Metre in Poetry

Poetry is metrical writing. If it isnt that I dont know what it is.

J.V. Cunningham

Spoken English: Stress

In English, we give words more or less weight or p sh as we speak them in a sentence, i.e. we stress certain words !or parts of words":

Each English word is given its own weight and push as we speak it within a sentence.

#e slide over some words or sylla$les with hardly a $reath or a pa se while we give others more weight. %ften, the words that are nstressed are monosylla$ic words s ch as articles !the, an, a" and conjunctions !or, and, $ t": &rom time to time and as long as it takes

'oing this means we nat rally give emphasis to more (important words !(time, (long, (takes" #hen we e)tend monosylla$ic words !e.g (hope * (hoping or (+ ick * (+ ickly" we lightly skip over the (,ing and the (,ly and stress the main part of the word: hoping, quickly.

In polysylla$ic words !many sylla$les" there is always at least one stress:

Credit - 'ispose - .ontin e - 'espair - Desperate

-

E)ercise /

In pairs, write down five polysylla$ic words and nderline the sylla$les that yo stress when yo speak them alo d

Sometimes the stress will change depending on the meaning of the word. Read the following out loud:

0e proceeds to re$el 1he re$el steals the proceeds

Where are the stresses in each?

0e proceeds to rebel

1he rebel steals the proceeds

Some words have two stresses, $ t one will always $e a little heavier !the heavier one is in pink":

-Abdicate -.onsideration

Sometimes these differences are a matter of nationality or preference

#here wo ld yo place the stress in the following:

- Chicken

soup - Arm chair - Sponge cake - Cigarette - aga!ine

British English

American English

Chicken soup Arm chair Sponge cake .igarette 2agazine

Chicken so p Arm chair Sponge cake Cigarette Maga3ine

#hats this got to do with Shakespeare4

1he patterns of stresses in a piece of writing $ ild p its rhythm or metre In prose, we tend not to pay attention to where the stresses fall ! nless were reading alo d" as the rhythm is not s ally organised In poetry or Shakespeare, the rhythm is organised5

#e can all recognise rhythm in m sic and tap o r feet to it.

da dum! da dum! da dum! da dum! da dum

In poetry, the metre is m ch the same:

2 st

sic teachers sometimes make dents clap o t that rhythm like this:

and one! and two! and three! and "our! and "ive

In poetry, each one of these da,d ms Is called a foot

6 foot with the stress on the second $eat 6 foot with the stress on the first $eat

da,D#M

an iam$

DA,d m

6 trochee

6 series of five feet has a steady, marching rhythm when the stress is on the second $eat of each foot:

da,'82, da,'82, da,'82, da,'82, da,'82

6 foot that is stressed on the second $eat like this is known as an iamb 7erse that ses five of these in a row is known as iambic pentameter

6 line of iam$ic pentameter

0e bangs the drum and makes a dreadf l noise

E)ercise 9
/. :o will $e given a photocopied sheet of co plets written in iam$ic pentameter. 9. In pairs, read these alo d and then nderline the stressed words or sylla$les to identify the metre ;. <ead the lines o t again, e)aggerating the stresses on each $eat

#hat did yo find4

#ere some easier than others4

E)ercise ;
Write "# lines of iam$ic pentameter following these rules %e&amples on following slide':
#rite

some single lines and some co plets 'o not se rhyme #rite different types of lines: chatty, complicated, descriptive, silly, serio s #rite more and more + ickly as yo go on !a$o t ;= seconds a line" 8se $oth monosylla$ic and polysylla$ic words

E$amples written by Stephen %ry

I wonder why the postman hasnt come. I looked at eight, Ill look again at nine. 1he c rtains closed remind me of my death Ive $een and gone and done a st pid thing 1heres nothing yo can do to ease my pain :o might ind ce e)cretion sing figs :o r sharpness rips my paper heart in two I write the line and feel the metre flow

>lank 7erse
Shakespeare wrote in &lank 'erse(
)n practice! this meant that his verse was usually unrhymed and consisted o" ten syllables to a line! spoken with a stress on every second syllable( *he blank verse o" his early plays is quite di""erent "rom that o" his later ones( )t is o"ten beauti"ul! but its sentences tend to start! pause! and "inish at the end o" lines! with the slight risk o" monotony(

End,stopping, En?am$ment and .aes ra

I havent time to take yo r call right now 1he woods decay, the woods decay and fall 1hese are end,stopped lines. 1his is effective $ t can $ecome d ll over time.

