The Music of Language

It is this aspect of poetry, the music of the words, that Hugo seems to see as most important. To Hugo poetry is a form of music. Even though the words of the poem themselves may be meaningless, he insists that the way the words are put together and the sounds of these words can evoke emotion from the reader. It was this same music that Roethke taught Hugo to listen for and appreciate when Hugo was a student at the University of Washington. Hugo believed that Roethke could teach anyone to appreciate this musical quality of poetry.

Through an example of newspaper writing Hugo indicates that if language declines to the point that its only purpose is to convey information, then language will die. News stories lack the personal emotions and musical tones that are so important to poetry. Hugo uses the language of...