Analysis Of Cook's Tacet, Hope Cook

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Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most well-known classical composers of all time. It is a little known fact that he composed the majority of his most famous works while completely deaf. To this day, there are many musicians who are known for their ability to produce music without the ability to hear. In her poem Tacet, Hope Cook compares the works of poets to those of composers. The author goes to great efforts to compare written works to song; causes the reader to consider how music may be experienced by those without auditory sense. Cook uses clever diction, metaphor, and contrast to compare poetry to music, and show how it can be enjoyed by all people.
Tacet (pronounced tay-set) is Latin for “it is silent”. It is used to show that an instrument …show more content…

Cook uses an array of musical terms in order to establish this connection, like “notes of ink”, “concert of phrases” and “written key signature”. The contrast between the ideas of writing and music is what creates the overall metaphor. The juxtaposition of two very different senses, sight and hearing, are what make the metaphor effective. This is something new to the reader, and causes he or she to consider what it might be like to actually visualize music. This is different, however, from a physical score or printed sheet music. Cook states that “notes of ink resonate through the / lines and curves of script”(Cook 4-5) as though the sound itself can be captured onto paper. The parallelism and cataloguing of musical and literary terms help the reader imagine how deaf people may experience music. This is evident in the listing in the second stanza: “…sharps, flats, and naturals become / nouns, verbs, and adjectives…”(Cook 14-15). Of course, it isn’t very easy to translate the sensation of listening to music onto paper, however in this case poetry is supposed to take the place of music, and should provide a similar sensation to the reader. Writing is something that can easily be shared across all mediums – whether it is read aloud or silently, poetry is something that can be enjoyed

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