En?am$ment
If yo co ld hear, at every ?olt, the $lood .ome gargling from the froth,corr pted l ngs. #ilfred %wen, ' lce et 'ecor m Est 1his is en?am$ment * a r n on line. So threatened he, $ t Satan to no threats @ave heed, $ t wa)ing more in rage replied: 2ilton, Paradise Aost >ook I7

.aes ra
So threatened he BB $ t Satan to no threats @ave heed BB $ t wa)ing more in rage replied: 0is mother was a learned lady BB famed &or every $ranch of every science known. .aes ra * he says yo re a fool

#hy not end the line with the sense and ignore the metre
If yo co ld hear, at every ?olt, the $lood come gargling from the froth,corr pted l ngs. If yo co ld hear, at every ?olt, the $lood .ome gargling from the froth,corr pted l ngs.

Aeontes in 1he #inters 1ale

@o, play, $oy, play. 1here have $een, %r I am m ch deceived, c ckolds ere nowC 6nd many a man there is, even at this present, Dow while I speak this, holds his wife $y the arm, 1hat little thinks she has $een sl iced inEs a$sence 6nd his pond fishEd $y his ne)t neigh$o r, $y Sir Smile, his neigh$o r: nay, thereEs comfort inEt #hiles other men have gates and those gates openEd, 6s mine, against their will. Sho ld all despair 1hat have revolted wives, the tenth of mankind #o ld hang themselves. Physic forEt there is noneC

Shall I compare thee to a s mmerEs day4 1ho art more lovely and more temperate. <o gh winds do shake the darling $ ds of 2ay, 6nd s mmerEs lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, 6nd often is his gold comple)ion dimmedC 6nd every fair from fair sometime declines, >y chance, or nat reEs changing co rse, ntrimmedC > t thy eternal s mmer shall not fade, Dor lose possession of that fair tho owEst, Dor shall death $rag tho wandErest in his shade, #hen in eternal lines to 1ime tho growEst. So long as men can $reathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

E)ercise F
- #rite three pairs of $lank !non rhyming" iam$ic pentameter - 1hen write three pairs where the meaning is the same and in which there is en?am$ment - Each new pair m ch have at least two caes ras

1opics
#hat is yo see B hear o tside the window #hat yo d like to eat right this min te #hat yo last remem$er dreaming a$o t #hat chores yo have yet to do. #hat yo dislike a$o t yo r $ody

#hat did yo write4

- E)amples p ;9.

1rochees
So far, yo have $een writing verse constr cted of iam$s !feet with the stress on the second sylla$le". &or e)ample:

She walks in beauty like the night %iam$ic tetrameter'

Strength G #eakness

>eca se trochees end on an nstressed sylla$le, it is sometimes said that they give a weaker ending to a line than iam$s do $eca se they finish on a stress: *rochees end their lines in weakness Iam$ic lines resolve with strength

Spondee and Pyrrhic

- &eet where $oth sylla$les are stressed are called spondees. - &eet where neither sylla$le is stressed are pyrrhic

Some other metres

/ foot 9 feet ; feet F feet 0e $angs 2onometer 0is dr mming noise 'imeter 0is dr mming makes a noise 1rimeter 0e $angs a dr m and makes 1etrameter a noise Pentameter 0e)ameter

H feet 0e $angs the dr m and makes a dreadf l noise I feet 0e $angs the dr m and makes the most appalling noise

1he 1empest
- If $y yo r art, my dearest father, yo have P t the wild waters in this roar, allay them. 1he sky, it seems, wo ld po r down stinking pitch, > t that the sea, mo nting to the welkinEs cheek, 'ashes the fire o t. %, I have s ffered #ith those that I saw s ffer: a $rave vessel, #ho had, no do $t, some no$le creat re in her, 'ashEd all to pieces. %, the cry did knock 6gainst my very heart. Poor so ls, they perishEd. 0ad I $een any god of power, I wo ld 0ave s nk the sea within the earth or ere It sho ld the good ship so have swallowEd and 1he fra ghting so ls within her.