but the
  noise steadily increased. Why would they not be
  gone? I paced the floor to and fro with heavy
  strides, as if excited to fury by the observation
  of men but the noise steadily increased. (306)

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8th Grade Examples Literal Repetition

• It was all so clear now. She knew who had killed
  Sylvia. It was someone who hated her, someone who
  had been a friend of hers, someone who never
  forgave her for how she had treated him, someone
  from high school, someone who knew her old
  nickname was Syl. It was Bruce Crystal! Morgan
  McKinney
• Every day some kid makes a big name for himself
  in high school or college, but only the best make
  it to the NFL. Only the best of the best make it
  to the Hall of Fame. And running backs are a
  breed apart, lone warriors facing minefields of
  destruction, and in this dog-eat-dog league, only
  the best survive. David Haile
• They march off so victoriously, or so they say.
  They die so victoriously, or so they think. But
  how victorious is it to bid goodbye to the
  sentiments they once knew. Kristen Parker

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Literal Repetition Group PracticeAssignment 1

• Take the template of Rod Serlings intro
• First one on worksheet
• In groups of as many as three, fill in the blanks
  to create a parody.
• Parody an imitation of a piece of writing, often
  humorous or satirical
• Select a subject from school or from an outside
  interest
• MTV, sports figures, actors/actresses,
  politicians
• In 5 minutes Volunteers - Share with class ?
• Move on to the rest, and then finish typing your
  story play with parallelism! You must have
  your favorite story, the one you want to
  finalize, on your P drive for Tuesday!

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Grammatical Repetition

• Most common repetition used by writers
• Repeats grammatical structures, but with
  different words
• Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address
• But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate we
  can not consecrate we can not hallow this
  ground. The brave men, living and dead, who
  struggled here, have consecrated it, far above
  our poor power to add or detract. The world will
  little note, nor long remember, what we say here,
  but it can never forget what we did here.

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Compare

• Lincolns classic phrase from the Gettysburg
  Address government of the people, by the
  people, and for the people.
• government of, by, and for the people.
• Julius Caesar I came I saw I conquered.
• I came to the land. I saw the locals. I
  conquered the people.

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Using Conjunctions Grammatical Repetition

• Coordinating conjunctions and, or, for, nor, but
• Begin with one pattern and keep using it in a
  given section
• One way The kings power was shifting and
  shrinking.
• A more dramatic way (with a conjunction and an
  added participial phrase) The kings power was
  shifting in the countryside and shrinking in the
  villages.

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Correlative Conjunctions Repetition

• Both/and, neither/nor, not only/but also,
  either/or, not/but, whether/not) can create a
  drumbeat
• Franklin Roosevelt in his 1944 tax bill veto
  message It is not a tax bill, but a tax relief
  bill, providing relief not for the needy but for
  the greedy.
• David Halberstam on Japanese tradition, said,
  Anyone in Japan who uses too much, whether it be
  food, or money, or personal freedom of speech, is
  not merely perceived to be taking too much from
  the nation but is presumed to be taking it at the
  expense of others (83).

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Repeating Phrase and Clause Structures

• No need for conjunctions here
• Loren Eisely, in Unexpected Universe, uses
  infinitive phrases
• Man, for all his daylight activities, is, at
  best, an evening creature. Our every addiction to
  the day and our compulsion, manifest through the
  ages, to invent and use illuminating devices, to
  contest with midnight, to cast off sleep as would
  death, suggest that we know more of the shadows
  than we are willing to recognize. (195)

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More types of phrases to repeat

• Prepositional Phrases (see your notes)
• With the scorching prairie fires, it came. With
  the surging floods, it came. With the defensive
  Indians, it came. With every step, death came to
  the wagon trains. Kati Moseley
• Between what breathes absolute death and what
  breathes glorious life, between what laughs and
  what never cries, between the hope of joy and the
  fear of pain, lies the emotion of the soul.
  Christi Flick

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Repetitious clause structures

• Repeat dependent clauses
• They were never in a hurry they rose when it was
  light, went to bed when they were tired, ate when
  they were hungry and seldom looked at a clock.
  (60) James Herriot, All Creatures Great and
  Small

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Using Parallel Structure for Clarity

• Strong rhythm helps with reader perception,
  understanding, and flow of reading
• Unparallel Example Melvin enjoyed rock music,
  football, and to collect stamps.
• See following examples

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verbs, adjectives, and adverbsunparallel use
fix together ?

