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 vi
... 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 xiii
... 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 xiv
... 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 xv
... prosody became lodged among the commonplaces of English metrical analysis, in spite of the sharp differences between ... prosodic theory until the end of the eighteenth century was based on syllables and accents rather than feet, 2 and ...
... prosody became lodged among the commonplaces of English metrical analysis, in spite of the sharp differences between ... prosodic theory until the end of the eighteenth century was based on syllables and accents rather than feet, 2 and ...
Page xviii
... 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
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