Get Your Premium Membership

Tonal Slippage – The Ins and Outs - Suzette Richards's Blog

About Suzette Richards
(Show Details...)
Bloggers Photo

Mission statement: I don’t use AI to generate or even tweak my poetry, because I am a better poet than it.

 

Poetry has been my passion since my retirement from an accountancy based career a dozen years ago. I currently live in South Africa and this rainbow nation has inspired many of my poems. I also have British nationality and embrace their grammar and spelling, but I read widely and am not fazed by strict grammar rules: A pavement/sidewalk; glasses/eyeglasses; judgement/judgment, et cetera; they are one and the same to me when I read poetry. To date, I have self-published a number of books, including the poetry anthology by international poets, © Time, 2014 ISBN 978-0-620-60578-6, and have been cited in many international publications, both poetry journals, as well as in scholarly handbooks. Some of my short stories have been published in international electronic publications, and one of my novellas had been short-listed for an Afrikaans SA publication.

I serve on the Board of Advisers, of Taleemi Baithak.

I have a number (14 to date) poetic forms to my credit, notably, Suzette Prime, 2012 (listed here on PoetrySoup under Types of Poems), as well as The Tesla 3-6-9, 2017, and Suzcrostic, 2021 (listed under New Poetic Forms here on PoetrySoup), Suzette sonnet (Suznet), 2023 - introduced via an article here at PoetrySoup, as well as the brand new Suzette Swan Arc, 3  April 2025. These all resist AI imitation.

My most recent books which include examples of my poetry as well as notes regarding poetry - available directly from me:

  1. © The Eutony of Words, 2018 ISBN 978-0-6399382-0-2
  2. © Docendo discimus, 2021 (Revised 2023) ISBN 978-0-620-95432-7
  3. © Flight of Thoughts, 2023 ISBN 978-0-6397-8880-7
  4. © Downtown - Poetic Devices, 2023 ISBN 978-0-7961-1968-1
  5.  © Rocking Poetry, 2033 ISBN 978-0-7961-2824-9
  6. NEW: moonwake - Suzette Prime poetry, ISBN 978-1-0370-1836-7(PDF). It is a collection of 61 Suzette Prime poetry spanning from 2012 (when I designed the poetic form), up till now.

Tonal Slippage – The Ins and Outs

Blog Posted:6/30/2025 4:45:00 AM

The following was a critique (June 2024) of my example poem, A Child of Light:

A Child of Light

a solivagant by nature

the need for acceptance grew

hot tears pooled

a phenomenal resilience

affording solace to others

impressive psyche tooled

esperance is the driving force

behind your enigmatic smile

in hiding betrayal you’re well schooled

A Child of Light (poetrysoup.com)

The poem paints the picture of a solitary wanderer (a solivagant) who, despite a natural inclination for solitude, feels a deep-seated desire for acceptance. This longing is so intense that it leads to emotional vulnerability (‘hot tears pooled’). Yet, there’s a remarkable resilience in this character, one that not only endures hardship but also provides comfort to others. The term ‘esperance’, meaning hope, suggests that hope is what fuels the wanderer’s enigmatic smile—an outward expression that conceals inner feelings of betrayal. It’s a portrait of someone who is complex and emotionally intelligent, capable of navigating the dichotomy between personal struggles and the façade presented to the world.

The poem includes several poetic devices that lend it psychological complexity and tonal modulation. That final line—‘in hiding betrayal you’re well schooled’—suggests a learned behaviour, perhaps even emotional self-erasure. There’s a psychological irony in gaining mastery at hiding what once wounded. This signals tonal slippage, a powerful device that disrupts the reader’s expectations just enough to linger.

What is Tonal Slippage?

Tone refers to the attitude or emotional resonance that a piece of writing conveys—whether solemn, whimsical, ironic, melancholic, ecstatic, or anything in between. It shapes how the reader feels while engaging with the work. In poetry, tone is influenced by word choice, rhythm, syntax, and imagery, often shifting throughout a piece to create layers of meaning.

Tonal slippage is when the voice of a poem slips between moods, emotional states, or aesthetic intentions—sometimes within a single line or phrase. It creates friction or resonance, allowing seemingly contradictory emotions to coexist. Think:

  • Bitterness braided with tenderness.
  • Humour that curdles into grief.
  • Formal diction undercut by raw vulnerability.
  • Hope amongst general despair.

