3 is a Magic Number

Maths.  I'm just not very good at it, I can budget, do basic stuff but more advanced maths does leave me scratching my head like a chimp from a teabag advert.  I can't even remember my times tables half the time.

But I am fascinated by it, like David said yesterday poetry is often in metre, which gives it a pleasant rhythm. Music is also underpinned by maths too, and art. I have touched on the Fibonacci numbers and the golden mean before so I won't go over that again, but they influence art heavily, so it would seem that many things we find beautiful have a root in numbers.  

In creative writing there is a structure often termed the Rule of Three. When creating a sentence, when we put together a structure of three then it becomes more powerful.  Jokes become funnier, (comic triple) Rhetorical speeches become more persuasive. For example Benjamin Disraeli said; "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics".

When we summarise one idea with three words it's called a Hendiatris; for example;  "Sh*t, shave, shower" we recognise as a bloke getting ready for a night out. We're drawn to structures of three in writing, and in speech. Advertisers us it frequently. Remember what helps you "Work Rest and Play"? Even the structure of a short story or novel is broken into three elements; the beginning, middle and end.

This isn't restricted to writing either, on a plate chefs place items in groups of three as it's more aesthetically pleasing ( which isn't fun for me who likes symmetry and even numbers and am compelled to even things out manically while wondering why it doesn't look pretty). In art it's referred to as the Rule of Thirds.

What's so special about the number 3? I'm jiggered if I know. Maths is something which I can't quite grasp fully, but we seem hard wired to find the number 3 attractive. I'm saying nowt about threesomes though.

So  I'll leave you with this.

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Poetry Exercises - The Power of Three

Poetry Exercises.

Ho Ho Ho. Well what can I say? This one is going to be interesting for me. You see, I'm a very uneducated poet. Oh I have much knowledge in the way of music; art; literature; design; football; the human condition and other such things. But I don’t know much about what things are called.

I write poetry from a creative point of view. When I learn some rules I try them out, discipline is very much part of the creative process. So when setting this poetry exercises please understand, I’m flying by the seat of your pants on this one.

I'm running the workshop at the end of December. The wonderful Vicky will be away and like a fool on roller-skaters, I stumbled through the second verse of ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen’ and fell flat on my arse on the floor of agreeing to do it.

This workshop, as all the workshop are, will be linked to the theme of the following open mic night. In my case it will be ‘The Future’

So how does someone with a grade 3 CSE in English Lit go about creating something that will teach, help and inspire people. Well, I think I can rely on an old friend of mine, and the ‘future’ of poetry, performance.

Not that I have qualifications from RADA. It’s more an understanding of spoken words. Many years back I experience the power of delivering my words to a sitting audience. It felt amazing, hearing how you have so many people hanging on your every word.

One of the great writing for performance tricks is to use the power of three. You will here all public speakers from comedians to politicians use this one. It adds power, meaning and connects with the audience. It’s like thumbing your fist on the table, the lectern or punching the air. It is the first, the second and the third.

It is a very powerful tool that can be used at the beginning, the middle or the end of a poem. OK I think I've made my point there however, it is worth playing with.

You have to work out the order of the words to use. Sometimes this is because you want to rhyme, though personally I use it as a rise so that the final word is delivered as affirmation to the idea.

To really play with this trick try writing a three line poem, each line being a ‘power of three’ delivery. You could try doing this as a Haiku if you really want to test yourself.

Remember, this is about delivery, connection, performance.

Stop, desist, No more
Together, united, as one.
A better now, a better future, a better society

Give it a change, have a go and feel the power. The power of words, of meaning, the power of three.

Ok I’ll stop now, that’s enough, I'm going.

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