英语语法：99 What Is Poetic License?

April is National Poetry Month in the United States, so today we're going to ponder poetic¹ license².
What is Poetic License
When describing writing, you say people are taking poetic license when they use language in a way that isn't normal or correct. I think of it as implying that you're cutting them some slack (Oh, yeah, Bob took some poetic license with the lyrics³), but it's not an inherently positive term; it can also be used negatively (Wow, Bob really took poetic license with that song).
Poetic License in Poetry
Poetic license is often granted to, obviously, poets, and many of the references I found seemed to consider it to be a privilege granted to poets (1, 2)--a freedom that polite society allows poets so they can enlighten us and achieve certain effects or work within the constraints⁴ of certain poetic forms such as rhymes or meter.
For example, the book An Introduction to Poetry (2) notes that you might see a poet using unusual word order or use auxiliary⁵ verbs such as "did" or "do" when we normally wouldn't as in this line from "The Ancient Mariner":
They all the day did lie
Poets may put adjectives after nouns as in the line from the poem "Ode to Evening":
Come nymph demure⁶, with mantle⁷ blue (3)
They may sometimes use odd contractions⁸ such as "ne'er" for "never" and shortened forms of words such as "'tween" for "between (1, 3)," and poets even sometimes make up words as in Lewis Carroll's nonsense poem "Jabberwocky."
Poetic License in Songs
We understand poetic license in poetry, but you've probably also heard it used to refer to song lyrics. Should we cut song writers the same grammatical slack we cut poets?
We grammarians like to cringe at what we consider poorly written songs, and I like to use songs with errors as examples because they're memorable⁹, although I've always said I don't expect songs to be grammatically perfect.
A 2004 article by the Chicago Sun-Times pop music critic Jim DeRogatis notes that "The Greeks referred to singers and poets with the same word (4)." In that same article Kenneth Clark, the director of the Poetry Center in Chicago, says "If you go back 5,000 years, there is no difference. Like the psalms--they're set to music and they're poems."
If Lewis Carroll can make up words for his famous and revered¹⁰ "Jabberwocky" poem, should we be so quick to dismiss the made-up word "pompatus" in "The Joker" by Steve Miller¹¹ (5).
There's something different between "Jabberwocky" (’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves; Did gyre and gimble in the wabe) and "The Joker" (Some people call me Maurice, 'Cause I speak of the pompatus of love), but would you take away Miller's poetic license? I wouldn't.
On the other hand, I have a hard time--a really hard time--with something like "Buy You a Drank" by T-Pain.
I'ma buy you a drank
I'ma take you home with me
I got money in the bank
So he doesn't use "drink" because he needs "drank" to rhyme with "bank." Deep in my heart I feel like that's a rhyme he should have just let go. But perhaps one person's horror is another person's poetry.
I also have a hard time with Paul McCartney's "Ever changing world in which we live in." What bothers me most is that it's unnecessary. Instead of "the world in which we live in" he could have easily written "the world in which we're livin'." In fact, I thought those were the lyrics until multiple people pointed¹² out the error to me.
Poetry has never been my strong point, so I won't pretend to have an answer for you about musicians and where we should draw the line between poetic license and errors. Some of you may think songs with grammatically incorrect phrases such as "between you and I" are errors, and other people may chalk it up to poetic license.
Here's your homework assignment for the week: ponder where you'd draw the line between errors and poetic license in music, and then post a comment about it below or on the Grammar Girl Facebook page.
GoToMeeting

The podcast edition of this tip was sponsored by GoToMeeting. Save time and money by hosting your meetings online. Visit GoToMeeting.com/podcast and sign up for a free 45 day trial of their web conferencing solution.

New York Book Signing

And finally, New Yorkers, I'll be in your city May 1st for a book signing! That's Saturday night at 7:00, May 1, at the Barnes & Noble at 150 East 86th Street. Mark your calendar and tell your friends. It's my first signing in the big city, and it will probably be at least a couple of years before I come back, so don't miss it. May 1st, 2010, at Barnes & Noble at 150 East 86th Street. I hope to see you there.

 

1 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

2 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

3 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

4 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

5 auxiliary   

adj.辅助的，备用的

参考例句：

• I work in an auxiliary unit.我在一家附属单位工作。
• The hospital has an auxiliary power system in case of blackout.这家医院装有备用发电系统以防灯火管制。

6 demure   

adj.严肃的；端庄的

参考例句：

• She's very demure and sweet.她非常娴静可爱。
• The luscious Miss Wharton gave me a demure but knowing smile.性感迷人的沃顿小姐对我羞涩地会心一笑。

7 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

8 contractions   

n.收缩( contraction的名词复数 )；缩减；缩略词；（分娩时）子宫收缩

参考例句：

• Contractions are much more common in speech than in writing. 缩略词在口语里比在书写中常见得多。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Muscle contractions are powered by the chemical adenosine triphosphate(ATP ). 肌肉收缩是由化学物质三磷酸腺苷(ATP)提供动力的。 来自辞典例句

9 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

10 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

11 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

12 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。