meter, substitutions, pauses. the recurring pattern of sounds that give poems written in verse their...

Meter, substitutions, pauses

Prosody

The recurring pattern of sounds that give poems written in verse their distinctive rhythms

Accentual-syllabic meter is based both on number of syllables in a line and on the pattern of stresses in each metrical unit, or foot.

Meter

A cha pel was built in the midst,

Where I used to play on the greenTwo unstressed followed by one stressed

Anapest

Meter - 1

˘ ’ ˘ ˘ ’ ˘ ˘ ’A Cha / pel was built / in the midst, ˘ ’ ˘ ˘ ’ ˘ ˘ Where I / used to play / on the ’greenThree feet each line (# of times stress pattern repeated per line)

Three feet + Anapest = anapestic trimeter

Meter - 1

The woods / de cay, / the woods / de cay / and fall,

The va / pors weep / their bur /then to / the ground,

Man comes / and tills / the field / and lies / be neath,

And af / ter ma / ny a sum / mer dies / the swan.

Meter - 2

Jew els / in joy / de signed

To rav / ish the sen / su ous mind

Lie light / less, all / their spar / kles bleared / and black / and blind. Unstressed followed by stressed

Lines 1-2 have three feet – iambic trimeter•Line 3 has six feet – iambic hexameter

Meter - 3

Earth, re / ceive an / hon oured / guest;

Will iam / Yeats is / laid to / rest.

Let the / I rish / ves sel / lie

Emp tied / of its / po et / ry.•Stressed followed by unstressed•Four feet per line•Trochaic tetrameter •Catalectic last foot

Meter - 4

When a man / hath no free / dom to fight / for at home,

Let him com / bat for that / of his neigh / bors;

Let him think / of the glo / ries of Greece / and of Rome,

And get knocked / on the head / for his la / bors.

Meter - 5

When a man / hath no free / dom to fight / for at home,

Let him com / bat for that / of his neigh / bors;

Let him think / of the glo / ries of Greece / and of Rome,

And get knocked / on the head / for his la / bors

Anapestic tetrameter alternating with anapestic trimeter with an extra unstressed foot (feminine ending) in lines two and four

Meter - 5

Any variant foot within a line that consists predominantly of another metrical patternSpondaic foot – two stressed syllables in a row

Trochee at the start of an iambic line

Anapestic foot within an iambic line

Catalectic – at the end of a trochaic or dactylic line

Substitutions

Lines that end with a strong stress are said to have a masculine ending.

Lines that end in an unstressed syllable are said to have a feminine ending.

Substitutions

Ah! Well – a- day! What e vil looks

Had I from old and young!

In stead of the cross, the Al ba tross

A bout my neck was hung.Predominant pattern – Unstressed followed by stressed

iamb

Substitutions - 1

Ah! Well / -a-day! / what e / vil looks

Had I / from old / and young!

In stead / of the cross, / the Al / ba tross

A bout / my neck / was hung.Predominantly Iambic (Unstressed followed by stressed)• Tetrameter alternating with trimeter: ballad meter• Spondee: the first foot of lines 1 & 2; extra unstressed syllable in line three: “of the cross”

Substitutions - 1

The hand / that held / my wrist

Was bat / tered on / one knuc / kle;

At ev / ery step / you missed

My right / ear scraped / a buc / kle.Iambic trimeter (unstressed followed by stressed; three feet to line)

An extra unstressed syllable at the ends of lines 2 & 4 (feminine endings); a spondee at “ear scraped”

Substitutions - 2

I will / a rise / and go now, / for al / ways night / and day

I hear / lake wa / ter lap / ping with / low sounds / by the shore.Iambic hexameter – six feet; unstressed – stressed

Spondees at “go now,” and “low sounds”; and extra unstressed syllable at “and” in line 1 and “by the” in line 2

Substitutions - 3

The dew / of the morn / ing

Sunk chill / on my brow –

It felt / like the warn / ing

Of what / I feel now.Two unstressed followed by stressed; two feet

Missing unstressed syllable at the start of each line; extra unstressed syllable at the end of lines 1 & 3 (feminine ending); spondees at “sunk chill” and “I feel now,” with an extra stressed syllable in the latter foot

Substitutions - 4

Wo man much / missed, how you / call to me, / call to me,

Say ing that / now you are / not as you / were

When you had / changed from the / one who was / all to me,

But as at / first, when / our day was / fair.Four feet of a stressed followed by two unstressed

– dactylic tetrameter

Missing unstressed syllables ends of lines 2 & 4; caesura 2nd foot of 4th line; spondee at “our day”

Substitutions - 5

End-stopped • Contains complete thought (complete

sentence or independent clause)

• Distinct pause at the end, usually indicated by a mark of punctuation

• Calls attention to the complete thought expressed

Pauses

Enjambed lines• Sentence or clause continues for

two or more lines

• No punctuation appears at the end of the enjambed lines

Pauses

Caesura• A pause in the midst of a verse

line

• Indicated by a mark of punctuation

• Creates a shift in the rhythmic pattern which parallels a shift in the focus

Pauses

How do I love thee? // Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, // when felling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal grace.End-stopped: complete thought ends with line

Enjambed: thought continues to next line.

Pauses - 1

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, // of golden daffodils.

Pauses - 2

What the hammer? // what the chain?

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? // what dread grasp

Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

Pauses - 3

No longer mourn for me when I am dead

Than you shall hear the surly sullen bell

Give warning to the world that I am fled

From this vile world, // with vilest worms to dwell.

Pauses - 4

The flowers do fade, // and wanton fields

To wayward winter reckoning yields;

A honey tongue, // a heart of gall,

Is fancy’s spring, // but sorrow’s fall.

Pauses - 5

’ ˘ ’ ˘ ’ ˘ ’ ˘ ’ ˘

Sun days / too my / fa ther / got up / ear ly

˘ ’ ˘ ’ ˘ ’ ˘ ’ ’ ’

and put / his clothes / on in / the blue / black cold,

˘ ˘ ’ ’ ˘ ’

then with / cracked hands / that ached

˘ ’ ˘ ’ ˘ ’ ’ ’ ˘ ’

from la / bor in / the week / day wea / ther made

’ ˘ ’ ’ ’ ’ ˘ ’ ’

banked fires / blaze. // No one / ev er / thanked him.

Those Winter Sundays

’ ’ ˘ ’ ˘ ’ ’ ˘ ˘ ’ ˘

I’d wake / and hear / the cold / splin / ter ing, / break ing.

˘ ˘ ’ ˘ ’ ˘ ’

When the rooms / were warm, / he’d call,

˘ ’ ˘ ’ ’ ’ ˘ ’

and slow / ly I / would rise / and dress,

’ ˘ ˘ ’ ˘ ’ ˘ ˘ ’ ’

fear ing / the chron / ic an / gers of / that house,

Those Winter Sundays – cont’d

’ ˘ ˘ ’ ˘ ˘ ˘ ˘ ’

Speak ing / in dif / fer ent ly / to him,

’ ’ ’ ˘ ’ ˘ ’

who / had dri / ven out / the cold

˘ ’ ˘ ˘ ’ ’ ˘ ’

and po / lished my / good shoes / as well.

’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’

What did / I know, // what did / I know

˘ ’ ˘ ’ ˘ ’ ˘ ’ ˘ ˘

of love’s / aus tere / and lone / ly off i ces?

Those Winter Sundays – cont’d

Reminiscence of the narrator’s difficult childhood.

Blames father – resentment made him treat father with indifference

Yet, looking back remembers the “austere and lonely offices” that his father performed for him

Diction? colloquial

Tone? conversational

Those Winter Sundays