Why is this book one of my favourite kids’
books (If I Ran the Circus by Dr
Seuss, pictured)? Partly, I suppose, it was a book I read and adored as a
child. In fact, it is still a book I can read with delight, as I did again
recently. I love the pushed-to-the-limit imagination of the circus acts. Yet I
also love the poetry. The whole book is written in zany rhyming verse. The
lines have remained ringing in my ears for decades, not memorised, yet familiar
in their patterns and effects.
When my own picture
book in verse was published in 2012 (What’s
the Matter, Aunty May?), a couple of reviewers noted the “Seussian” feel of
it. I took this as a compliment. But I was also a little mystified. I hadn’t
consciously copied Dr Seuss’ style or techniques. So I concluded that Dr Seuss’
influence on me had been more atmospheric. I had absorbed from Dr Seuss—and I
suppose from other favourites, such as A.A. Milne and Roald Dahl—a number of
“techniques” that ended up becoming almost instinctive.
So it was an
interesting exercise when I sat down recently with my copy of If I Ran the Circus and tried to analyse
exactly what sort of techniques I might have picked up from Dr Seuss. I found I
could identify at least three.
Firstly, Dr Seuss (by
the way, his real name was Theodore Seuss Geisel) is almost invariably strict
about his poetic rhythms. This means two things. His lines have the right
number of syllables for the regular pattern he has chosen. Also, the stresses fall
in just the right places. When he uses a word like “remarkable”, which he does
in the line, “And you’ll now meet the Foon, The Remarkable Foon”, he places
“remarkable” so that it fits exactly into the anapaestic tetrameter rhythmic
meter he is using. This means the “-mark-” of “remarkable” is stressed and the
pairs of syllables around it are unstressed. And of course he doesn’t do this
with just one word, but with every word in the book. Each word is stressed
naturally, but it is also exactly placed so that the natural stresses create
the right rhythm of da-da-DA da-da-DA da-da-DA da-da-DA.
Secondly, Dr Seuss’
lines rhyme. Like the rhythm, the rhyme sounds natural, not forced. Of course,
he is helped by the fact that he is creating imaginary creatures with imaginary
names. Thus he can have his Foon rhyming with “moon” in the next line. He
simply made up a new word to fit the rhyming word!—but, by putting the known
word in the second line, it sounded like an absolutely legitimate rhyme. Of
course he also rhymes many couplets without creating newly-coined words. The
thing to note here, and I have often noted it too in my own creation of rhyming
verse, is that a lot of fairly common words in English have some other fairly
common words that rhyme with them. Using these simple words sounds natural and
unforced. Thus Dr Seuss has rhyming pairs such as head/said, kind/mind,
appears/ears, in/begin etc. By keeping it simple, he manages to create a host
of successful and unforced rhyming couplets—a whole book’s worth of them. It is
a useful tip to keep in mind. Don’t try to be too sophisticated in your rhymes.
Keep it simple.
Thirdly, and this is
really the most important point of all, Dr Seuss’ story shines through. The rhythm and rhyme become mere servants of
the poet in the overriding aim of creating a fun (in fact, a completely zany)
imaginary tale. The precisely-written rhythm and rhyme do work their own magic
of course, but it is a secondary magic, a music in the background. The main
creative thrust is the story itself, which is why the book ends up
being so successful. The reader is transported into another world, with
consistent characters and a thoroughly satisfying and ridiculous plot.
What interests me is
that I too, pretty much instinctively, used the same “techniques” in What’s the Matter, Aunty May? Perhaps
this shouldn’t surprise me. Perhaps there’s something universal about these
three “keys”. It’s not that there’s really a formula to creating a successful
kids’ tale in rhyme. But there seem to be at least some helpful principles.
Yes, by all means, use rhythm (but make sure it is precise and consistent and
natural). Yes, by all means, use rhyme (but look especially for the simple,
unforced rhyming words). Most of all, try to tell a thoroughly wonderful, imaginative
and consistent tale from beginning to end, one that delights you as the writer. Then, there’s a very
good chance that it will delight others too.
