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 xix
... distinction of which the reader is aware, unless perhaps he has through rigorous training developed the capacity to impose an abstract pattern on the words he reads. It is certainly not part of the rhythmic movement of the line, in ...
... distinction of which the reader is aware, unless perhaps he has through rigorous training developed the capacity to impose an abstract pattern on the words he reads. It is certainly not part of the rhythmic movement of the line, in ...
Page xxii
... distinctions only where these are genuine perceptions experienced by the reader. Even in its analysis of the type of metre most amenable to foot-prosody, in which the number of syllables in the line is strictly controlled, the classical ...
... distinctions only where these are genuine perceptions experienced by the reader. Even in its analysis of the type of metre most amenable to foot-prosody, in which the number of syllables in the line is strictly controlled, the classical ...
Page xxiv
... each rhythmic alternation, and though there is an increase in weight and slowness, there is no dislocation. We can further illustrate this distinction by rewriting a familiar line: consider the different rhythmic character of.
... each rhythmic alternation, and though there is an increase in weight and slowness, there is no dislocation. We can further illustrate this distinction by rewriting a familiar line: consider the different rhythmic character of.
Page xxv
... distinction is made between the 'pyrrhics' of (11) or [14a] and those of (12), whereas their rhythmic function is quite different: the first type occurs between the beats of the line, the second type includes one of the beats. An ...
... distinction is made between the 'pyrrhics' of (11) or [14a] and those of (12), whereas their rhythmic function is quite different: the first type occurs between the beats of the line, the second type includes one of the beats. An ...
Page xxvi
... distinction between a basic metrical pattern and the more varied rhythms of the spoken language, whether we think of this as another relatively simplified pattern, or as the fine gradations of speech itself. Of the terms used to refer ...
... distinction between a basic metrical pattern and the more varied rhythms of the spoken language, whether we think of this as another relatively simplified pattern, or as the fine gradations of speech itself. Of the terms used to refer ...
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