RHYTHM

Rhythm is the beat and

the pace of words in a

piece of writing.

The ordinary form of written language.

(Poetry, drama and songs are not considered forms of prose.)

Unlikely to have a regular pattern, but sometimes it contains a recognizable

tempo.

PROSE

RHYTHM

Poetry has rhythm called the metric pattern.

The metric pattern is similar to the beat of music in that it uses the syllables in the words falling at regular intervals.

Rhythm is established in a few different ways by using tools.

FOOTThere are different

types of feet within poetry.

Each foot contains a set number of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Feet combine together to create a line of poetry.

FEET

The different feet create different paces because unaccented syllables do not take as long to say as accented syllables.

A line of poetry containing mostly unaccented syllables would have a faster pace.

A line of poetry containing mostly accented syllables would have a slower pace.

TYPES OF FEETName Iambic Trochaic Dactylic Anapestic

Pronunciation

Eye AMB TRO key DACK til an uh PEST

Sounds like

Ocean waves

Muffled drums

Horses galloping

Horses galloping

Number and type of sounds

1 heavy; 1 light

1 heavy; 1 light

2 light; 1 heavy

2 light; 1 heavy

Used for Lighter Grief Humor and adventure

Humor and adventure

Accents de DUM DUM de DUM de de

de de DUM

Symbols u / / u / u u u u /

EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT FEET

Iambic Trochaic Anapestic Dactylic

de DUM DUM de de de DUM DUM de de

u /to DAY

/ uCOM ing

u u /un a WARE

/ u uVIC tor ies

u /a WAY

/ uBASE ball

u u /lem on

ADE

/ u u

BEAU ti ful

DETERMINING METER

Once you have determined what type of foot is being used, you will then be able to determine the meter of the poem.

After every foot, place a vertical line and then count the number of feet listed within the line.

The number of feet within each line will determine the meter of the poem

METER

Number of feet

Name Pronunciation

1 foot Monometer mo NOM e ter

2 feet Dimeter DIM e ter

3 feet Trimeter TRIM e ter

4 feet Tetrameter te TRAM e ter

5 feet Pentameter pen TAM e ter

6 feet Hexameter hex AM e ter

7 feet Heptameter hep TAM e ter

8 feet Octameter oc TAM e ter

9 feet Nonameter no NAM e ter

HOW TO REMEMBER THE METER

Mono- means one. For example a monologue has only

one speaker

Di- means two. Remember when you cut something in

two you are dissecting.

Tri- means three. A tricycle has three wheels and a

triangle has three sides.

Penta- means five. The Pentagon in Washington has

five sides.

Oct- means eight. An octopus has eight legs.

Inversion occurs when the beat within a line may change or vary.

Inversion occurs for 2 reasons:

1. The poet was unable to find a word that fit with the meter and foot

2. They changed the meter and foot for emphasized effect

If inversion is used to often, it loses all effect.

INVERSION

CAESURAA short pause which can take the place of an unaccented syllable.

It CANNOT be used in the place of an accented syllable because the pause would be too long.

Pausing at a comma or end of the sentence is normal, and when it occurs within a line, it is called a Caesura.

Ex: Oh CAN’T you STAY ? STAY and PLAY. U / U / U / U /

DETERMINE THE METER

It’s Christmas Eve and there in splendor bright

It’s Christmas Eve and there in splendor brightIt’s Christmas Eve and there in splendor brightU / U / U / U / U /