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Introduction
Form
Two-syllable foot
Three-syllable foot
Mixed metre
Pauses
Metaplasm
Addition of
letters or syllables
Subtraction of letters
or syllables
Metre
is the term used to describe the rhythmic arrangement of the accented
and unaccented syllables in verse, and so the foot (See
Verse page) is also known as a metric
foot. The analysis of the composition of a verse is known as
scanning or scansion.
However it is important to remember
that metre is not a template or pattern to be followed slavishly by
the writer in producing a piece, but rather a means of describing what
has been written. It is easy to think the former because so much is
written about the subject and it appears on the face of it to be so
prescriptive. The most important thing is to write what feels and
sounds natural and comfortable to the writer. Others may disagree and
that is their right, but it is perfectly acceptable to mix feet
lengths and metric forms as long as it sounds and reads (reasonably)
naturally, and is of course done (reasonably) consistently.
The great Bard himself (in his iambic
pentameters) regularly used accentless feet, and ended lines with an
extra unaccented syllable making the last foot an
amphibrach rather
than an iamb, and sometimes known as
feminine iambic
pentameter (again see below).
It is also perfectly acceptable, in
moderation, to vary the natural stress of a word to make it fit the
accent pattern of a verse (See in particular
spondee below). Even the great poets did it on a regular
basis.
If a reader criticises part of a poem
because it does not ‘conform’ in some way, so long as it sounds OK be
sure that if the depths of the theory of Prosody are delved into, an
exception will be found which will justify that which is being
criticised. And that is precisely the point: use the rules of prosody
to justify (if you feel you need to!) what you write, rather than as
tram lines along which you run your poem.
A metric foot can only have one
accented syllable but may have either one or two unaccented syllables
as well (but see Monosyllabic foot
below). The unaccented syllables may follow, precede or surround
the accented one according to the metre of the verse.
The various forms are shown below.
An accented syllable is represented by the ‘¬’ symbol and the
unaccented ones by a ‘-‘. The feet are separated by a ‘/’ symbol.
A foot of two unequal syllables with
the accented one following the unaccented one is known as an
iamb
and the metre is said to be iambic. This is the classic and
commonest form of English poetry and is illustrated below:
Iamb
Iambic
tetrameter
- ¬ / - ¬ / - ¬ / - ¬
I WANder'd LONEly AS a CLOUD
The only other way an unequal
two-syllable foot can be arranged is with the accented syllable
first. This form is known as trochee and is said to be
trochaic, coming from the Greek word trokhaios meaning
‘running’. The word trochee is itself trochaic (TROchee)
and is shown below:
Trochee
Trochaic heptameter
¬ - / ¬ - / ¬ - / ¬ -
STATEly SPANish GALLeON | COMing FROM the ISTHmus
A two-syllable foot with both
syllables accented is known as a spondee
(from a French word for a ritual drink because the spondee form
was much used in the music which accompanied the ceremony in which the
drink was consumed) or is said to be spondaic. It is almost
impossible to construct verse in English poetry using spondee. Where
spondaic words occur, and there are many like ‘hobnob’ or ‘bike-shed’,
then one syllable is inevitably de-accented to create either an iamb
or a trochee. (See also monosyllabic
foot below)
Spondee
¬ ¬
Putting the accented syllable first followed by the
two unaccented ones creates great drama and is called dactyl or
is said to be dactylic. The origin of the word is the Greek
word daktulos meaning finger, since fingers (but not thumbs!)
generally have three joints with the long one first. This is the same
root as Pterodactyl which as everyone knows was a pre-historic flying
reptile. It is so called because its wing (ptero) was
supported on an elongated finger (dactyl).
Dactyl
Dactylic Tetrameter (last
syllable truncated)
¬ - - / ¬ - - / ¬ - - / ¬ - - HALF
a league/ HALF a league / HALF a league/ ONwards
The commonest form of the
three-syllable foot in English is anapaest or is said to be anapaestic
and has the accented syllable following two unaccented ones. The word
anapaest comes from Greek via Latin meaning ‘opposite’ as it is
the reverse of dactyl above. This creates a wonderful galloping
rhythm, which is perfect for pacy narrative or humour:
Anapaest
Anapaestic tetrameter
- - ¬ / - - ¬ / - - ¬ / - - ¬ There’s
a MAN/ with a GUN/ and he’s WAIT/ -ing for ME
Putting the
unaccented syllables on either side of the accented one is the only
other possibility with three syllables and is called
amphibrach
or said to be amphibrachic. The word derives from the Greek
amphi meaning both (as in amphibian - something that can go on
both land and sea) and brakhus meaning short so that both
ends of an amphibrach are short (with the long accent in the
middle). It is also much used in humour and is the standard metre of
the much-loved limerick.
