Sondheim: Poem Analysis

Despite using essentially the same music to both opening numbers, Sondheim’s lyrics contrasts each other both in theme and in vocabulary that it provides a completely unique atmosphere for the audience. In the opening number “Bounce” it is important to notice the usage of rhyme particularly in the duet portions of the song “You’re hot, then you’re not… Find a new road/Forge a new trail/Bounce” (5-26). In this passage, Sondheim invokes his mentor Oscar Hammerstein’s purpose of rhyme is to give a character intellect and reveal an important motif to the story. In this passage, Sondheim utilizes a combination of internal and true end rhymes to give the audience an impression of an educational background. Beginning with an internal true rhyme “You’re
The usage of rhyme in this number is relatively simple with near rhymes such as “Could have lost weight/God, what a waste” (17-18) and simple true end rhymes such as “All that flair/Now lets be fair” (10-13). The purpose of these rhymes and other similar rhymes is to provide insight into the brother’s personalities. Sondheim’s rhymes in the number are unified by the idea that they have something to do with Wilson’s potential. Rhyming words like flair/fair, spark/mark, etc. reveal Wilson at one point possessing a great deal of intellect and potential for leadership. Instead, Wilson is revealed to have squandered his talents away on various swindles with the townspeople as heard from the chaotic overlapping of voices, accusing Wilson of what he has done. In these various caustic indictments ranging from plantation scandals to fiascos involving the Klondike Saloon, the audience witnesses first hand the intellect that Wilson has to be able to manipulate this many people so easily. Wilson’s squandered talents incidentally revolve around the key title word “waste” which is repeated thought the song by the Mizner victims. This keyword “waste” is important because it changes “Bounce’s theme from a message about resilience against the American enterprise to a darker theme about finding fortune by doing whatever it
Even though the relationship dynamic is better explored in the opening number “Waste”, the music’s jaunty vamp and upbeat pace better matches the first opening number “Bounce” in theme and in rhythmic structure. In the “Bounce” opening number, the dialogue between Wilson and Addison has a definite optimism in a tone that celebrates the theme of resilience against setbacks. This optimistic tone matches the light and bouncy melody of the music. The major key and the upbeat rhythms also support the title and lyrics of the