Spoken word and Sign Language poetry

       
There is something about listening to a poem that makes the experience more interesting and enjoyable than just reading it yourself. Through listening to a spoken poem, the listener can understand the reader’s emotion and the speaker can express his or her feeling better. Both spoken and written poetry tell a story and have a meaning, but it can sometimes be easier to analyze a written poem. The reader can see the words of the poem in front of themselves and re read it if necessary. On the other hand it may only take one time listening to it, taking in the speakers tone and emotion, to get an understanding of the poem.



Sign language, written and spoken word poetry all have meanings, but watching a sign language poem, you can see the flowing of emotion. Every sign seems to flow into the next creating a lot of emotion in poems especially by Peter Cook. It can be difficult for people who don’t know sign language to understand the whole meaning of the poem while it is being translated, but by watching the 'speakers' movement and facial emotion, a deeper meaning and respect for the poem can be found.