Versification of Poetry

I. Meter
Syllables Stressed syllable:
/ U

Unstressed (or light) syllable:

U
/

/ U

Example: Not marble, nor the gilded monuments Types of Poetic Feet Four standard feet distinguished in English are: Iambic: Trochaic: Anapestic: Dactylic:
U
/ /

U U U
/

A light syllable followed by a stressed syllable. A stressed syllable followed by a light syllable.
U

U
/

Two light syllables followed by a stressed syllable. A stressed syllable followed by two light syllables.

Two other feet occur only as occasional variants from standard feet: Spondaic: Pyrrhic:
/ /

U U

Two successive syllables with approximately equal strong stresses. Two successive syllables with approximately equal light stresses.
/

Example 1: Not mar = one iambic foot U / | U / | Example 2: Not mar | ble, nor | = two iambic feet Line Types Monometer: Dimeter: Trimeter: Tetrameter: Pentameter: Hexameter: Heptameter: Octameter: A line containing one (1) poetic foot. A line containing two (2) poetic feet. A line containing three (3) poetic feet. A line containing four (4) poetic feet. A line containing five (5) poetic feet. A line containing six (6) poetic feet. A line containing seven (7) poetic feet. A line containing eight (8) poetic feet.

Example of a line of Iambic Pentameter:

U
/

Not mar | ble, nor | the gild | ed mon | u ments | Poetic feet: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

So . . . the first line of Shakespeares poem has the following traits: Type of Poetic Feet = [ U / ] = Iambic Type of Line = Number of Poetic Feet in the line = 5 = Pentameter Therefore, this line of poetry is made up of Iambic Pentameter.

II. Tone
End rhymes, by far the most frequent type, occur at the end of a verse-line. Internal rhymes occur within a verse-line, as in the following line from Samuel Taylor Coleridges, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud The rhyme scheme of a poem is conventionally determined by assigning a letter of the alphabet to a corresponding end rhyme. Example of a rhyme scheme: NOT marble, nor the gilded monuments Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme; But you shall shine more bright in these contents Than unswept stone, besmeared with sluttish time. So . . . the rhyme scheme for the first four lines of the poem is abab. Also . . . Some common elements of tone are: 1. Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of the words or within the words, as with the repetition of the s sounds in the following line of Shakespeares sonnet: Than unswept stone, besmeared with sluttish time1 2. Consonance: occurs when the words or phrases have the same beginning and ending consonant sounds but a different vowel, as in chitter and chatter. a b a b

Also, note the alliterative sound of the consonant, t in this line. 2

3. Assonance: the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds at the beginning of the words or within the words, as with the repetition of the i sounds in the following lines of Shakespeares sonnet: Not marble nor the gilded monuments Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme;

III. Structure
Types of Stanzas A stanza is a grouping of verse-lines in a poem, sometimes set off by a space in the printed text. Couplet: Tercet (or Triplet): Quatrain: Sestet: Octave: A stanza made up of two (2) lines. A stanza made up of three (3) lines. A stanza made up of four (4) lines. A stanza made up of six (6) lines. A stanza made up of eight (8) lines.

Example of a quatrain: NOT marble, nor the gilded monuments Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme; But you shall shine more bright in these contents Than unswept stone, besmeared with sluttish time. Example of a couplet: So, till the judgement that yourself arise. You live in this, and dwell in lovers eyes. Shakespeares poem, Not Marble nor the Gilded Monuments, is a sonnet one of the strictest forms in poetry. The two common types of sonnets are: I. Shakespearean (or English) Sonnet This sonnet is composed of three quatrains and a concluding couplet, with rhyme scheme (generally) abab cdcd efef gg. II. Petrarchan (or Italian) Sonnet This sonnet is composed of an octave with rhyme scheme abbaabba and a concluding sestet with rhyme scheme cdecde or some variant, such as cdccdc.

Two other common types of poetry are: 1. Blank verse: composed of unrhymed, iambic pentameter. 2. Free verse: poetry which is not organized into meter that is, into feet, or recurrent units of weak- and strong-stressed syllables. It can be rhymed or unrhymed.

Before interpreting Frosts poem for meaning, scan for meter, rhyme scheme, and note the type of stanza used.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sounds the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. ~ Robert Frost