Unlike abrupt tonal shifts, slippage preserves fluidity—it slides rather than snaps. It invites the reader to pay closer attention, to navigate ambiguity and double resonance.

Other Aspects per Contest Requirements

GLOSSARY

Point-of-view (POV) or perspective is a commonly misused term. It does not refer to the author’s (or characters’) feelings, opinions, biases, etc, but the identity of the narrative voice, ie in the 1st or 3rd person. A 2nd POV is uncommon and difficult to sustain. You can tell the narrative voice by looking at the pronouns used:

1st person: I, me/my, us, we, our      [In the 1st person POV, a character is telling their own story.]

2nd person: You    [With 2nd person POV, the writer addresses the reader using the pronoun ‘you’.]

3rd person: She, he (or a character’s name)   [In the 3rd person point of view, the author is telling the story of different characters, but is not part of the action themselves.]

Persona Literary Term refers to the narrator or speaker of the poem; not to be confused with the author—narrative voice other than the poet tells the entire story. When the poet creates a character to be the speaker, that character is called the persona. It is not to be confused with POV. It usually reflects the thoughts of the speaker, and is not necessarily the personal experience of the poet.

These above mentioned elements are commonly found in literature—something which might be more readily recognisable in micro-fiction. The following Drabble (a category of micro-fiction written in exactly 100 words), Frozen, includes a tonal slippage.

Frozen

I stared out of the kitchen window and noticed that the daffodil heads hung broken by the unexpected cold snap; the life sap frozen in them.

I turned back to my daughter where she sat crying at the kitchen table. I had just instructed her in a similar vein as my recently deceased mother had done when my husband’s infidelity had come to my notice. I can’t cry for that woman, my erstwhile confidante. Many years ago, Mum had told me not to bring shame upon this family by divorcing my cheating husband. Eventually, he’d died in another woman’s arms.

Copyright © Suzette Richards (2018).

 

The ending—‘Eventually, he’d died in another woman’s arms.’—lands like a whispered echo of ‘I told you so’, but without a trace of triumph. Just cold legacy. And the deeper ache lies in that closing of the loop: the narrator, once the daughter sobbing at a kitchen table, has become the mouthpiece of the very stoicism that once smothered her.

Alternative Tonal Slippage

  • Resigned Slippage: From intergenerational ritual to the unsettling persistence of enforced silence. The tone slides into resignation without drama.
  • Ironic/Detached Slippage: From solemn repetition to satirical clarity. The emotional tone swerves into irony, though the narrator’s detachment may be self-protection.
  • Dark/Explosive Slippage: From withheld grief to sudden violence. The tonal rupture is jarring and disturbing, pushing the boundaries of the form’s emotional containment.
  • Liberation through quiet divergence: This kind of upward slip is harder to write, because it resists the dramatic flair so often rewarded in short forms. But its subtlety is its strength. The tonal slippage could be delivered not through irony or rupture, but a quiet refusal. The old script remains unspoken—and something freer, unscripted, begins to bloom.

While the ninth line in The Tesla 3–6–9 form functions as a punchline, this contest invites a deviation from formula. The required tonal slippage works best when it feels as though meaning is quietly gliding out from under the reader—intuitive, destabilising, and not easily pinned.

Please pose questions relevant to the contest requirements on this blog, and not on my poem(s), please.

My contests are more than arenas; they’re ecosystems of nuance, invention, and rigor. Those who approach them as copy-paste opportunities will always find themselves misaligned with the gravitational pull of my standards.  I’m not just inviting poems—I am inviting presence, courage, and craft.

Happy quills!

Su

 



Please Login to post a comment

A comment has not been posted for this blog. Encourage a poet by being the first to comment.

