Poetic Meter--Writing Notes
2.4 هزار بار بازدید -
9 سال پیش
-
Quick Guide to Poetic MetricsIn
Quick Guide to Poetic Metrics
In poetry, meter helps us determine the line length and pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line (at least in Western poetry; traditions like East Asian, Indian, and Middle Eastern poetry have different approaches to organizing sound). Line lengths and stress patterns contribute to the rhythm of a poem, and poets can manipulate the sound of lines to create or disrupt harmonies, flow, patterns, and forms.
Most poems written before the late 19th century used regular poetic forms, most of which included metric guidelines, so knowing meter can help you identify the form of a poem through a process called scansion. Scansion involves marking a line of poetry for the stress pattern and number of feet. I’ve included an example below the charts of metric variations.
A foot in metrics is a defined set of syllables with a stress pattern. Some of the most common patterns are:
Name Adjective Stress Pattern Scansion
Iamb Iambic Unstressed-Stressed ˇ /
Trochee Trochaic Stressed-Unstressed / ˇ
Spondee Spondaic Stressed-Stressed / /
Anapest Anapestic Unstressed-Unstressed-Stressed ˇ ˇ /
Dactyl Dactylic Stressed-Unstressed-Unstressed / ˇ ˇ
Amphibrach Amphibrachic Unstressed-Stressed-Unstressed ˇ / ˇ
Pyrrhic Pyrrhic Unstressed-Unstressed ˇ ˇ
Lines can be organized with different numbers of feet, which may sound more or less natural in different languages. For instance, classical French poetry is often written in Alexandrines, while traditionally English language poetry has used iambic pentameter. The names of these various line lengths are:
Name Number of Feet
Monometer 1
Dimeter 2
Trimeter 3
Tetrameter 4
Pentameter 5
Hexameter, or Alexandrine 6
Heptameter 7
Octameter 8
When a poem does not rely of regular meter or line length we call it free verse poetry.
Another, now less commonly used element of metrics is the caesura, which is a pause within a line of poetry at a certain syllabic or metrical point. Old English epic and lyric poetry, for instance, included caesuras in the middle of every line, causing the poet to pause at that point.
Here’s a sample of scansion, John Keats’ sonnet “When I have fears that I may cease to be” marked with stressed and unstressed syllables. As you can see, each line has five metric feet (iambic) in an unstressed-stressed pattern (pentameter). Iambic pentameter is the standard meter for English sonnets. In the first two lines I’ve added markers between each foot.
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
When I | have fears | that I | may cease | to be
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Before | my pen | has gleaned | my teem | ing brain,
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Before high-pilèd books, in charactery,
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Hold like rich garners the full ripened grain;
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
When I behold, upon the night’s starred face,
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
And think that I may never live to trace
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Their shadows with the magic hand of chance;
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
That I shall never look upon thee more,
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Never have relish in the faery power
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Of unreflecting love—then on the shore
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.
In poetry, meter helps us determine the line length and pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line (at least in Western poetry; traditions like East Asian, Indian, and Middle Eastern poetry have different approaches to organizing sound). Line lengths and stress patterns contribute to the rhythm of a poem, and poets can manipulate the sound of lines to create or disrupt harmonies, flow, patterns, and forms.
Most poems written before the late 19th century used regular poetic forms, most of which included metric guidelines, so knowing meter can help you identify the form of a poem through a process called scansion. Scansion involves marking a line of poetry for the stress pattern and number of feet. I’ve included an example below the charts of metric variations.
A foot in metrics is a defined set of syllables with a stress pattern. Some of the most common patterns are:
Name Adjective Stress Pattern Scansion
Iamb Iambic Unstressed-Stressed ˇ /
Trochee Trochaic Stressed-Unstressed / ˇ
Spondee Spondaic Stressed-Stressed / /
Anapest Anapestic Unstressed-Unstressed-Stressed ˇ ˇ /
Dactyl Dactylic Stressed-Unstressed-Unstressed / ˇ ˇ
Amphibrach Amphibrachic Unstressed-Stressed-Unstressed ˇ / ˇ
Pyrrhic Pyrrhic Unstressed-Unstressed ˇ ˇ
Lines can be organized with different numbers of feet, which may sound more or less natural in different languages. For instance, classical French poetry is often written in Alexandrines, while traditionally English language poetry has used iambic pentameter. The names of these various line lengths are:
Name Number of Feet
Monometer 1
Dimeter 2
Trimeter 3
Tetrameter 4
Pentameter 5
Hexameter, or Alexandrine 6
Heptameter 7
Octameter 8
When a poem does not rely of regular meter or line length we call it free verse poetry.
Another, now less commonly used element of metrics is the caesura, which is a pause within a line of poetry at a certain syllabic or metrical point. Old English epic and lyric poetry, for instance, included caesuras in the middle of every line, causing the poet to pause at that point.
Here’s a sample of scansion, John Keats’ sonnet “When I have fears that I may cease to be” marked with stressed and unstressed syllables. As you can see, each line has five metric feet (iambic) in an unstressed-stressed pattern (pentameter). Iambic pentameter is the standard meter for English sonnets. In the first two lines I’ve added markers between each foot.
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
When I | have fears | that I | may cease | to be
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Before | my pen | has gleaned | my teem | ing brain,
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Before high-pilèd books, in charactery,
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Hold like rich garners the full ripened grain;
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
When I behold, upon the night’s starred face,
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
And think that I may never live to trace
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Their shadows with the magic hand of chance;
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour,
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
That I shall never look upon thee more,
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Never have relish in the faery power
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Of unreflecting love—then on the shore
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think
ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ / ˇ /
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink.
9 سال پیش
در تاریخ 1394/04/07 منتشر شده
است.
2,474
بـار بازدید شده