STRUCTURE OF POETRY

An important method of analyzing a poem is to look at the stanza structure or style of a

poem. Generally speaking, structure has to do with the overall organization of lines and/or
the conventional patterns of sound. Again, many modern poems may not have any
identifiable structure (i.e. they are free verse), so don't panic if you can't find it!

 STANZAS: Stanzas are a series of lines grouped together and separated by an empty
line from other stanzas. They are the equivalent of a paragraph in an essay. One way to
identify a stanza is to count the number of lines. Thus:
couplet (2 lines)
tercet (3 lines)
quatrain (4 lines)
cinquain (5 lines)
sestet (6 lines) (sometimes it's called a sexain)
septet (7 lines)
octave (8 lines)

 FORM: A poem may or may not have a specific number of lines, rhyme scheme and/or
metrical pattern, but it can still be labeled according to its form or style. Here are the
three most common types of poems according to form:
o Lyric Poetry: It is any poem with one speaker (not necessarily the poet) who
expresses strong thoughts and feelings. Most poems, especially modern ones,
are lyric poems.
o Narrative Poem: It is a poem that tells a story; its structure resembles the
plot line of a story [i.e. the introduction of conflict and characters, rising
action, climax and the denouement].
o Descriptive Poem: It is a poem that describes the world that surrounds the
speaker. It uses elaborate imagery and adjectives. While emotional, it is more
"outward-focused" than lyric poetry, which is more personal and
introspective.

SOUND PATTERNS

Three other elements of poetry are rhyme scheme, meter (ie. regular rhythm) and word
sounds (like alliteration). These are sometimes collectively called sound play because they
take advantage of the performative, spoken nature of poetry.

 RHYME: Rhyme is the repetition of similar sounds. In poetry, the most common kind of
rhyme is the end rhyme, which occurs at the end of two or more lines. It is usually
identified with lower case letters, and a new letter is used to identify each new end
sound. Take a look at the rhyme scheme for the following poem:
I saw a fairy in the wood,
He was dressed all in green.
He drew his sword while I just stood,
And realized I'd been seen.

The rhyme scheme of the poem is ABAB.

.Internal rhyme occurs in the middle of a line, as in these lines from Coleridge, "In mist or
cloud, on mast or shroud" or "Whiles all the night through fog-smoke white" ("The Ancient
Mariner"). Remember that most modern poems do not have rhyme.
 METER: It is the systematic regularity in rhythm; this systematic rhythm (or sound
pattern) is usually identified by examining the type of "foot" and the number of feet.
o Poetic Foot: The traditional line of metered poetry contains a number of
rhythmical units, which are called feet. The feet in a line are distinguished as
a recurring pattern of two or three syllables ("apple" has 2 syllables,
"banana" has 3 syllables, etc.). The pattern, or foot, is designated according to
the number of syllables contained, and the relationship in each foot between
the strong and weak syllables.Thus:

__ = a stressed (or strong, or LOUD) syllable

U = an unstressed (or weak, or quiet) syllable

In other words, any line of poetry with a systematic rhythm has a certain
number of feet, and each foot has two or three syllables with a constant beat
pattern.

 Iamb (Iambic) - weak syllable followed by strong syllable. [Note that

the pattern is sometimes fairly hard to maintain, as in the third foot.]
 Trochee (Trochaic): strong syllable followed by a weak syllable.
 Anapest (Anapestic): two weak syllables followed by a strong syllable.
e.g.
In her room at the prow of the house
Where light breaks, and the windows are tossed...
(The Writer, Richard Wilbur)
 Dactyl (Dactylic): a strong syllable followed by two weak syllables.
 Spondee (Spondaic): two strong syllables (not common as lines, but
appears as a foot). A spondee usually appears at the end of a line.
o Number of Feet: The second part of meter is the number of feet contained in
a line. Thus:
one foot=monometer
two feet=dimeter
three feet=trimester
four feet=tetrameter
five feet=pentameter
six feet=hexameter (when hexameter is in iambic rhythm, it is called an
alexandrine)

Poems with an identifiable meter are therefore identified by the type of feet (e.g. iambic)
and the number of feet in a line (e.g. pentameter). The following line is iambic pentameter
because it (1) has five feet [pentameter], and (2) each foot has two syllables with the stress
on the second syllable [iambic].

That time | of year | thou mayst | in me | behold

Thus, you will hear meter identified as iambic pentameter, trochaic tetrameter, and so on.

o Irregularity: Many metered poems in English avoid perfectly regular rhythm

because it is monotonous. Irregularities in rhythm add interest and emphasis
to the lines.
 Blank Verse: Any poetry that does have a set metrical pattern (usually
iambic pentameter), but does not have rhyme, is blank verse.
Shakespeare frequently used unrhymed iambic pentameter in his
plays; his works are an early example of blank verse.
 Free Verse: Most modern poetry no longer follows strict rules of
meter or rhyme, especially throughout an entire poem. Free verse,
frankly, has no rules about meter or rhyme whatsoever! [In other
 words, blank verse has rhythm, but no rhyme, while free verse has
neither rhythm nor rhyme.] So, you may find it difficult to find regular
iambic pentameter in a modern poem, though you might find it in
particular lines. Modern poets do like to throw in the occasional line
or phrase of metered poetry, particularly if they’re trying to create a
certain effect. Free verse can also apply to a lack of a formal verse
structure.

To maintain a consistent meter, a poet has to choose words that fit. For example, if a poet
wants to write iambic poetry, s/he has to choose words that have a naturally iambic
rhythm. Words like betray and persuade will work in an iambic poem because they are
naturally iambic. They sound silly any other way. However, candle and muscle will work
best in a trochaic poem, because their natural emphasis is on the first syllable. (However, a
poet can use trochaic words if s/he places a one syllable word in front of them. This often
leads to poetic feet ending in the middle of words - after one syllable - rather than the end.)
It's not surprising that most modern poetry is not metered, because it is very restrictive
and demanding.

Determining meter is usually a process of elimination. Start reading everything in iambic

by emphasizing every second syllable. 80 to 90% of metered poetry is iambic. If it sounds
silly or strange, because many of the poem's words do not sound natural, then try trochaic,
anapestic or dactylic rhythms. If none of these sounds natural, then you probably do not
have metered poetry at all (ie. it's free verse).

If there are some lines that sound metered, but some that don't, the poem has an irregular
rhythm.

WORD SOUNDS

Another type of sound play is the emphasis on individual sounds and words:
 Alliteration: the repetition of initial sounds on the same line or stanza
Big bad Bob bounced bravely.
 Assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds (anywhere in the middle or end of a line
or stanza)
Tilting at windmills
 Consonance: the repetition of consonant sounds (anywhere in the middle or end of a
line or stanza)
And all the air a solemn stillness holds.
 Onomatopoeia: words that sound like that which they describe
Boom! Crash! Pow! Quack! Moo! Caress...
 Repetition: the repetition of entire lines or phrases to emphasize key thematic ideas.
 Parallel Stucture: a form of repetition where the order of verbs and nouns is
repeated; it may involve exact words, but it more importantly repeats sentence
structure
"I came, I saw, I conquered".

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