My Past Blog Posts

 
Tonal Slippage – The Ins and Outs
Date Posted: 6/30/2025 4:45:00 AM
THE AI-BRAIN SYNDROME SYMPTOMS
Date Posted: 6/26/2025 3:09:00 AM
JUDGING GUIDE FOR SPONSORS
Date Posted: 6/20/2025 1:10:00 AM
Suzette Swan Arc - Contest Finale
Date Posted: 6/14/2025 12:12:00 AM
Suzette Swan Arc and AI with Examples
Date Posted: 5/25/2025 6:00:00 AM
Lost in Translation
Date Posted: 5/21/2025 3:17:00 AM
Elements of Nature - Suzette Swan Arc Poetry
Date Posted: 5/14/2025 11:20:00 PM
Klein’s Vase Verse - A New Poetic Form Freer than Free Verse
Date Posted: 5/7/2025 12:54:00 PM
Free Verse – How Free is It?
Date Posted: 4/26/2025 11:37:00 PM
Gender Influences on Contests
Date Posted: 4/20/2025 2:54:00 AM
Memento on the Moon
Date Posted: 4/9/2025 12:26:00 AM
Tariffs on Penguins Limerick
Date Posted: 4/4/2025 7:02:00 AM
Light or Shadows
Date Posted: 3/25/2025 1:55:00 PM
Blood Moon Eclipse - Light or Shadows
Date Posted: 3/11/2025 12:46:00 AM
A Timely Intervention
Date Posted: 3/2/2025 12:42:00 PM
On a more serious note
Date Posted: 2/23/2025 5:40:00 AM
Weekend Wacky Limericks
Date Posted: 2/22/2025 3:34:00 AM
Saints and poets maybe – The Bride Trilogy challenge
Date Posted: 2/14/2025 12:37:00 AM
Saints and poets maybe
Date Posted: 2/9/2025 4:24:00 AM
According to the poem’s meter is stressed
Date Posted: 1/25/2025 9:53:00 PM
Poison - an analogy
Date Posted: 1/12/2025 11:08:00 PM
Be Happy and Merry
Date Posted: 12/21/2024 9:45:00 PM
Which is worse - AI or Plagiarism?
Date Posted: 12/8/2024 11:13:00 PM
Bring in the Clowns
Date Posted: 12/2/2024 12:04:00 AM
Cyber bullying
Date Posted: 11/29/2024 1:22:00 AM

