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
... complex web of arguments; but the survey that follows is intended not as a history of prosodic study, but as an examination of those ways of dealing with metre which have proved most tenacious in their hold on the English literary ...
... complex web of arguments; but the survey that follows is intended not as a history of prosodic study, but as an examination of those ways of dealing with metre which have proved most tenacious in their hold on the English literary ...
Page xviii
... complex pattern representing with greater fidelity the actual pronunciation of the words. Most modern defenders of the classical approach would argue that this picture of two levels, partly coinciding, partly conflicting, reflects what ...
... complex pattern representing with greater fidelity the actual pronunciation of the words. Most modern defenders of the classical approach would argue that this picture of two levels, partly coinciding, partly conflicting, reflects what ...
Page xxi
... would give of a highly complex and deviant metre would be quite false. The rhythm is bold and strong, with the firm four-beat structure of the ballad or nursery rhyme. Some theorists would argue that such verse is not in.
... would give of a highly complex and deviant metre would be quite false. The rhythm is bold and strong, with the firm four-beat structure of the ballad or nursery rhyme. Some theorists would argue that such verse is not in.
Page xxxiii
... complex matter than an awareness of temporal relations. That stress-timing, as a perceptual characteristic of language, does enter into the rhythm of spoken English is, as we have seen, demonstrable, but it need not be assumed that this ...
... complex matter than an awareness of temporal relations. That stress-timing, as a perceptual characteristic of language, does enter into the rhythm of spoken English is, as we have seen, demonstrable, but it need not be assumed that this ...
Page xxxvi
... complex subject, and will prepare the ground for arguments later in this study, if we once more pick out two threads from the intricate web that confronts us, though they will be more in the nature of specimens than generalisations. The ...
... complex subject, and will prepare the ground for arguments later in this study, if we once more pick out two threads from the intricate web that confronts us, though they will be more in the nature of specimens than generalisations. The ...
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