Amphibrach may
also be described as
Amphibrach
Amphibrachic trimeter
- ¬ - / - ¬ - / -
¬ - There WAS a / young LADy / from BROOKlyn
It is possible and
perfectly correct to mix certain metric forms in a single verse. An
example of this is in amphibrach above, the form of which can also be
achieved in an iamb plus an appropriate number of anapaests (plus a
spare unaccented or feminine syllable) as below:
Amphibrach
Amphibrachic trimeter
- ¬ - / - ¬ - / -
¬ - There WAS a / young LADy / from BROOKlyn
Iamb + 2 anapaests
- ¬ / - - ¬ / - -
¬ / - There WAS / a young LAD- / y from BROOK-
/lyn
Browning’s famous
poem ‘How They Brought the
Good News from Ghent to Aix’ uses a delicious mixture of 3 amphibrachs
and 1 final iamb or 1 initial iamb and 3 anapaests:
3 amphibrachs and an iamb
I SPRANG to / the STIRrup, / and
JORis, / and HE:
I GALLoped, / Dirck GALLoped, / we GALLoped / all THREE;
1 iamb and 3
anapaests
I SPRANG / to the STIR / rup, and JOR
/ is, and HE:
I GALL / oped, Dirck GALL / oped, we GALL / oped all THREE;
It doesn’t matter how it is
described, the effect is the same, and this further illustrates the
point that scansion describes rather than prescribes what is written.
It is impossible to imagine Browning sitting tapping out the beat to
see what he can write so as to follow his metre. It is absolutely
easy to see him with this wonderful galloping rhythm beating in his
head and the words flowing easily in response. Then afterwards when
he’s having his cup of tea, to review it and observe that he’d just
written 3 amphibrachs and an iamb or possibly even 1 iamb and 3
anapaests!
All the forms above may be and often
are mixed to create interesting and captivating verses.
A caesura
is a natural pause in a verse, often denoting the end of one sentence
or idea and the start of the next. In scansion it is shown as a |
symbol.
While in general
terms a foot comprises one accented syllable and one or two unaccented
ones, it is possible to have just the accented one on its own. This
is known as a monosyllabic foot.
Where two accented words are needed side by side (see also
spondee above), at least one of them is likely to be a monosyllabic foot and
the situation is dealt with in reading by applying a pause in the
place of the missing unaccented syllable to maintain the rhythm.
Metaplasm is the
changing of words or phrases by adding or subtracting letters or
syllables so as to maintain rhythm or rhyme. So long as it is not
overdone or overly forced, it is perfectly acceptable. There are
various forms of metaplasm.
Paragogue
is the
addition of a letter or syllable to the end of a word as in
amongst instead of among. (Compare
apocope below).
Prothesis
is the addition of a letter or syllable at the beginning of a
word as in ‘a-hunting we will go’. (Compare
aphaeresis
below).
Epenthesis
is the addition of letters or syllables to the middle of a
word. (Compare syncope below).
Diastole
is the artificial lengthening of a vowel or syllable beyond its normal
length. (Compare systole below)
Polysyndeton
is the use of many conjunctions between clauses to slow the rhythm,
e.g. multiple repetition of, say, and. (Compare
asyndeton below).
Ecthlipsis
is the general
term for the omission of letters or syllables for the sake of poetical
metre.
Aphaeresis
is the omission of a syllable or letter at the beginning of a
word as in ‘tis for it is. (Compare
prothesis
above).
Apocope
is the omission of a letter or syllable at the end of a word.
(Compare paragogue above).
Syncope
is the omission of letters from the middle of a word as in
ne’er for never. (Compare epenthesis
above).
Synaeresis
is the compacting of two syllables into one.
Systole
is the shortening of a vowel or syllable from its normal length.
(Compare diastole above)
Synalepha
occurs where one word ends in a vowel and the next word also starts
with a vowel, and the two sounds are run (or elided) together
to form one sound so as to maintain rhythm. In metre it is shown as _
(underscore).
Asyndeton
is the omission of a conjunction between clauses. (Compare
polysyndeton above)
Brachylogia
is a
colloquial shortened form of speech that does not follow regular
grammar rules as in Afternoon! instead of Good afternoon!.
Ellipsis
(or eclipsis) is the omission of a syllable, word or short
phrase easily understood in context.
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