Meter for dummies? - Shakespeare's Monkeys

Leanne Hansonfrom Just west of the lounge room Associate, 3708 posts	on June 14 2007 Please don't be scared of meter. It's just like any other way to measure things. Just like length is measured in centimetres (or inches if you're in that archaic non-standard world), meter is measured in "feet". Meter types actually vary from language to language, because every language has different ways of accenting, so we can only really talk about English -- a language which has very definite accents on words. Check the dictionary if you're not certain where accents fall in a word and it will tell you -- that's really all you're looking for when it comes to meter. Meter (or rhythm, in it's less defined form) is what makes a poem MOVE. It's the measure of how fast or slow it's read, how it feels when you hear it, how to build emotion, mood, image... meter is the colour to fill in the lines. Even free verse uses meter -- it's just not a regular pattern. Without attention to meter you'll find that your poem "stumbles" or is "awkward" -- some people use meter innately, without even knowing what they're doing, and some have to really work on it. Don't panic if you're in the second group. It WILL come to you. Think of a musical score. The strong stresses in a metric line are the ones that would fall on the beat. The soft/weak stresses are the bits in between -- you can't do without them but they're not driving the tune. Take a metronome. Basically, it goes TICK-tock. If you were to start your poetic line on the TICK, and just put two syllables per beat, you'd have a trochee. TICK tock/ TICK tock/ TICK tock/ TICK tock... But if you started your line on the tock, keeping to the two syllables per beat, you've got an iamb... tick TOCK/ tick TOCK/ tick TOCK/ tick TOCK... The trochee is more forceful to begin with but the line ends on a soft stress, so when you hear a trochaic line it's the beginning you remember most clearly. The iamb starts out softly but the last stress on the line is a strong one, so you remember the close of the line more clearly. It doesn't matter if you're tone deaf because this is the mathematics of music. Metric feet are just units of measure. You need to remember that a line of poetry is not the smallest unit, it can be broken up and you need to understand what each part is doing. Maybe it's more like chemistry... once you know what it's made of, you can manipulate those molecules to form whatever substance you like. Only with poetry, you can actually turn lead into gold.
Amanda Bakerfrom Kentucky 287 posts	on June 14 2007 You make it sound so easy. If only it were. I have struggled with this all day and do ont think I am any further ahead. It all makes sense in theory, then I try to apply it and think I must speak a different language than everyone else. Here are a couple of lines, am I any where close? I met a toad on his way home from church Tonight lies heavily without a star ----- ...but what do I know?
Shannon McEwenfrom Canada 463 posts	on June 14 2007 I'm with you, I'm meter challenged. ----- Life is what happens while you wait for great things. Life is what happens while you wait for great things.
Amanda Bakerfrom Kentucky 287 posts	on June 14 2007 We, the meterically challenged, need to unite and beat this meter system into submission. I am quickly running out of hair to pull from my head. ----- ...but what do I know?
Leanne Hansonfrom Just west of the lounge room Associate, 3708 posts	on June 15 2007 I think I see your problem. You're thinking of meter as just a generic THING. It's not. Every line of poetry is metric in that it can be broken up in to metric units. For example, yours could be said: i MET/ a TOAD/ on HIS/ way HOME/ from CHURCH which is iambic (iambic pentameter to be precise, because it's got five beats). It could also be said like this: I met a/ TOAD on his/ WAY home from/ CHURCH which is, in fact, dactyls (a dactyl is three syllables to a beat or foot, DA dum dum). Try it and see the difference in the rhythms. Iambic is a bit like a heartbeat, which is why it's often used for ballads; dactylic is more forceful, and it's often used for stories with morals or teaching. (Personally I like dactyls best but I'm didactic...) One single line can actually be read several different ways -- where meter comes into its own is through a series of lines, creating symmetry and continuity of rhythms. Say: To NIGHT/ lies HEA/ vi-LY/ with OUT/ a STAR that's iambic. Fairly perfectly so, in fact. But what makes meter work is several of the lines following a pattern -- the way you write your meter gives your poem extra depth, because the sound of it creates mood. However, even a free verse poem can be broken up into metric units. Free verse just doesn't follow regular metric patterns, but knowledge of meter will invariably improve your freeverse.