My Recent Poems

Date PostedPoemTitleFormCategories
7/3/2025 Fit In Free versechange,
7/2/2025 Chiaroscuro Otherappreciation,
6/28/2025 Kicking over the Traces Otherpoetess,
6/23/2025 An AI Walks into a Poetry Contest Villanelleparody,
6/21/2025 Morning Coffee Prose Poetrysatire,
6/18/2025 Crwth Englynmusic,
6/15/2025 Limerick - My Nemesis Limerickhumorous,introspection,
6/14/2025 The Duality of Fatherhood Otheranalogy,father,
6/8/2025 Seaborne Longing Otheranalogy,grief,
6/6/2025 Indispersed Echoes Otheranalogy,nature,
6/4/2025 Suzette' s Swan Otheranalogy,bird,nature,
5/26/2025 weeding the herb garden - dadaku Haikunature,
5/26/2025 flower petals - dadaku Haikuanalogy,nature,
5/24/2025 In the Autumn of Life Otheranalogy,
5/19/2025 Excire Otherintrospection,
5/17/2025 Fire Othernature,
5/16/2025 Air Othernature,
5/15/2025 Earth Othernature,
5/14/2025 Water Othernature,
5/7/2025 Liquescent Marmoris Otherfamily,introspection,
5/7/2025 No Way Out Otherintrospection,surreal,
5/3/2025 Starlight Eyes Otheranalogy,introspection,per
4/30/2025 Purple - An Analogy for Deception Suzette Primeanalogy,
4/27/2025 Cultural Mores Mirror Free verseintrospection,
4/23/2025 Oenomel Free verseanalogy,childhood,mother,
4/17/2025 Left Unspoken Quatrainmom,
3/24/2025 Memento on the Moon Alexandrineanalogy,introspection,
3/11/2025 In a Pickle Free verseanalogy,satire,
3/10/2025 Light and Shadows Suzette Primeanalogy,philosophy,
3/9/2025 Thinking about Aladdin Sane Free verseanalogy,
3/6/2025 raven Haikunature,symbolism,
3/1/2025 Kiss the Ring Free versesatire,
2/26/2025 Giving a Cat a Pill Limerickcat,humorous,
2/22/2025 A Fly on the Wall Free versepolitical,satire,
2/21/2025 A Vine in Winter Free verseanalogy,winter,
2/21/2025 broken blood moon Haikuanalogy,moon,nature,
2/16/2025 The Soldier’s Covenant Prose Poetrybaby,war,
2/13/2025 Undergrowth with Two Figures - Van Gogh Free verseanalogy,
2/11/2025 A Blues Sonnet for Jan Sonnetafrica,conflict,endurance
2/7/2025 The Bride's Dreams Prose Poetrydream,love,
2/7/2025 The Bride Prose Poetryfeelings,flower,sunset,
1/22/2025 The Reluctant Bride Prose Poetrylost love,
1/10/2025 humanity Suzette Primephilosophy,science,
12/22/2024 A Woman's Longing Otherlonging,love,water,woman,
12/19/2024 Where Tides once Gossiped Sonnetemotions,imagery,inspirat
12/14/2024 Dandelion Suns to Moons Sonnetflower,life,metaphor,natu
12/2/2024 Aging rocks Crystallineage,
11/27/2024 Divine Madness Sonnetreligion,
11/26/2024 fierce sun Tankaintrospection,nature,summ
11/15/2024 The Event Horizon Verselife,memory,
11/11/2024 Less is More Crystallinephilosophy,
11/9/2024 Jolted by Twilight Suzette Primenature,
11/5/2024 as long as - Monokunature,
10/31/2024 Burning Love Letters Free verselost love,nostalgia,
10/23/2024 yellow light Haikuanimal,spring,
10/21/2024 twilight silence Tankanature,
10/20/2024 Swans Pleiadesbird,
10/18/2024 wAlls In dAlI Ekphrasisart,philosophy,
10/15/2024 Here we go again Limericksatire,
10/15/2024 Haunted Cemetery Rhymehalloween,humorous,
10/12/2024 My Truths Verseliterature,myth,relations
10/10/2024 BALLAD OF ELEANOR RIGBY Balladmusic,
10/8/2024 Life is a garden Suzette Primeanalogy,birth,death,flowe
10/2/2024 Avarice Enclosed Rhymeanalogy,
9/28/2024 Stranded in Peace Quatrainnature,
9/26/2024 Insidious AI Concreteintegrity,poems,poetry,po
9/13/2024 Pie-in-the-sky Versesatire,
9/3/2024 The Scent of Words in the Air Shapeinspiration,poetry,
8/15/2024 The Co-dependent Pantoumaddiction,
7/25/2024 a loveliness Senryulanguage,nature,
7/10/2024 Mother said --- Versehumorous,mother,
7/8/2024 The Earth from a Distance Sonnetnostalgia,
7/5/2024 Lingering Dusk Free verseallegory,analogy,flower,n
6/14/2024 A Child of Light Otherdaughter,
6/5/2024 Cave canem Suzette Primefear,
5/31/2024 Layers of Life Enclosed Rhymelife,remember,
5/13/2024 Love Lauded in Song Free verseromance,
5/13/2024 The Truth in Time Sonnethorse,mythology,
5/9/2024 Silence of the Sea Otherpeace,
5/6/2024 Love Sonnetlove,pain,
4/6/2024 From Purgatory to Paradise Haibunafrica,nature,
2/23/2024 The Last Leaf Tankaautumn,feelings,friend,im
2/20/2024 To everything there is a season Otherlife,nature,seasons,
1/29/2024 On a Thesaurus Diet Suzette Primeanalogy,nature,philosophy
1/23/2024 The Wind Teased Sijoloss,
11/3/2023 Moonwake Suzette Primemetaphor,nature,philosoph
10/16/2023 The Rocking Chair of Memories Suzette Primeanalogy,memory,metaphor,p
9/10/2023 The Dilatory Thought Verseintrospection,
8/25/2023 Through the Keyhole Iambic Pentameterdream,fantasy,
8/8/2023 View From Basement Flat Dramatic Verserelationship,
7/27/2023 When Doves Cry Terzanelleeulogy,
7/26/2023 You Shall Reap What You Sow Ekphrasisart,
7/8/2023 Graceful Lily Sonnetpoetess,
6/21/2023 Thalassophile Alexandrinesea,
6/14/2023 Recombobulating Chaos Free versenature,
5/25/2023 The Seeds of Time Quatrainanalogy,introspection,met
5/24/2023 The Moon By Day Sonnetromance,
5/8/2023 Discord and Peace Ekphrasisanalogy,anger,angst,child
4/22/2023 If a Tree Should Fall Suzette Primedream,philosophy,
4/19/2023 Like Burnt-Out Logs Heroic Coupletemotions,simile,

