Podcast Script
5 min readMay 7, 2021
- Sign Language Poetry: What is it?
- Sign language poetry is definitely a forgotten, not-so-common type of performance poetry. I didn’t even know it existed up until a few weeks ago.
- It’s a type of performance poetry that is intended to be performed as a dramatic monologue or exchange and frequently involving improvisation
- It definitely focuses more on the body language aspects of performance poetry rather than the sound aspects of performance poetry
- Not actually poems, but rather using signs to communicate the message of a poem that was originally meant to be spoken
- Since people in the deaf community can’t speak poems verbally, they must read the poem and use signs to speak that poem in their own language
- In order to sign it quickly and effectively, they must pick and choose which words to sign in order to get the poem’s message across
- Forms it uses
- Poetry is a form of literary art in language, whether it is written, spoken, or signed.
- Like written and spoken poetry uses various elements and devices, such as alliteration, rhythm, simile, metaphors, and onomatopoeia.
- It also uses poetic devices such as repetition and imagery, as it is more visual and performative than spoken poetry
- “Speech and writing have distanced themselves from the iconic — it is by association, not depiction, that we find speech poetry evocative; it can elicit moods and images, but it cannot portray them (except through “accidental” ideophones and onomatopoeia). Sign retains a direct power of portrayal that has no analogue in, cannot be translated into, the language of speech; on the other hand, it makes less use of metaphor.” — Sacks, Oliver. Seeing Voices: A Journey into the World of the Deaf, p 120.
- In other words, sign language poetry relies more on the imagery included in the poem rather than the actual words of the poem
- They set the mood and tone of the poem by using and repeating signs and facial expressions that relate to it
- Signs that are repeated could potentially be symbols of the poem, and repeating them will help emphasize the message of the poem to the audience
- Aspects of it
- Facial expressions, body language, hand signs are a huge part of the execution of the poem are actually very important to how this type of poetry is delivered. If you want to partake in this form of poetry, you must know these things:
- Facial expressions and eyebrow placement can also determine how the poem would be interpreted if spoken
- If there eyebrows are raised it’s a yes or no question, and if there eyebrows are furrowed then it’s just a question
- Facial expressions are how deaf people express their emotions when speaking
- Facial expressions and body language can help show the mood and possibly the theme of the poem. For instance, if the person looks happy and is signing in an upbeat way, the poem must have a light-hearted tone and message
- The hand signs that the signer chooses to use while signing the poem is also important
- As I said before, In order to sign it quickly and effectively, they must pick and choose which words to sign in order to get the poem’s message across.
- They choose these signs by skipping over conjunctions and helper words like the, and, etc and only sign ones that are significant and crucial to the poem’s meaning.
- Comparisons to spoken poetry
- Well obviously one is more vocally based and the other is more visually based
- Spoken poetry says every word, asl poetry picks and chooses
- Going off of that, spoken poetry performers perform the poem exactly how’s it’s written, deaf performers perform their interpretation since they choose the words that they think are important
- Not all of the analytical tools they use are the same or are used in the same way (same: repetition and imagery) (asl: facial expressions, body language, and hand signs) (spoken: rhyme)
- Poems (introduction):
- Everything I just explained might be a lot to take in all at once, so let’s actually look at some examples to help you guys understand everything better
- If you would like to follow along, read the whole poems, or watch the deaf performers’ performance of the poems I talk about, head on over to my medium page and the links will be listed there
- Sonnet 73: William Shakespeare
- Spoken/written source: Shakespeare, William. “Sonnet 73.” An Exaltation of Forms: Contemporary Poets Celebrate the Diversity of Their Art. Edited by Annie Finch and Kathrine Varnes. U of Michigan P, 2002, pp. 303.
- American sign language source: https://youtu.be/Ap44nlPBiGw
- One of the most famous sonnet writers is William Shakespeare.
- In his sonnet Sonnet 73, he uses components of nature and desire to symbolize death.
- For instance, in lines 9 to 14, he states “In me thou seest the glowing of such fire that on the ashes of his youth doth lie, …. This thou preceiv’st which makes thy love more strong, to love that well which thou must leave ere long” (Shakespeare, 303).
- He uses fire and ashes to show how his time on earth is burning out and he mentions his desire and love for how his life turned out to represent his last thoughts on his deathbed.
- This shows how these components and themes are used to help create a perfect sonnet.
- In the video, the signer repeats and emphasizes the following signs for some important symbols mentioned in the poem: birds, death, fire, ashes
- As he is signing each word, especially the symbolic and important words, his facial expressions are almost like they are reactions to them. For example, he looks amazed, yet scared, when signing “fire”.
- When speaking or signing this poem, people speak or sign it with a sad or frightened tone or sad facial expressions, emphasizing the theme of death that is seen within the poem
- The Sleeper: Edgar Allen Poe
- Spoken/written source: The Sleeper by Edgar Allan Poe — Poems | Academy of American Poets
- American sign language source: https://youtu.be/SA8FQIjzTec
- The atmosphere of the poem is dreamlike, otherworldly
- Key words: mystic, opiate, drowsily, slumber, wizard, ghosts, and shadows reinforce the mood. The poem’s theme seems to be love
- More specifically, a love for a woman so powerful that it extends into the afterlife in its concern for the well-being of the deceased woman’s soul
- It essentially talks about death, but different from Sonnet 73 in the sense that it’s more bitter-sweet than morbid
- In the video, the signer seems to have a curious, depressed look. Almost like they lost someone close to them and they miss them immensely, but are curious and amazed when they see them in the magical world
- Very graceful movements, which helps to highlight the dream-like and magical aspects of the poem
- It also seems like she is signing to someone — possibly the woman she lost. This helps emphasize the poem’s meaning and her interpretation of the poem, as she probably interpreted it as someone speaking to the loved one they had previously lost.
- What I want people to learn from this:
- Poetry doesn’t have to be spoken
- As we saw in Sonnet 73 and The Sleeper, the messages of these poems can be communicated through non-verbal performances and communication just as effectively as it would be spoken
- While spoken/written poetry and sign language poetry have their differences, and spoken poetry is easier to understand than asl poetry, both are just as efficient and effective as each other
- Call to action:
- Support the deaf community by going to deaf chats and deaf poetry slams
- If you can’t do it in person, check out some deaf poets’ work
- You can find a link to a list of some great deaf poets on my medium page
