Introducing Sign Language Literature, Folklore, and creativity Chapter 8
Titles, Introductions & Other Performance Openers
The Beginning: 'Cracking the Whip'
The Ending: Stopping or Concluding?
Closure Devices
Created By the 'Voice' of the Poet - Showing & Telling
Within the Form of the Text
Driven By Content of the Text
Some signed pieces 'narrate' the story by addressing the audience, whereas others more directly show the action to the audience
Some poems open with an image of the external world & close with an expression of thought or emotion, while others open with an expression of thought or emotion & close with an image of the external world
Most sign language poems that begin by showing ideas through concrete representation rarely shift between concrete & abstract
Sign language poems that explore ideas rather than create narratives do not have natural stopping points driven by their content & these often follow the traditional 'Western' structure of ending with abstract ideas
Closure in many stories occurs when we have reached the natural end of the story & to go further would require a major shift in plot
The death of the protagonist is a firm stopping point for any story
If the work describes a journey, it logically ends at the destination
Natural endings also occur when we can predict what will happen next so there is no need to tell us more
While the content of a sign language text can determine its point of closure, the form of the signs often works with it
The concluding words in a spoken poem are often delivered with a special slowing tempo, a lowering pitch & increased force & duration, cuing the audience that the end is coming
The rhythm or speed of a sign language poem also changes, as it often slows down, with the final sign being held for an unusually long time with a noticebaly larger or sharper movement.
All Poems & Stories Stop Eventually, but a Strong Piece Usually Ends With Closure
Poems May Close Gently With a Sense that there is No More to be Said, or Sharply With Something Unexpected
The Poet May Open the Poem Again Just After the Expected Point of Closure
Teasing the audience with the idea that what they thought was the end is not so
Those that create closure in a poem change & vary but there are elements that typically occur at endings & audiences recognize them as endings
In Richard Cater's Identities, the final defiant signs do not permit any further debate about the character's identity
In Nigel Howard's Deaf, forcing the cochlear implants into the baby is such a shocking sign after the gentle signs that preceded it, that nothing further can be added
In Richard Carter's Shop Window, it ends when the mannequin slaps the window dresser for taking liberties with her, & we are left to imagine what happens next
Closure that creates a coherent, complete & stable feel to the work
Story or poem can truly end at the last line, or it can be 'dynamic', so that it seems poised to take off again when the audience finally sees the total pattern of the piece
The sense of closure in a sign language poem can come from formal & thematic structures in the poem's text, as well as from the performance features that we considered earlier
Stories & Poems Begin With Their Titles
Forceful Beginnings
Titles Sometimes Describe the Form of the Poem
The Performer Can Signal the Start & End of the Performance
Several sign language poems in anthologies we have seen are merely entitled Haiku or Renga
This is particularly true with written literature but less so in oral literature
In folklore & oral situations, stories & jokes, for example, can be described as 'the one about...' rather than having a fixed title
Sign language stories, especially when they are performed informally, rarely start with a title & signing poets do not always give the title for their piece before starting the poem
When sign language poems do have titles, they usually define or describe the content of the poem
It is quite common for poems in non-literate cultures to be untitled because there is no need for titles when poet & audience are together, but when the work is recorded in some way, the compiler of a collection or anthology needs a title so it can be listed & referenced to allow other people to find it
Audiences may also choose their own title for a sign language piece, especially if there is a particular arresting sign that makes it memorable
Signed performances often start with the poet's hands folded low in front of their bodies & their heads lowered. They raise their head, look directly at the audience & may sign 'title' before giving the title. This is often followed by a pause & the performers gaze shifts away from the audience before the poem begins.
This prepares the audience for the start of the work & gives time to reflect on the title
On rare occasions, the poet walks off the stage while still performing, or turns his or her back to the audience so that the performance cannot be continued
Capture Your Audience with a Well-Baited Hook
Forceful beginnings may use signs that are unusually large to capture the audience's attention
Forcefulness may lead a poem to begin with a command to the audience (or imagined audience)
There also may be something unexpected about the opening of the performance
This advice to hook the audience from the start is even more important in poetry where a strong poem has a strong beginning to catch the audience's attention
There will be something striking or different about the opening so that it is frequently dramatic or mysterious
Prepares the audience for something possibly surreal to happen
The poem may also start with a direct question that the audience hopes will be answered in the poem