Rhythm and Meter in Poetry
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The document discusses rhythm and meter in poetry. It explains the five basic rhythmic feet - iambs, trochees, spondees, anapests, and dactyls - which are combinations of stressed and unstressed syllables. Lines in a poem are composed of these feet and are categorized by the number of feet, such as iambic pentameter which has five iambs. Examples are provided to illustrate the different feet and line structures.
Rhythm and Meter in Poetry
- 1. RHYTHM AND METER SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.ENGLISH.UPENN.EDU/~AFILREIS/ 88/METER.HTML
- 2. Explaining Rhythm and Meter Five basic rhythms of varying stressed (/) and unstressed (x) syllables. The meters are iambs, trochees, spondees, anapests and dactyls The meters with two-syllable feet are IAMBIC (x /) : That time of year thou mayst in me behold TROCHAIC (/ x): Tell me not in mournful numbers SPONDAIC (/ /): Break, break, break/ On thy cold gray stones, O Sea! Meters with three-syllable feet are ANAPESTIC (x x /): And the sound of a voice that is still DACTYLIC (/ x x): This is the forest primeval, the murmuring pines and the hemlock (a trochee replaces the final dactyl)
- 3. Each line Each line of a poem contains a certain number of feet of iambs, trochees, spondees, dactyls or anapests. A line of one foot is a monometer, 2 feet is a dimeter,trimeter (3), tetrameter (4), pentameter (5), hexameter (6), heptameter (7), octameter (8). The number of syllables in a line varies therefore according to the meter.
- 4. Let’s Practice That time | of year | thou mayst | in me | behold ! Tell me | not in | mournful | numbers ! And the sound | of a voice | that is still ! This is the | forest pri | meval, the | murmuring | pine and the | hemlocks IAMBIC (x /) TROCHAIC (/ x) SPONDAIC (/ /) ANAPESTIC (x x /) DACTYLIC (/ x x):
- 5. Let´s practice 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