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John Millen

It's in the rhythm
We know that a poem does not have to rhyme. But if it doesn't, how do we know it's a poem and not just a piece of prose? 
We recognise a poem by its rhythmical lines.  Rhythm is the musical quality of a string of words. It is produced by the repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables. 
We can sense rhythm in both written and spoken language, but it is especially important in poetry. Like the lyrics of a song that have to fit into a tune, a poem has to have a rhythm to make it a poem. 
Over the rails
Often a poet uses rhythm to create special effects. In his poem Night Mail, W. H. Auden uses the sound of words to make us think we are hearing  a steam train clattering over railway lines.  
This is very clever. Auden shapes his  lines and uses the sound of words to build a sound picture in our heads. 
Night Mail was written in 1936 when trains were driven by steam. Today's diesel and electric trains don't make quite the same rhythm as they pass along the tracks, but they still do create a rhythm of sorts. How would someone write a poem that sounds like the noise of an electric train?
Night Mail
In Britain in 1936, mail was transported from place to place by steam train. Every night, a mighty steam engine set off from London, in England, carrying mail to Scotland more than 600 kilometres away in the north. 
Night Mail captures this journey in a poem. The poem's rhythm copies that of the train's wheels as they clatter over the railway track, beginning slowly but picking up speed as the train races through the countryside. 
As the train gets closer to its destination, the poem slows down, just like the train itself. The rhythm signals the journey is almost over.
Check out the poem at www.newearth.demon. co.uk/poems/lyric206.htm
now do this
1 Visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmciuKsBOi0 to take a journey on the night mail from London to Scotland in 1936. Here you can see a short film of the night mail train. It was made by the UK Post Office Film Unit. 
W. H. Auden wrote his poem especially for the soundtrack. As you watch the film and hear the rhythm of the train, you will realise how the poem fits in with the sound of the speeding train. 
2 What is the difference between 'rhyme' and 'rhythm'?
3 What other everyday sounds can you think of that have a rhythm that could be turned into a poem? 
4 Do some research and write a short article about the poet W. H. Auden.
5 Night Mail
a. Who and what are mentioned in the second, third and fourth lines of the poem?
b. What sort of countryside does the mail train pass through?
c. Which Scottish city does the train pass through at dawn and what is this city like?
d. What is listed as the rhythm picks up speed in verse six?
e. Why is this the longest verse in the poem? What is Auden trying to achieve?
f. Why are there lots of short,  fast words at the end of this verse?
g. How does Auden conclude the poem? What has happened?
h. Which three cities in Scotland are mentioned in the poem?
6 Try  to write a short poem of a few lines with a strong rhythm. First, think of the sound you want to capture and pick words that have the same rhythm.



The rhythm of the train