MODULE 6: METRE AND RHYTHM; THE HEART AND HEARTBEAT OF EVERY PIECE OF POETRY

The learning objectives of this module are:

• To understand the differences between metre and rhythm, and how they are used in poetry.
• To briefly explore irregularities in rhythm including blank verse and free verse.
  

INTRODUCTION

As discussed earlier, two very important devices used by poets are metre and rhythm; rhythm is the heartbeat of the poem, and metre is, therefore, the heart of the poem. Without either, you don't have a poem; you just have a piece of prose, narration or conversation, and this course is not about writing prose or narration.

Rhythm is part of our living experience; our bodies live by the rhythm of day and night, and all that is around us pulsates and vibrates to the rhythm of life, growth, regeneration, and even death. A poet must understand this rhythm and then echo this rhythm in their words and their work. Metre and rhythm is the heart and heartbeat of every poet, and in every piece of poetry they write.

WHAT IS METRE AND RHYTHM IN POETRY?

It is easy to confuse metre and rhythm in poetry but simply put; metre is the overall pattern of a verse or lines in verse, and rhythms are the specificities, or the different stresses within that line pattern. When speaking, we naturally have a rhythms and stress syllables, particularly when we are trying to convey a particular emotion, for example anger, surprise, delight. Metre is made up of individual blocks of rhythm, which are called metrical feet. To build a line of verse, poets can repeat these feet two, three, four or more times within a line, thus creating a distinct structure for their poem.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

By Clement Clarke Moore

(Lines 1 – 6)

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds;

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

DACTYL

A dactyl is the opposite to the anapaest. It comes from the Greek meaning 'finger,' and is a metrical foot with one stressed syllable, followed by two unstressed syllables. Sounds like DUH-duh-duh. i.e. Poetry.

The Charge of the Light Brigade

By Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892)

(Lines 4 - 8)

“Forward, the Light Brigade!

Charge for the guns!” he said.

Into the valley of Death

     Rode the six hundred.

The Lost Leader

By Robert Browning (1812 - 1889)

(Lines 1 - 3)

Just for a handful of silver he left us,

Just for a riband to stick in his coat -

Found the one gift of which fortune bereft us ...

IAMB

The word may be related to iambe, a Greek minor goddess of verse, and is a metrical foot containing an unstressed short syllable, followed by a long, stressed syllable in a single line of a poem. Sounds like duh-DUH, as in 'good-bye.'  Iambic pentameter (five iambs per line) is one of the most commonly used metre in poetry and verse, and regularly used by Shakespeare:

Romeo and Juliet

ACT II SCENE II 

Capulet's orchard.  

[Enter ROMEO]

ROMEO

He jests at scars that never felt a wound.

[JULIET appears above at a window]

But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?

It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,

Who is already sick and pale with grief,

That thou her maid art far more fair than she:

Be not her maid, since she is envious;

Her vestal livery is but sick and green

And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.

TROCHEE

This is a metrical foot consisting of a stressed syllable, followed by an unstressed syllable. Sounds like DUH-duh, as in 'Poet'! The word trochee comes from French trochée, adapted from Latin trochaeus, originally from the Greek trokhós - wheel, and is often used by poets when trying to convey forward momentum and unstoppable energy.

The Raven

By Edgar Allen Poe (1809 - 1849)

(Final 6 lines)

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;

     And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,

     And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

     Shall be lifted - nevermore!

And, perhaps owing to its simplicity, though, trochaic meter is fairly common in nursery rhymes:

Peter, Peter pumpkin-eater

Had a wife and couldn't keep her.

DEVIATIONS IN METRE AND RHYTHM

WRITING FREE VERSE

Writing free verse is NOT the same as writing prose; You cannot write prose and then shorten the lines and call it poetry!

The key to writing good free verse is to match the rhythm of your subject with the rhythm of your own poetic voice. For example, if your poem imagines a horse galloping along the beach, how are you moved to express that? There may be no strict metric guidelines in writing free verse, but there still needs to be internal rhythm, which defines your personal choice and use of words, and you still need to use literary devices such as imagery, repetition, assonance, alliteration, and even onomatopoeia, to make your work flow and your words compelling. Although free verse does not adhere to the structure of traditional metre and rhythm, it does retain a particular rhythmic style of its own; if it didn't, it would be prose, and not poetry! Free verse still uses variations of natural speech patterns, focusing on words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs, and is still disciplined on the choice of words, the sounds of these words, and the images these words conjure up, thus giving the piece its own important internal beat. Free verse often evokes a random, sensed type of rhythm, rather than one that is obvious, and in good free verse, there are often certain hidden metres within lines and phrases.

IRREGULARITY

Irregularities in rhythm are often used by poets not wanting to write in traditionally accepted metre, and can add significant interest and emphasis to lines and structure. Irregularity could mean changing metres within a single poem, or using irregular feet such as a spondee - a foot made up of two stressed syllables. "OUT DAMN SPOT! OUT, I SAY!" Shakespeare's Macbeth - all of the syllables in this line are stressed.

BLANK VERSE

Blank verse is a poem or verse that has a distinct metre - typically iambic pentameter - but no rhyme.

HOW TO DETERMINE METRE AND RHYTHM FOR YOUR POEM

We have seen how metre and rhythm can be used to explore emotions and ideas, with faster rhythms suggesting anger, excitement and even danger, and slower rhythms suggesting sadness, unhappiness, disappointment and even relaxation. By bringing together correct word choice, figurative language and other poetic devices, as well as proper composition, structure and form, you can decide upon, and thereafter maintain consistency of metre and poem rhythm within your poem. For example, if you want to write in iambic metre, you must choose words that have a natural iambic rhythm e.g. an unstressed short syllable followed by a long, stressed syllable in a single line of a poem, for example 'persuade', 'assure', confuse etc. etc.

SCANSION

Using scansion is a great way of getting used to working with rhythm and metre. Scansion is the process of marking the stresses in a poem; you use it by breaking each word in a line into syllables, marking which syllable is stressed, and which is unstressed. Then count how many feet are in the line. Once you have ascertained the overall pattern, use this as a template for your own poem.



CONCLUSION

I hope you've enjoyed this sixth module. In this module we looked more closely at metre and rhythm, as well as commonly used metrical feet, and deviations in metre and rhythm. We also briefly examined how to write free verse, and how to use scansion to determine its metre and rhythm.

MODULE 7

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