Descriptif

Rhymes and Reasons: poetry, performance and the keys to persuasion

Is there a gap between your comprehension of the English language and your ability to speak naturally and eloquently? Do you intellectually grasp complex words and sentence structures whilst still wondering about their sensory and emotive content? You may think in English, you may even dream in English, but can you feel, can you express feelings in English?

The overall objective of this course is to connect our intellectual knowledge of the English language to our sensory experience of it, through familiarity with poetry, music, speeches and other audio-visual forms of expression. The course will culminate in a performance, to be put on by students and any interested binets, of poetry, music, scenes and skits that we will have worked on and prepared in the sessions.

Why should any of this interest you?

The power of language to produce real, tangible effects and to transform others and the world is patent, and as advanced language students, we may begin to ask how we might wield this power. Specifically, we can learn how to use language to do things – not only to communicate feelings, insights and experiences but also to persuade, to inform and to connect to others. This course will focus on, inter alia:   

• Creating and recreating rhythms that can effectively impact interlocutors
• Making the most of the great range of sounds and tones that the English language has to offer
• Speaking, not reading, saying, not reciting words and phrases, thereby effectively communicating meaning
• Understanding how meaning and pronunciation are intricately linked
• Cataloguing the cultural apparatuses underlying the production of conceptual and sensual content

Get ready to stand up, play with words, rhythms and one another in a fun and energetic atmosphere!