Notes on “The Scream by Edvard Munch” by Gonzalinho da Costa

 

Format is an essential attribute of the poem, “The Scream by Edvard Munch.” The poem is at this link:

https://poetryofgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2022/09/the-scream-by-edvard-munch.html

 

 

The Scream (1893) by Edvard Munch

 

The original version of the poem is formatted in Century Schoolbook 12 points.

The poem uses full justification in order to maintain a block shape. The block shape simplifies the perceptual features of the poem and achieves a special impact. Text crowding is also essential to the poem. The poem should be exactly 23 lines long.

To achieve the aforementioned attributes, the width of the poem should be adjusted and the last line should add as many “a’s” to the “a” string as may be required to ensure that the last word, “hell,” ends at the edge of the right margin.

 

 

This procedure is illustrated in the second and third versions of the poem, which are formatted in Times New Roman 12 points and Georgia 12 points, respectively.

In the second version of the poem, the width has been adjusted from 6 inches to 5.75 inches and seven “a’s” have been added to the “a” string in the last line. The last line has 73 “a’s.” The original version of the poem, which is formatted in Century Schoolbook 12 points, has 66 “a’s” in the last line.

 

The third version of the poem adjusts the width from 6 inches to 6.25 inches and adds four “a’s” to the “a” string in the last line. The last line has 70 “a’s.”