Meter Prose – words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, chapters Poetry – syllables, feet, lines, stanzas, cantos Without the division of lines – no poem, without the meter – no music
Meter • Rhythm – pulse or beat we feel in a phrase of music or a poem. Sense of rhythm comes from everyday life and experiences with language and music • Meter – poetry’s rhythm or its pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. • Poetic foot – is a measured unit of meter, made up of stressed and unstressed syllables
Lexical stress – dictionary stressRhetorical stress – stress placed on a word for effectMetrical stress – expectation drives the stress, meter gets establishedWhose woods/ these are/ I think / I know
Type of metric foot accent/stress example • Iambic/ iamb / today, balloon • Trochaic/ trochee / happy, soda • Anapestic/ anapest / obvious, contradict • Dactyllic/dactyl / cigarette, maniac • Spondaic/spondee / / Downtown, manmade • Pyrrhic of the
Da dum • DA dum (FORest) = Trochee • DA DUM (RED CAT) = Spondee • da da DUM (like a WOLF) = Anapest • DA da DUM (CUT the FLESH) = Dactyl • da dum (and the) (-ing the) = Pyrrhic
meter • Duple – two syllable feet - - -IT • Triple – three syllable feet - - AD • Rising feet/ascending feet– iamb, anapest - - vowels • Falling/descending feet – trochee, dactyl - - - consonants • Substitute feet – spondee, pyrrhic • Amphibrach – a foot with unstressed, stressed, unstressed syllables / Chicago • Anacrusis – an extra unaccented syllable at the beginning of a line before the regular meter begins Mine by the right of the white election
Number of metric feet Type of Line • One foot monometer • Two feet dimeter • Three feet trimeter • Four feet tetrameter • Five feet pentameter • Six feet hexameter • Seven feet heptameter • Eight feet octometer • Nine feet nonometer
meter • Amphimacer – a foot with stressed, unstressed, stressed syllables • / / attitude • Catalexis – an extra unaccented syllable at the ending of a line after the regular meter ends (opposite of anacrusis)
Scansion – the analysis of these mechanical elements within a poem to determine meter. Feet are marked off with slashes / Bĕcaǘse/ Ĭ coǘld / nŏt stóp/ fŏr deáth
Can you figure out the number and type of feet? • Iambic pentameter_____________ • Dactylic Trimeter _____________ • Anapestic dimeter ______________ • Spondaic monometer ______________ • Trochaic tetrameter ______________
Examples • iambic pentameter (5 iambs, 10 syllables) • That time | of year | thou mayst | in me | behold • trochaic tetrameter (4 trochees, 8 syllables) • Tell me | not in | mournful | numbers • anapestic trimeter (3 anapests, 9 syllables) • And the sound | of a voice | that is still • dactylic hexameter (6 dactyls, 17 syllables; a trochee replaces the last dactyl) • This is the | forest pri | meval, the | murmuring | pine and the | hemlocks
Mixed Meter • There WAS..|..a TIME..|..when MEAD..|..ow, GROVE,..|..and STREAM, Iambic Pentameter • .........1................2...............3................4. • The EARTH,..|..and EV..|..ry COM..|..mon SIGHT, Iambic Tetrameter • .....1..............2 • To ME..|..did SEEM Iambic Dimeter • ......1..............2.............3...............4 • Ap PAR..|..elled IN..|..cel EST..|..ial LIGHT, Iambic Tetrameter • ........1..............2.................3................4.................5 • The GLOR..|..y AND..|..the FRESH..|..ness OF..|..a DREAM. Iambic Pentameter • ..1.............2.............3.............4..................5 • It IS..|..not NOW..|..as IT..|..hath BEEN..|..of YORE; Iambic Pentameter • ........1....................2.............3 • Turn WHERE..|..so E'ER..|..I MAY, Iambic Trimeter • .......1..............2 • By NIGHT..|..or DAY, I ambic Dimeter • ..........1...............2.................3................4................5..............6 • The THINGS..|..which I..|..have SEEN..|..I NOW..|..can SEE..|..no MORE. Iambic Hexameter
Anapestic Tetrameter • From "The Destruction of Sennacherib," by George Gordon Lord Byron • ........1.......................2..........................3......................4 • The As SYR..|..ian came DOWN..|..like the WOLF..|..on the FOLD, • ........1.......................2..........................3....................4 • And his CO..|..horts were GLEAM..|..ing in PUR..|..ple and GOLD; • .........1.........................2.............................3.......................4 • And the SHEEN..|..of their SPEARS..|..was like STARS..|..on the SEA
Trochaic TetrameterFrom "The Tyger," by William Blake • ....1.............2...............3.................4 • TY ger..|..TY ger..|..BURN ning..|..BRIGHT • ....1...............2...............3............4 • IN the..|..FOR..ests..|..OF the..|..NIGHT
Stanzas • Metric feet make up lines, which make up stanzas • Number of lines Type of Stanza • Two couplet • Three tercet • Four quatrain • Five cinquain • Six sestet • Seven septet • Eight octet/ octave • Nine x-line stanza