• Choppy Lulu pushed the hair from her eyes, wiped
  the sweat from her forehead, and the volleyball
  was served.
• Choppy Bubba was tall, muscle-bound, and often
  acted mean.
• Choppy The cat crawled through the weeds
  stealthily, cautiously, and he moved at a slow
  pace.
• Choppy So pretty much I think that the authors
  main goal was to say love is infinite, strong,
  and in my words crazy.

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Literal Repetition Practice IndividualAssignmen
t 2

• Select a piece of writing you want to energize
• Look for sentences that can be expanded in one of
  the following parallel structure types (see notes
  of this presentation)
• Use prepositional phrases, as in History will
  show that he walked away with with.. and with
  or She walked down through and across
• Use who clauses, as in She was a woman who who
  and who (Or an idea that,that,and that)
• Use infinitive to phrases, as in Students need
  to help their troubled friends to, to, and to
• Use clauses, as in If we are to, If we are to,
  If we are to, then we must act now. Or This
  was a place where, where and where
• ____ing, ____ing, ____ing, the (Or use the same
  structure with two complete phrases, such as
  Diving through the branches, swerving around a
  tree trunk, the chickadee landed on the rangers
  arm.
• Note blended brushstrokes can become parallel as
  well!
• Create an example for each type of structure
  hopefully at least one can work in your story!
  Only use original and revised for the sample
  from your story.
• Highlight and label the phrase types!

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Literal/Grammatical Repetition Sample
AssignmentComplete one example for each of the
following

• prepositional phrases The old cabin with its
  rustic stone fireplace, with its homemade log
  furniture, with its view of Lake Woebegone, made
  me feel close to nature.
• Remember prepositions may vary just repeat the
  pattern!
• who clauses Sharla is a mother who loves her
  children, who who
• infinitive to phrases You should choose a better
  attitude to face problems in life, to, and to
• Clauses This is a place where you are always
  safe, where you are always loved.
• complete phrases Steve thrashed his room,
  ripping his Lindsey Lohan posters off the wall,
  kicking his stuffed Elmo over his bed, and
  pushing his dirty clothes under the bed.
• Original (for one of the examples above only)
• Revised

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Listening to the Music of Political Rhetoric

• Go to your literature textbook
• Find at least two examples of parallelism
  (literal or grammatical) from each of the
  following pieces
• Patrick Henrys Speech in the Virginia Convention
  (p. 116)
• Answer questions 1 2 under Analyzing Literature
  and 1 through 3 under Critical Thinking and
  Reading p. 119
• The excerpt from Thomas Paines The Crisis
• Also answer the four questions on aphorisms on p.
  125

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Brainstorming Research Paper

• Just like Patrick Henry and Thomas Paine, choose
  an issue to take a stand on and to research
• Feel strongly about
• Consider tackling the opposite viewpoint
• You will be writing a multi-genre research paper
• Writing in at least three different modes
• Expository, persuasive, descriptive, narrative
• Required Research style may be persuasive or
  expository
• Others involve choice editorial, poem, story
  (biography, autobiography, memoir, fictional),
  epitaph, essay (narrative, descriptive)
• More instructions to come, but if you get a head
  start on research, be sure your sources are
  legit, not internet, and you keep track of your
  sources

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Group work practice fix these structures
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Extending Grammatical Rhythms to Paragraphs
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Executing a Drum Roll with Periodic Sentences
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How?

• How?
• Literal repetition
• Grammatical repetition