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Module 6 Poetic Rhythm and Meter

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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Rosielyn Mae Tan Bolon
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661 views27 pages

Module 6 Poetic Rhythm and Meter

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.

Uploaded by

Rosielyn Mae Tan Bolon
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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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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