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    Module 6 Poetic Rhythm and Meter

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    Rosielyn Mae Tan Bolon
    The document discusses poetic rhythm and meter. It defines key poetic concepts like syllables, feet, and patterns. The main poetic feet are iambic, trochaic, anapestic, dactylic, and spondaic. Poems are categorized by both their foot pattern and number of feet per line, forming their meter. Common English meters include iambic pentameter and trochaic tetrameter. Understanding poetic rhythm and meter allows for analyzing and creating metered verse.

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    Module 6 Poetic Rhythm and Meter

    Uploaded by

    Rosielyn Mae Tan Bolon
    269 views27 pages
    The document discusses poetic rhythm and meter. It defines key poetic concepts like syllables, feet, and patterns. The main poetic feet are iambic, trochaic, anapestic, dactylic, and spondaic. Poems are categorized by both their foot pattern and number of feet per line, forming their meter. Common English meters include iambic pentameter and trochaic tetrameter. Understanding poetic rhythm and meter allows for analyzing and creating metered verse.

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    The document discusses poetic rhythm and meter. It defines key poetic concepts like syllables, feet, and patterns. The main poetic feet are iambic, trochaic, anapestic, dactylic, and spondaic. Poems are categorized by both their foot pattern and number of feet per line, forming their meter. Common English meters include iambic pentameter and trochaic tetrameter. Understanding poetic rhythm and meter allows for analyzing and creating metered verse.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    269 views27 pages

    Module 6 Poetic Rhythm and Meter

    Uploaded by

    Rosielyn Mae Tan Bolon
    The document discusses poetic rhythm and meter. It defines key poetic concepts like syllables, feet, and patterns. The main poetic feet are iambic, trochaic, anapestic, dactylic, and spondaic. Poems are categorized by both their foot pattern and number of feet per line, forming their meter. Common English meters include iambic pentameter and trochaic tetrameter. Understanding poetic rhythm and meter allows for analyzing and creating metered verse.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 27

    T he Rhythm of

    Poetr y:

    Syllable - Poetic feet - Meter


    Syllables
    • English words have clear syllables.
    • We can usually divide words into
    syllables easily.
    • We can also determine which syllables to
    emphasize, or “stress” in each word.
     For example:
    • Angel = AN-gel  (not an-GEL)
    • Complete = com-PLETE  (not COM-plete)
    More Syllables
    • poem = PO-em…….(1 stressed + 1 unstressed)

    • poetry = PO-e-try…….(1 stressed + 2 unstressed)

    • relief = re-LIEF……. (1 unstressed + 1 stressed)

    • recommend = re-com-MEND……. (2 unstressed + 1 stressed)

    • discomfort = dis-COM-fort… (1 unstressed + 1 stressed + 1 unstressed)

    • entertainment = en-ter-TAIN-ment (2 unstressed + 1 stressed + 1 unstressed)


    Scansion
    • (1) the act of scanning, or analyzing poetry
    in terms of its rhythmic components
    • (2) the graphic representation,
    indicated by marked accents, feet, etc.,
    of the rhythm of a line or lines of verse
    – You may have seen scansion marks like the
    following:
    The curved lines are
    “unstressed” syllables while the
    straight slashes are “stressed”
    Poetic Meter
    • Meters are the rhythms within poems.
    • Meters are the arrangement of
    stressed/unstressed
    stressed syllables to
    occur at apparently equal intervals.
    • Metered verse has prescribed rules as
    to the number and placement of
    syllables used per line.
    Poetic Foot
    • A poetic foot is a repeated sequence
    of rhythm comprised of two or more
    stressed and/or unstressed syllables.
    • Poetic meter is comprised of poetic feet
    Five main patterns to poetic feet:

