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 xiii
... can be gained simply from a glance at the collections on the subject held by most large, long-established libraries. The shelves are dominated by fading volumes from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: unwieldy surveys thick ...
... can be gained simply from a glance at the collections on the subject held by most large, long-established libraries. The shelves are dominated by fading volumes from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: unwieldy surveys thick ...
Page xvi
... can be used as the foundation of a simple metre , producing four main varieties of verse . Those which make use of the two- syllable feet are said to be in duple or binary metres , those which use three - syllable feet in triple or ...
... can be used as the foundation of a simple metre , producing four main varieties of verse . Those which make use of the two- syllable feet are said to be in duple or binary metres , those which use three - syllable feet in triple or ...
Page xvii
... can be replaced by other feet. Thus a trochee can be substituted for an iamb, and vice versa; and a spondee or a pyrrhic for either. The following lines will serve as an illustration, the lower set of symbols indicating the basic metre ...
... can be replaced by other feet. Thus a trochee can be substituted for an iamb, and vice versa; and a spondee or a pyrrhic for either. The following lines will serve as an illustration, the lower set of symbols indicating the basic metre ...
Page xxi
... can be divided into recognised feet. But the choice of a basic foot here would be an arbitrary one, not reflecting anything in the reader's experience, and the impression which such an analysis would give of a highly complex and deviant ...
... can be divided into recognised feet. But the choice of a basic foot here would be an arbitrary one, not reflecting anything in the reader's experience, and the impression which such an analysis would give of a highly complex and deviant ...
Page xxv
... can be more regular to the ear than a line with one, and it is not difficult to invent lines which, in terms of feet, show only limited departures from the basic pattern, but which the ear registers as highly deviant. The following line ...
... can be more regular to the ear than a line with one, and it is not difficult to invent lines which, in terms of feet, show only limited departures from the basic pattern, but which the ear registers as highly deviant. The following line ...
Contents
THE RHYTHMS OF ENGLISH SPEECH | 8 |
THE FOURBEAT RHYTHM | 25 |
THE FIVEBEAT RHYTHM | |
WHAT IS A METRICAL RULE? | |
THE FUNCTIONS OF POETIC RHYTHM | |
SOME EXAMPLES | |
RULES AND SCANSION | |
Bibliography | |
Sources of examples | |
Index | |
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Common terms and phrases
accentual-syllabic verse alternation anapaestic chapter common metre complex create David Abercrombie demotion deviation dipodic rhythm discussion distinction double offbeat duple metre duple verse duration emphasis English metre English speech English verse example falling rhythm five-beat line five-beat rhythm four-beat line four-beat rhythm four-beat verse function iambic pentameter implied offbeat initial inversion initial offbeat language line-end linguistic metrical form metrical pattern metrical rules metrical set metrical structure metrical style metrical theory movement nonstresses nursery rhymes occur offbeat condition organisation pause perceived perception phonetic phonological phrase poem poetic poetry poets pronunciation prosody reader reading realised rhythmic form rhythmic structure rhythmic unit rising rhythm scansion semantic sense sequence single offbeat sounds speech rhythms stanza stress contour stress pattern stress-final pairing stress-timing stressed and unstressed strong syllable count syntactic break syntax tendency tension triple metre triple rhythm triple verse trochaic trochee underlying rhythm unrealised beat unstressed syllables variation words