Leanne Hansonfrom Just west of the lounge room Associate, 3708 posts	on June 15 2007 Can I also point out that when you're reading poetry it's not supposed to be the same as talking naturally -- it should seem natural, and you should have the stresses all in normal places so your words don't sound silly, but it isn't just conversational. It's much the same as singing -- you wouldn't just use your speaking voice for that, would you?
Amanda Bakerfrom Kentucky 287 posts	on June 15 2007 I have been told that words have natural stress on certain syllables. Thase being the stressed syllables you would use to add meter to your writing. The problem i am running to is when I say a word I hear the stress on a syllabel. Then I look it up and I am backwards apparently. For example the word meter. I say it and hear it as meTER. That is where my mind is putting the stress. When I look it up, it's METer. Which needless to say is making this a very painstaking task. ----- ...but what do I know?
Leanne Hansonfrom Just west of the lounge room Associate, 3708 posts	on June 15 2007 Accent DOES make it hard -- I find I just write it as I would say it myself, and ignore the fact that you Americans say things arse about face Same problem happens with rhyme -- recent example was when I rhymed "boring" and "drawing" and got laughed at, but it works for me! So... my accent varies enormously from yours, and my partner is Scottish so his is different again, but the principles of meter don't change. At the very most, these small deviations are going to cause people to pause for a moment and re-evaluate the way they read your line. I'm afraid you can't use accent as an excuse when you're talking to an Australian
Leanne Hansonfrom Just west of the lounge room Associate, 3708 posts	on June 15 2007 And the truth about the word meter is that the syllables are stressed so close to even that it doesn't actually matter where the accent falls in most cases... many words in English are like that... you can fit it into a metric pattern just by the choice of the words you use around it.
Amanda Bakerfrom Kentucky 287 posts	on June 15 2007 I am by no means using it as an excuse. I will continue to work on this. It is adding a little more dificulty to me really "getting it". ----- ...but what do I know?
Julie herselffrom Here and There 302 posts	on June 15 2007 The fact that you can change meter based on how you read a poem makes grasping this elusive concept even more challenging. I'm sure I'd just use that as an excuse to stick whatever words come to me, and stress them in any possible way that appears to work.
Leanne Hansonfrom Just west of the lounge room Associate, 3708 posts	on June 15 2007 If you're consistent, there's absolutely no reason not to do that. It's about making the meter work for you, not the other way around.
Leanne Hansonfrom Just west of the lounge room Associate, 3708 posts	on June 15 2007 I've just quickly recorded the line that Mandi put up as an example, in both kinds of meter, so you can see what the accent marks mean.
Jennifer Raganfrom Camillus, New York 423 posts	on June 15 2007 “I met a toad on his way home from church” I met a toad4 hopping home3 from church today4 “Tonight lies heavily without a star” The heavens 3 Lie tonight 3 Without a star 4 I think you just need to move your words around a bit and find better adjectives. I think that is all you really have to do. I will always be a syllable counter. I like it, it makes me happpy I hope this helps.
Amanda Bakerfrom Kentucky 287 posts	on June 15 2007 WEEEEE!! I have lots of them for you. It should keep you pretty darn happy until round 2094. Hope you didn't make any plans. ----- ...but what do I know?
Julie herselffrom Here and There 302 posts	on June 26 2007 In regards to reading metered poetry out loud, I'm wondering if one should try to keep to the rhythm of the meter (duh - Duh, duh - Duh), or does a reading include changing tempos and inflections that put the meter more towards the background?
Leanne Hansonfrom Just west of the lounge room Associate, 3708 posts	on June 27 2007 The way you read your poetry is up to you... but... meter is a sonic tool, designed to improve the way a poem sounds, so it would be sort of a shame to try and ignore it. You don't have to put exactly the same emphasis on each of the accented syllables -- some words are more important than others, after all -- but meter's ONLY purpose is to be heard.
