Question

Read the Voice You Hear When You Read Silently poem and answer the following question is not silent, it is a speaking- out-loud voice in your head, it is spoken, a voice is saying it as you read. It's the writer's words, of course, in a literary sense his or her "voice" but the sound of that voice is the sound of your voice Not the sound your friends know or the sound of a tape played back but your voice caught in the dark cathedral of your skull, your voice heard by an internal ear informed by internal abstracts and what you know by feeling, having felt. It is your voice saying, for example, the word "barn" that the writer wrote but the "barn" you say is a barn you know or knew. The voice in your head, speaking as you read never says anything neutrally- some people hated the barn they knew, some people love the barn they know so you hear the word loaded and a sensory constellation is lit: horse-gnawed stalls, hayloft, black heat tape wrapping a water pipe, a slippery spilled chirr of oats from a split sack, the bony, filthy haunches of cOws... And "barn" is only a noun- no verb or subject has entered into the sentence yet The voice you hear when you read to yourself is the clearest voice: you speak it speaking to you 1. In this poem, what is the difference between the voice of the writer and the voice of the reader? 2. What is the significance of the exclamation mark at the end of the following lines? And "barn" is only a noun-no verb or subject has entered into the sentence yet! 3. What is Lux saying about language and the act of reading?

Answer 1

1. The voice writer means the thoughts that came in the mind of writer when he wrote the poem. It was the way he felt about the situation..The voice of reader meant the thoughts that are coming in the readers mind when he is reading the poem. the meaning of words a and their interpretations are different for the writer and reader.The words or sentences that give happiness to writer may not mean the same to reader.The same words may bring sorrow to him.

2. The exclamation mark is used to emphasize the sentences. The writer wanted the reader to understand what he meant by the sentences. eg. he wanted to put emphasis on the word "barn" .He wanted the reader to understand that the word "barn" can have different meaning.

3.Language is a form of expression of the thoughts of the person writing them. Act of reading them depends on the reader and his thoughts. The meaning of sentences change when the person reading it interprets it according to his thoughts. .