    1. Iambic
    2. Trochaic
    3. Anapestic
    4. Dactylic
    5. Spondaic
    Iambic pattern
    • 1 unstressed syllable followed by 1
    stressed syllable
    • EXAMPLES:
    – repose (re-POSE)
    POSE
    – belief (be-LIEF)
    LIEF
    – complete (com-PLETE)
    PLETE
    Trochaic Pattern
    • 1 stressed syllable followed by 1
    unstressed syllable
    • EXAMPLES:
    – garland (GAR-land)
    – speaking (SPEAK-ing)
    – value (VAL-ue)
    Anapestic pattern
    • 2 unstressed syllables followed by 1
    stressed syllable
    • EXAMPLES:
    – on the road
    – interrupt (in-ter-RUPT)
    RUPT
    – unabridged,
    bridged contradict,
    dict engineer,
    eer
    masquerade,
    rade Galilee
    Dactylic pattern
    • 1 stressed syllable followed by 2
    unstressed syllables
    • EXAMPLE:
    – happiness (HAP-pi-ness)
    – galloping (GAL-lop-ing)
    – fortunate,
    for Saturday,
    Sat daffodil,
    daf murmuring,
    mur
    rhapsody
    rhap
    Spondaic Pattern
    • All syllables have equal stress
    • EXAMPLE:
    – Heartbreak
    – “Out, out…”
    – "pen-knife," "ad hoc," "heartburn"
    The Iambic foot
    • The iamb = (1 unstressed syllable + 1 stressed syllable) is the
    most common poetic foot in English verse.
    • iambic foot examples:
    – behold
    – destroy
    – the sun (articles such as “the” would be considered unstressed syllables)
    – and watch (conjunctions such as and would be considered unstressed
    syllables)
    Lines containing iambic feet
    • Behold / and watch / the sun / destroy / and grow (5 iambs)
    • When I / do COUNT / the CLOCK / that TELLS / the
    TIME [Shakespeare’s Sonnet 12] (5 iambs)

    • Shall I / compare /thee to / a sum / mer's day?


    [Shakespeare’s Sonnet 12] (5 iambs)

    • Come live/ with me/ and be/ my love (4 iambs)


    (poem by Christopher Marlowe)
    Trochaic poem: a stressed syllable
    followed by an unstressed one
    Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's “The Song of Hiawatha”
    By the / shores of / Gitche / Gumee,
    By the / shining / Big-Sea /-Water,
    Stood the / wigwam / of No / komis,
    Daughter / of the / Moon, No / komis.
    Dark behind it rose the forest,
    Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees,
    Rose the firs with cones upon them;
    Bright before' it beat the water,
    Beat the clear and sunny water,
    Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water.
    Anapestic poetry: 2 unstressed syllables + 1 stressed one
    Limericks contain anapestic meter (in blue)

    A Limerick by Edward Lear:


    There was / an Old Man / with a beard,
    Who said, "It is just / as I feared!
    Two Owls / and a Hen,
    Four Larks / and a Wren,
    Have all / built their nests / in my beard!"
    Dactylic poem: 1 stressed + 2 unstressed

    Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson


    Half a league, / half a league,
    Half a league / onward,
    All in the / valley of / Death
    Rode the / six hundred.
    "Forward, the / Light Brigade!
    Charge for the / guns!" he said:
    Into the / valley of / Death
    Rode the / six hundred.
    Spondaic Poem: 2 equal syllables
    • Because of this nature of the spondee,
    a serious poem cannot be solely
    spondaic.
    spondaic
    • It would be almost impossible to construct
    a poem entirely of stressed syllables.
    syllables
    • Therefore, the spondee usually
    occurs within a poem having another
    dominant rhythm scheme.
    Combinations of Poetic Feet
    • One foot per line: monometer
    • Two feet per line : dimeter
    • Three feet per line : trimeter
    • Four feet per line : tetrameter
    • Five feet per line : pentameter
    • Six feet per line : hexameter
    Type + Number = Meter
    Types of Poetic Feet Number of feet per line
    • Iambic (1 unstressed + 1 stressed) • Monometer
    • Trochaic (1 stressed + 1 unstressed) • Dimeter
    • Anapestic (2 unstressed + 1 stressed) • Trimeter
    • Dactylic (1 stressed + 2 unstressed) • Tetrameter
    • Spondaic (all syllables equal) • Pentameter
    • Hexameter
    Meters & Feet
    • Q: If a poem had 1 foot per line,
    line and
    the foot was iambic (1 unstressed + 1 stressed),
    what type of poem would it be?

    •A: Iambic monometer


    Meters & Feet
    • Q: If a poem had 2 feet per line,
    line and
    the foot was iambic (1 unstressed + 1 stressed),
    what type of poem would it be?

    •A: Iambic dimeter


    Meters & Feet
    • Q: If a poem had 3 feet per line,
    line and
    the foot was iambic (1 unstressed + 1 stressed),
    what type of poem would it be?

    •A: Iambic trimeter


    Meters & Feet
    • Q: If a poem had 4 feet per line,
    line and
    the foot was iambic (1 unstressed + 1 stressed),
    what type of poem would it be?

    •A: Iambic tetrameter


    Meters & Feet
    • Q: If a poem had 5 feet per line,
    line and
    the foot was iambic (1 unstressed + 1 stressed),
    what type of poem would it be?

    •A: Iambic pentameter


    Meters & Feet
    • Q: If a poem had 3 feet per line,
    line and
    the foot was trochaic (1 stressed +1
    unstressed), what type of poem would it be?

    •A: Trochaic tetrameter


    Go ahead…
    experiment with
    different metric styles
    in your own poetry!
    End of presentation.

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