"We've Got Rhythm"

"The time has come, the Poet said,
to speak of many things;
Of metaphors, and similes,
and whether Feet have Wings;
How cummings lost his shift key,
and parody that stings."

-- Anitra L. Freeman

Purpose

Today's topic is that bit about "whether Feet have Wings." We'll get to the rest later.

This topic is a highly debated one in modern poetry. There are as many opinions about the usefulness of traditional metric theory as there are poets. More - I change my opinion three times a day.

I'm not going to try to settle the debate here. All I aim at is:

1) To give you the terminology, so at least you know what the debaters are talking about when they start slinging words.

2) To give you a feel for the different rhythms possible in the language.

You may feel like trying something new in your own writing.

Poetic Podiatry

A "foot", in the poet's glossary, is a unit of stressed and unstressed syllables. There are many varied combinations possible; five prevail in English poetry:

one unstressed syllable, followed by one stressed : iamb
one stressed syllable, then one unstressed : trochee
two unstressed, one stressed : anapest
one stressed, two unstressed : dactyl
two stressed : spondee

A rhythm built by repetitions of iambs is "iambic". Repetition of trochees is trochaic; anapests, anapestic; dactyls, dactylic. For a line of all spondees, I would use the word "overdone", but technically it's "spondeic".

How did these come to be called "feet"? One theory is that they "measure" the lines of poetry. The varied line lengths are called, with Greek prefixes:

monometer one foot: he SITS
dimeter two feet: he SITS on CHAIRS
trimeter three feet: he SITS on CHAIRS in BARS
tetrameter four feet: he SITS on CHAIRS in BARS and THINKS
pentameter five feet: he SITS on CHAIRS in BARS and THINKS of CARS
hexameter six feet: he SITS on CHAIRS in BARS and THINKS of CARS that BREAK

etcetera.

Another theory is that they are called "feet" because too much emphasis on them can make a poem plod. Part of the joy and music of poetry is the way the words are woven into meter; part of the poet's skill is to know how to vary that meter enough to wake up the reader.

We'll get into that later, too. Right now, we just want to develop an eye and an ear for the rhythm of each different meter.

Following are more examples of each variety, and specific exercises to familiarize yourself with each meter.

Iamb What Iamb

The iambic meter is the most common in the English language. Some examples:

Iambic pentameter:

when I have FEARS that I may CEASE to BE
beFORE my PEN has GLEAN'D my TEEMing BRAIN

-- John Keats

Iambic tetrameter:

come LIVE with ME and BE my LOVE
and WE will ALL the PLEAsures PROVE

-- Christopher Marlowe

Iambic monometer:

one GIRL.
one BOY.
one PHONE.
no JOY.

-- Anitra Freeman

Approximately 75% of iambic verse is in pentameter, including most of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton. This includes rhymed forms, and the unrhymed iambic pentameter form, which is called "blank verse".

Exercise: Iambic

Basic:

Write a two- to four-line iambic verse in each of the following meters. It can be rhymed or unrhymed.

hexameter
pentameter
tetrameter
trimeter
dimeter
monometer

Guidelines for critique:

For all the critiques in this section, focus on this. "Yes, it fit the meter," or, "No, that line didn't fit that meter." Reasons that a line did not fit the given meter might be:

) The syllable supposed to be stressed (or unstressed) was not one naturally stressed (or unstressed).

IF i was CALLED to go Away from YOU my dear

isn't really dactylic tetrameter, no matter how I capitalize my syllables.

) Misunderstanding of the terms; ex. giving

i DO not KNOW if I can WRITE this WAY

as an example of trochee.

) Miscounting feet; ex. listing: AM i ALmost DONE with THIS; under pentameters.

The focus for critique in this exercise is simply whether or not the lines did "scan" - were in fact iambic, and had the right number of feet.

Intermediate:

Locate a piece of poetry that you admire - not over 20 lines long - that is iambic, of any meter.

Now write an imitation of it. You may choose to mimic the idea, or the style, or the form - but what you must mimic closely is the beat. Without duplicating the words, duplicate the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.

When posting this exercise, please give the title and author of the poem you worked from.

Guidelines for critique

The focus for critique in this exercise is simply whether or not the lines were in fact iambic, and had the same number of feet as the original.

Any other criteria may also be discussed, but be sure to cover the meter.

Trochees

Trochaic tetrameter:

PIping DOWN the VALleys WILD

-- William Blake

TYger TYger BURNing BRIGHT

-- William Blake

Trochaic dimeter:

SOUND the FLUTE!
NOW it's MUTE.

