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
... words 'rhythm' and 'metre' occur on virtually every page, and as the titles of two parts, I have no wish to differentiate between them by means of simple definitions. The connotations which they carry are basically those of common usage ...
... words 'rhythm' and 'metre' occur on virtually every page, and as the titles of two parts, I have no wish to differentiate between them by means of simple definitions. The connotations which they carry are basically those of common usage ...
Page xix
... words he reads. It is certainly not part of the rhythmic movement of the line, in which the transitions between ... word and phrase boundaries, creating rhythmic groups which may be rising (beginning with a nonstress) or falling ...
... words he reads. It is certainly not part of the rhythmic movement of the line, in which the transitions between ... word and phrase boundaries, creating rhythmic groups which may be rising (beginning with a nonstress) or falling ...
Page xxiii
... words and creates a point of rhythmic emphasis ; and this in turn is followed by two lightly pronounced nonstresses ... word ' deaf and ends with a return to the regular pace on ' bootless ' ; and the five beats of the line , instead of ...
... words and creates a point of rhythmic emphasis ; and this in turn is followed by two lightly pronounced nonstresses ... word ' deaf and ends with a return to the regular pace on ' bootless ' ; and the five beats of the line , instead of ...
Page xxv
... words in the following: In the original, the natural rhythm of the language produces a smooth alternation, and the two words in question, though they effect a slowing down at the end of the line, create little sense of rhythmic ...
... words in the following: In the original, the natural rhythm of the language produces a smooth alternation, and the two words in question, though they effect a slowing down at the end of the line, create little sense of rhythmic ...
Page xxvii
... classical metres in his Apologie for Poetrie as 'more fit for music, both words and tune observing quantity' (1595, sig. L2 r ), 6 and it may have been this relationship which led Thomas Campion, England's most accomplished writer of ...
... classical metres in his Apologie for Poetrie as 'more fit for music, both words and tune observing quantity' (1595, sig. L2 r ), 6 and it may have been this relationship which led Thomas Campion, England's most accomplished writer of ...
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