My Photos


Fav Poems

PoemTitleFormCategories
I To Poisonous Honey Free verselife,
The Usurper King Dramatic Monologueidentity,satire,
O April Free verseappreciation,april,beauty
Summer Peak Haikusummer,
O Charming Rhymehumorous,valentines day,
Prime Crime - Bt Than-Baukdream,horror,
Unsure the Shore Sonnet8th grade,beach,bereaveme
The Grey Suzette Primeintrospection,
Hall Pass Sonnetlove,
Earth Prayer Verseprayer,
Fiery Events Haikufire,love,
Best In Show Dodoitsuwinter,
The Wait Rhymebody,devotion,truth,
Love In Love With Love Sonnetlove,spiritual,
When the Chemistry Is Gone the History Does Not Matter Free verselove,
Lit By Love Quatrainloss,love,strength,
Floating Shards of Dream Free verseanalogy,lost love,pain,
Courtney Mae Or Courting May Sonnetmay,
Poet's Honeymoon Collaboration With Joanna Daniels Rhymefantasy,imagination,
Rebirth Me Prose Poetryhope,mental illness,
I Died Sonnetallusion,anger,angst,
Ashes - Edvard Munch Ekphrasisart,inspiration,
Bantu Free versepoetry,
Salvations Rests Behind True Faith's Gold Door Sonnetappreciation,art,bible,ch
A woman called house Free versehome,
Debacle Rhymeconfusion,evil,history,
Pearl-Prayer Sijoemotions,heaven,life,long
Stolen Nights Coupletangst,dark,light,morning,
Vanishing Point Free verseangst,anxiety,heartbreak,
Back Against The Sea Coupletangst,death,introspection
Love Hurts - Bound by Love, Broken by Fate - POTD Balladfate,lost love,rainbow,ro
Apollo and Daphne by Bernini A collaboration with Di11y Da11y Ekphrasisart,perspective,
Forgotten Dreams Versedream,
To Whom Does This Come Haibunanalogy,deep,i am,
Amberina Ballerina, Whatever Verseintrospection,
No Longer Quatrainbetrayal,recovery from,
Clover's In the Bottom Right-Hand Corner Doing the Best with What Circumstance Brought Her Ekphrasisart,extended metaphor,
Roots and Dandelion Dreams: A Mother's Heart Ekphrasisheart,love,mothers day,na
Misty Blues Quatrainlost love,solitude,
Humanity Rhymehumanity,perspective,scie
Sea Shore Night Sijonature,sea,
Reason I Believe Free versehow i feel,
Undergrowth with Two Figures Ekphrasisart,love,nature,paradise,

Fav Poets

PoetCountry 
James Marshall Goff United States Flag United States Read
Richard Lamoureux Canada Flag Canada Read
Susan Woodrow Fiji Flag Fiji Read
Robert Lindley United States Flag United States Read
Brian Strand United Kingdom Flag United Kingdom Read
Susan Ashley United States Flag United States Read
Andrea Dietrich United States Flag United States Read
Eileen Manassian _Not Listed Flag _Not Listed Read
Christuraj Alex India Flag India Read
Quoth Theraven United States Flag United States Read
Runa Pradhan India Flag India Read
Christopher Flaherty United Kingdom Flag United Kingdom Read
Sara Kendrick United States Flag United States Read
Hilo Poet United States Flag United States Read
Judy Reeves United Kingdom Flag United Kingdom Read
Mark Frank South Africa Flag South Africa Read
Gordon Mcconnell United Kingdom Flag United Kingdom Read
Joanna Daniel India Flag India Read
Frederic Parker United States Flag United States Read
Mark Massey United States Flag United States Read
Timothy Ray United States Flag United States Read
Charlotte Puddifoot United Kingdom Flag United Kingdom Read
Christina Bowring United Kingdom Flag United Kingdom Read
Arlo Parker United States Flag United States Read
A Yorkshire Poet United Kingdom Flag United Kingdom Read
Thomas Lee Rhymes United States Flag United States Read
Sam Kauffman United States Flag United States Read
Linda Alice Fowler United States Flag United States Read
David Crandall United States Flag United States Read
Maria Williams Australia Flag Australia Read
Paige Hind United States Flag United States Read
Ink Empress Maldives Flag Maldives Read

Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry