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Lit. Term. Tuesday. Scansion & Metrical Feet (not the kind that stink…). Scansion. A close, critical reading of a poem, examining the work for meter When asked to analyze a poem’s scansion , you are looking at its meter and the relevance of this meter. Meter. natural rhythm of a poem
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Lit. Term. Tuesday Scansion & Metrical Feet (not the kind that stink…)
Scansion • A close, critical reading of a poem, examining the work for meter • When asked to analyze a poem’s scansion, you are looking at its meter and the relevance of this meter.
Meter • natural rhythm of a poem • syllabic pattern • arrangements of syllables into repeated patterns • basic unit in the description of the underlying rhythm of a poem • units called ‘metrical feet’ • Determined by syllables NOT words; A foot can consist of multiple words and a single word can contain many feet
Metrical Feet • 5 basic types • Spondee • Iamb • Trochee • Dactyl • Anapest • Numbered metrical feet in a line (Greek terminology): • dimeter — two feet • trimeter — three feet • tetrameter — four feet • pentameter — five feet • hexameter — six feet • heptameter — seven feet • octameter — eight feet • Feet NOT syllables
Iamb • Iamb: unstressed syllable followed by a stressed • most natural form of rhythm in the English language, generally produces a subtle but stable verse • Shakespeare: blank verse = unrhymed iambic pentameter / / / / / • My horse/my horse/my king/dom for/a horse -Richard III, Shakespeare • Compare/her face/with some/that I/will show And I/will make/thee think/thy swan/a crow -Romeo & Juliet, duh…
Trochee, Dactyl, & Anapest • Trochee • Opposite of iamb • One stressed followed by an unstressed • Dactyl • One stressed followed by two unstressed • Moves quickly, as though it gallops • Homeric poetry (The Odyssey) • Anapest • Two unstressed followed by a stressed • Perfect for lighthearted, comic feel
Trochaic Meter, sample • Common in nursery rhymes, typically ‘trochaic tetrameter’ OR