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All Syllables Are Not Created Equal
Foot and meter are not all there is to rhythm in poetry. To the vast number
of modern poets, foot and meter are the most minor aspects of rhythm.
In this topic, we will cover other ways to build the rhythm into words,
give you examples of their use, and let you play with them. I don't guarantee
you'll wind up another Dylan Thomas - but not everyone wants to be. You
will have more of a feel for the music of your own language.
Stress Levels
"Feet" are composed of stressed and unstressed syllables. However, not all
syllables are stressed equally. Some are completely relaxed, like the suffix
"er". Others are sitting up and alert, but not all that active, like the
"posed" in "composed". Some jump up and demand attention, like the "ev"
in "howEVer" can, if spoken urgently. And some need Valium, like the capitalized
words in certain modern poetry.
This difference in stress can be used in writing to vary the sound of
a passage while keeping to a unified meter.
Exercise : Stress Variations
Write an eight-line poem in iambic pentameter. Start out with a slow, calm
feel. Accelerate the urgency until you wind up with an effect of panic,
rage, or demand. Achieve this by selecting words with different stress levels.
Optionally, you may reverse the pattern.
Guidelines for critique
What is the effect?
Is it achieved by syllable stress?
Is the basic meter kept (basically)?
Long and Short
"Attention" is pronounced "uh-TEN-shun". Both the "uH" and the "shun" are
unstressed. But the "shun" is slightly longer than the "uh".
Using the variation between long and short syllables can also be a way
to create effect in poetry.
"A gladiolus" and "a soft and sweet flush" have an equal number of syllables,
and almost the same stress pattern - but quite different rhythms. The
length of words can be another variation in effect.
Exercise : Syllable Length
Write an eight-line poem in iambic pentameter, using variations in syllable
and word length to vary the rhythm.
Guidelines for Critique
Was the meter basically kept throughout the poem?
Did the rhythm vary?
Was the variation in rhythm achieved by variations is syllable and word
length?
What was the effect of the changing rhythm?
Sentences
Poetry has sentences, too - at least some of it does. A line broken into
two sentences, a line that comes to a full stop at the end, and a sentence
that extends over two or more lines, will each have a different rhythm.
Exercise : Sentence Length
Write an eight-line poem in iambic pentameter that either starts with long
sentences and accelerates the pace with shorter ones, or starts with short
sentences and slows the pace by extending them.
Guidelines for critique
Was the basic meter kept throughout the poem?
Did the rhythm vary as the line length changed?
What was the effect of the change in rhythm?
Inflection
The cat in the hat has sat.
And what do you think of that? Those two lines have exactly
the same meter, but entirely different inflections - and rhythms. There
are other variations of inflection in English, besides questions and exclamations,
but those are the most common.
Exercise : Inflection
Write an eight-line poem in iambic pentameter in which the rhythm varies
due to different inflections. Ty to find as many ways of varying the inflection
as you can, besides questions and exclamations.
Guidelines for critique
- Was the meter basically kept throughout the poem?
- Did the rhythm vary?
- Was the variation due to differences in inflection?
- What were the differences in inflection?
- What was the effect of the changing rhythm?
There you go. Now --
Write On!
Anitra |
