| The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07. |
| |
| onomatopoeia |
| |
| |
( n´´ m t´´p ´) (KEY) [Gr.,=word-making], in language, the representation of a sound by an imitation thereof; e.g., the cat mews. Poets often convey the meaning of a verse through its very sound. For example, in “Song of the Lotus-Eaters” Tennyson indicates the slow, sensuous, and langorous life of the Lotus-Eaters by the sound of the words he uses to describe the land in which they live:Here are cool mosses deep,
And through the moss the ivies creep,
And in the stream the long-leaved flowers weep,
And from the craggy ledge the poppy hangs in sleep. |
Onomatopoeia can also represent harsh and unpleasant sounds, as in Browning’s “Meeting at Night”:A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch
And blue spurt of a lighted match. |
|
| |
| | | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press. |
|
|
