Understanding Poetic Feet and Meter in English Poetry

1. TheRhythmofPoetry: Syllable - Poetic feet - Meter

2. Syllables • English words have clear syllables. • We can usually divide words into syllables easily. • We can also determine which syllables to emphasize, or “stress” in each word. • For example: • Angel = AN-gel  (not an-GEL) • Complete = com-PLETE (not COM-plete)

3. More Syllables • poem = PO-em…….(1 stressed + 1 unstressed) • poetry = PO-e-try…….(1 stressed + 2 unstressed) • relief = re-LIEF…….(1unstressed + 1 stressed) • recommend = re-com-MEND…….(2 unstressed + 1 stressed) • discomfort = dis-COM-fort…(1 unstressed + 1 stressed + 1 unstressed) • entertainment = en-ter-TAIN-ment(2 unstressed + 1 stressed + 1 unstressed)

4. Scansion • (1) the act of scanning, or analyzing poetry in terms of its rhythmic components • (2) the graphic representation, indicated by marked accents, feet, etc., of the rhythm of a line or lines of verse • You may have seen scansion marks like the following: The curved lines are “unstressed” syllables while the straight slashes are “stressed”

5. Poetic Meter • Meters are the rhythms within poems. • Meters are the arrangement of stressed/unstressed syllables to occur at apparently equal intervals. • Metered verse has prescribed rules as to the number and placement of syllables used per line.

6. Poetic Foot • A poetic foot is a repeated sequence of rhythm comprised of two or more stressed and/or unstressed syllables. • Poetic meteris comprised ofpoetic feet

7. Five main patterns to poetic feet: 1. Iambic 2. Trochaic 3.Anapestic 4. Dactylic 5. Spondaic

8. Iambic pattern • 1unstressed syllablefollowed by1 stressed syllable • EXAMPLES: • repose (re-POSE) • belief (be-LIEF) • complete (com-PLETE)

9. Trochaic Pattern • 1 stressed syllablefollowed by1 unstressed syllable • EXAMPLES: • garland (GAR-land) • speaking (SPEAK-ing) • value (VAL-ue)

10. Anapestic pattern • 2 unstressed syllablesfollowed by1 stressed syllable • EXAMPLES: • on the road • interrupt (in-ter-RUPT) • unabridged, contradict, engineer, masquerade, Galilee

11. Dactylic pattern • 1 stressed syllable followed by 2 unstressed syllables • EXAMPLE: • happiness (HAP-pi-ness) • galloping (GAL-lop-ing) • fortunate, Saturday, daffodil, murmuring, rhapsody

12. Spondaic Pattern • All syllables have equal stress • EXAMPLE: • Heartbreak • “Out, out…” • "pen-knife," "ad hoc," "heartburn"

13. The Iambic foot • The iamb = (1 unstressed syllable + 1 stressed syllable) is the most common poetic foot in English verse. • iambic foot examples: • behold • destroy • thesun(articles such as “the” would be considered unstressed syllables) • andwatch(conjunctions such as and would be considered unstressed syllables)

14. Lines containing iambic feet • Behold/ and watch / the sun/ destroy / and grow(5 iambs) • When I / do COUNT / the CLOCK / that TELLS / the TIME[Shakespeare’s Sonnet 12](5 iambs) • Shall I / compare /thee to / a sum / mer's day?[Shakespeare’s Sonnet 12](5 iambs) • Come live/ with me/ and be/ my love(4 iambs) (poem by Christopher Marlowe)

15. Trochaic poem:a stressed syllable followed by an unstressedone Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's “The Song of Hiawatha” By the / shores of / Gitche / Gumee, By the / shining / Big-Sea /-Water, Stood the / wigwam / of No / komis, Daughter / of the / Moon, No / komis. Dark behind it rose the forest, Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees, Rose the firs with cones upon them; Bright before' it beat the water, Beat the clear and sunny water, Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water.

16. Anapestic poetry:2 unstressed syllables + 1 stressed oneLimericks contain anapestic meter (in blue) A Limerick by Edward Lear: There was / an Old Man / with a beard,Who said, "It is just / as I feared!Two Owls / and a Hen,Four Larks / and a Wren,Have all / built their nests / in my beard!"

17. Dactylic poem:1 stressed + 2 unstressed Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson Half a league, /half a league, Halfa league / onward, All in the /valley of /Death Rode the /six hundred. "Forward, the /Light Brigade! Charge for the /guns!" he said: Into the /valley of /Death Rode the /six hundred.

18. SpondaicPoem: 2 equal syllables • Because of this nature of the spondee, a serious poem cannot be solely spondaic. • It would be almost impossible to construct a poem entirely of stressed syllables. • Therefore, the spondee usually occurs within a poem having another dominant rhythm scheme.

19. Combinations of Poetic Feet • One foot per line: monometer • Two feet per line : dimeter • Three feet per line : trimeter • Four feet per line : tetrameter • Five feet per line : pentameter • Six feet per line : hexameter

20. Types of Poetic Feet Iambic(1 unstressed + 1 stressed) Trochaic(1 stressed + 1 unstressed) Anapestic(2 unstressed + 1 stressed) Dactylic(1 stressed + 2 unstressed) Spondaic(all syllables equal) Number of feet per line Monometer Dimeter Trimeter Tetrameter Pentameter Hexameter Type + Number = Meter

21. Meters & Feet • Q: If a poem had 1 foot per line, and the foot wasiambic(1 unstressed + 1 stressed), what type of poem would it be? • A:Iambic monometer

22. Meters & Feet • Q: If a poem had 2 feet per line, and the foot wasiambic(1 unstressed + 1 stressed), what type of poem would it be? • A:Iambic dimeter

23. Meters & Feet • Q: If a poem had 3 feet per line, and the foot wasiambic(1 unstressed + 1 stressed), what type of poem would it be? • A:Iambic trimeter

24. Meters & Feet • Q: If a poem had 4 feet per line, and the foot wasiambic(1 unstressed + 1 stressed), what type of poem would it be? • A:Iambic tetrameter

25. Meters & Feet • Q: If a poem had 5 feet per line, and the foot wasiambic(1 unstressed + 1 stressed), what type of poem would it be? • A:Iambic pentameter

26. Meters & Feet • Q: If a poem had 3 feet per line, and the foot wastrochaic(1 stressed +1 unstressed), what type of poem would it be? • A:Trochaic tetrameter

27. Go ahead… experiment with different metric styles in your own poetry! End of presentation.