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. |
From inside the book
Page viii
... prosodic theory; and it is the business of the following pages to provide a justification and elaboration of those connotations. But if I were obliged to be more explicit, I would hazard the assertion that rhythm, although it can ...
... prosodic theory; and it is the business of the following pages to provide a justification and elaboration of those connotations. But if I were obliged to be more explicit, I would hazard the assertion that rhythm, although it can ...
Page 3
... prosodic sidestream; scientific investigations of syllabic duration or vocalic quality; handbooks for the schoolroom parading lists of Greek terms and recherché metres culled from Swinburne and Bridges. Most of these works evince a deep ...
... prosodic sidestream; scientific investigations of syllabic duration or vocalic quality; handbooks for the schoolroom parading lists of Greek terms and recherché metres culled from Swinburne and Bridges. Most of these works evince a deep ...
Page 4
... prosody, and these afforded no purchase on the lines of English poets. The syllables of the English language, unlike those of Greek and Latin, had not been definitively classified by means of minutely detailed rules and the hallowed ...
... prosody, and these afforded no purchase on the lines of English poets. The syllables of the English language, unlike those of Greek and Latin, had not been definitively classified by means of minutely detailed rules and the hallowed ...
Page 5
... prosody - and applied it to the native English forms. In doing this, they were drawing on procedures which the humanist education instilled at an early age: Prosodia formed the fourth section of Lily's grammar, on which the Elizabethan ...
... prosody - and applied it to the native English forms. In doing this, they were drawing on procedures which the humanist education instilled at an early age: Prosodia formed the fourth section of Lily's grammar, on which the Elizabethan ...
Page 8
... prosodic terminology. Another classical term inherited by English prosody with a changed signification is caesura. In the analysis of English verse it is used to refer to a pause within the line created by the syntax; thus one can say ...
... prosodic terminology. Another classical term inherited by English prosody with a changed signification is caesura. In the analysis of English verse it is used to refer to a pause within the line created by the syntax; thus one can say ...
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