The Rhythms of English PoetryExamines the way in which poetry in English makes use of rhythm. The author argues that there are three major influences which determine the verse-forms used in any language: the natural rhythm of the spoken language itself; the properties of rhythmic form; and the metrical conventions which have grown up within the literary tradition. He investigates these in order to explain the forms of English verse, and to show how rhythm and metre work as an essential part of the reader's experience of poetry. |
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Page vii
... sequences of expectancy and satisfaction created by syntax, large-scale formal and generic conventions, and structures of meaning. And since my interest is primarily in the singleness of this metrical tradition - in the capacity, that ...
... sequences of expectancy and satisfaction created by syntax, large-scale formal and generic conventions, and structures of meaning. And since my interest is primarily in the singleness of this metrical tradition - in the capacity, that ...
Page 21
... sequence / / x x, for example, treated in the classical approach as an 'inversion', is regarded as a measure of one syllable followed by a measure of three, with the lengths of the syllables adjusted to make the two measures equal ...
... sequence / / x x, for example, treated in the classical approach as an 'inversion', is regarded as a measure of one syllable followed by a measure of three, with the lengths of the syllables adjusted to make the two measures equal ...
Page 22
... sequences of syllables in English which encourages us to adjust the speed of utterance in order to keep the main stresses at roughly equal intervals. If we introduce another stressed syllable, however, and try to maintain the the timing ...
... sequences of syllables in English which encourages us to adjust the speed of utterance in order to keep the main stresses at roughly equal intervals. If we introduce another stressed syllable, however, and try to maintain the the timing ...
Page 23
... sequence of equal disyllabic measures, each of which is divided into one or other of these simple proportions. A further implication of this particular analysis is that the common 'iambic' or 'trochaic' metres of English are regarded as ...
... sequence of equal disyllabic measures, each of which is divided into one or other of these simple proportions. A further implication of this particular analysis is that the common 'iambic' or 'trochaic' metres of English are regarded as ...
Page 26
... sequences measurable in centiseconds. But this does not mean that we can ignore the temporal dimension in discussing metre; it merely emphasises that the life of poetic rhythm resides not in physical patterns that a machine can register ...
... sequences measurable in centiseconds. But this does not mean that we can ignore the temporal dimension in discussing metre; it merely emphasises that the life of poetic rhythm resides not in physical patterns that a machine can register ...
Contents
Rhythm | 57 |
Metre | 145 |
Practice | 283 |
RULES AND SCANSION | 357 |
Bibliography | 363 |
Sources of examples | 376 |
Index | 388 |
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Common terms and phrases
accentual-syllabic verse alternation anapaestic B B B B Ceolred chapter classical approach common metre complex create David Abercrombie deviation discussion distinction double offbeat duple metre duple verse emphasis English metre English verse example falling rhythm five-beat line following line four-beat line four-beat rhythm four-beat verse function iambic pentameter implied offbeat initial inversion initial offbeat language linguistic literary metrical form metrical pattern metrical rules metrical set metrical structure metrical style metrical subordination metrical theory metrist movement nonstresses occur offbeat condition optional pause perceived perception phonetic phonological phrase poem poetic poetry poets promotion pronunciation prosody reader reading rhyme rhythmic form rhythmic structure rhythmic unit scansion semantic sense sequence single offbeat speech rhythms stanza stress contour stress pattern stress-final pairing stress-initial pairing stress-timing stressed and unstressed strong syllable count syntactic break syntax tension tradition triple metre triple rhythm triple verse trochaic trochee underlying rhythm unrealised beat unstressed syllables words