-- William Blake

Almost every example of trochees I can think of comes from William Blake!

Exercise: Trochaic

Basic:

Write a two- to four-line trochaic verse in each of the following meters. It can be rhymed or unrhymed.

hexameter (Yes, it can be done.)
pentameter
tetrameter
trimeter
dimeter
monometer

Guidelines for critique:

The focus for critique in this exercise is simply whether or not the lines did "scan" - were in fact trochaic, and had the right number of feet.

Intermediate:

Locate a piece of poetry that you admire - not over 20 lines long - that is trochaic, of any meter.

When posting this exercise, please give the title and author of the poem you worked from. I will be very interested to see how many other poets you can find BESIDES William Blake, using trochees.

Guidelines for critique

The focus for critique in this exercise is simply whether or not the lines were in fact trochaic, and had the same number of feet as the original.

Any other criteria may also be discussed, but be sure to cover the meter.

Anapest-y

Anapestic tetrameter:

twas the NIGHT before CHRISTmas and ALL through the HOUSE

-- Clement Moore

when the VOICes of CHILDren are HEARD on the GREEN

-- William Blake

Anapestic trimeter:

just a BEER and a BOY, and i'll DANCE

-- Anitra Freeman

Yes. I like William Blake's best, myself.

Exercise: Anapests

Basic:

Write a two- to four-line anapestic verse in each of the following meters. It can be rhymed or unrhymed.

pentameter
tetrameter
trimeter

Guidelines for critique:

The focus for critique in this exercise is simply whether or not the lines did "scan" - were in fact anapestic, and had the right number of feet.

Intermediate:

Locate a piece of poetry that you admire - not over 20 lines long - that is anapestic, of any meter.

When posting this exercise, please give the title and author of the poem you worked from.

Guidelines for critique

The focus for critique in this exercise is simply whether or not the lines were in fact anapestic, and had the same number of feet as the original.

Any other criteria may also be discussed, but be sure to cover the meter.

Dactyls

Dactylic tetrameter:

AFter the PANGS of a DESperate LOVer
-- ????

"No," I told a fellow workshop developer, as I wrote this exercise, "dactyls, NOT pterodactyls." However, the dactyls are about as rare as the pterodactyls. Let's see what we can do to revive them.

Exercise: Dactyls

Basic:

Write a two- to four-line dactylic verse in each of the following meters. It can be rhymed or unrhymed.

pentameter
tetrameter
trimeter

Guidelines for critique:

The focus for critique in this exercise is simply whether or not the lines did "scan" - were in fact dactylic, and had the right number of feet.

Intermediate:

Locate a piece of poetry that you admire - not over 20 lines long - that is dactylic, of any meter.

When posting this exercise, please give the title and author of the poem you worked from.

Guidelines for critique

The focus for critique in this exercise is simply whether or not the lines were in fact dactylic, and had the same number of feet as the original.

Any other criteria may also be discussed, but be sure to cover the meter.

Spondees

I know of no examples of an entire verse, let alone an entire poem, being written in spondees -- two accented syllables together. The spondee is usually inserted in the midst of another meter, for a specific effect. For example Gerald Manley Hopkin's poem, Pied Beauty, is full of wild and rich variations of sound and rhythm. At the end is the clear, simple spondee, "Praise Him!"

Exercise: Spondees

Basic:

Take one of your earlier exercise verses, or write a new one, in any rhythm. Insert a spondee at one or more points.

Guidelines for critique:

1) Identify the spondee -- was there, in fact, a spondee?

2) What was the effect of the spondee?

Intermediate:

Locate a piece of poetry that you admire - not over 20 lines long - that is of any meter, but includes spondee(s).

Write a critique analyzing the effect of the spondee(s).

Guidelines for critique

Here we get to critique critiques. :) Do you agree with the analysis? Do you have more to add?

FINAL EXERCISE: Rhythm

Write a poem of ten to twenty lines in your favorite meter. Some poets have successfully used alternate lines in different meters, or other combinations. Get adventurous, if you wish - or do straight iambic pentameter. Your choice.

Guidelines for critique:

Apply all criteria you usually use for poetry, but be sure to include:

1) What meter was used? Was there more than one?

2) How consistent was the meter?

3) What was the effect of the meter?

4) What was the effect of any breaks in meter, if there were such?

So, now --
Write On!
Anitra