Stephan Ansteyfrom Lowell, MA Associate, 6232 posts	inspired from Leanne on Jan. 29 2008 Leanne, the meter 'lines.wav' sound file you had up there was lost in some upgrade, do you still have a copy of it?
Leanne Hansonfrom Just west of the lounge room Associate, 3708 posts	on Feb. 21 2008 Yes, I'll try reposting it. Actually, I'll email it to Anstey and have him post it, my dialup connection hates doing work.
Colleen Sperry 622 posts	on Sep. 15 2008 I just somehow stumbled on this and was wondering where I could find the link to the recording. perhaps I'm too late?
Laura doomfrom The Divided Queendom Associate, 1336 posts	on Sep. 17 2008 I've also just stumbled upon this - well, no, more like ambled aimlessly into it. So, what happened with this? Did it go somewhere? Most of this was before my time, but I'm interested to know if people are still suffering metrical deprivation and if so, what kind of remedial 'work' is required/desired...
Colleen Sperry 622 posts	inspired from aphasic on Sep. 17 2008 Aphasic: I am suffering metrical deprivation and all and any remedial work is desired!
Laura doomfrom The Divided Queendom Associate, 1336 posts	on Sep. 18 2008 Colleen - I'm not an authority on meter, or prosody in general, or anything really for that or any other matter, but I'm happy to attempt the lifting of your confusion to a higher level :> Where's a good place to start? [If you dare say 'at the beginning', I'll slap your stanzas with poisoned dactyls whilst pirouetting round your silhouette]
Colleen Sperry 622 posts	on Sep. 19 2008 slap hard and direct then!!
Stephan Ansteyfrom Lowell, MA Associate, 6232 posts	on Sep. 19 2008 I'll look for that audio file. I might have stashed it -- if not, leanne has it somewhere i'm sure.
Laura doomfrom The Divided Queendom Associate, 1336 posts	on Sep. 20 2008 " slap hard and direct then!! " Right - my call, so we'll start with a couple of lines from "Lush Dreams (I blame her roots)" - hopejully you'll recongnize that one Colleen - and work out how it scans. Scansion is a kind of deconstruction, the metrical equivalent of the way people tend to tear poetry apart semantically and extract 'the' (some obscure) meaning or purpose behind the words. Scansion is the analysis of a poem's rhythm, the patterns of sound that emerge when it's read. As Leanne says, it's all about patterns. We 'see' patterns all the time, in everything - that's the basis of perception. Patterns are all about repetition - stuff that becomes familiar, recognizable. Traditionally, poetry was classified according to patterns - a regular number of lines per stanza, feet per line, syllables per foot - in the same way that music is measured in bars and beats, and karaoke in pints and decibels. The time signature of a piece of music (2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, whatever) tells you how many beats there are in a bar. Lines of poetry are like bars in songs. Whereas musical time signatures are numbered, the pattern of feet in poetry is named, but it's just another form of counting/measuring the pattern of beats in a line. First line: "Planted in our starkly muted garden" Read that line aloud, and count the number of 'beats'. A beat occurs whenever a syllable is 'stressed'. Stressed? Ok - sometimes it's a pain deciding which syllables are naturally stressed - it's one of the many things we do without thinking (like breathing or voting). So, to make it more obvious, try making a conscious effort to put an emphasis on the syllables marked in bold... "Planted in our starkly muted garden". Hopefully, that sounded slightly bizarre/unnatural - even in in a Florida accent So, read it again: "Planted in our starkly muted garden" That should sound less wierd - merely an exaggeration of the way it would normally sound when read aloud. (If not, maybe you should be asking Mulder and Scully for advice ) That pattern (assuming you repeat it throughout the poem) is called trochaic pentameter. Pentameter, because there are five feet (trochees) in the line. Trochaic, because each trochee (foot) has two syllables (Planted / in our / starkly / muted / garden), with the emphasis on the first syllable of each foot. You don't have to use the traditional name - you could call it 'trop', or 125, or even Amanda, if that appeals. Whatever fixes it in your frontal cortex. Why did I decide it was Amanda, and not Damon or Marigold? The line has five beats/stresses, and each stressed alternates with an unstressed. Basic mathematics. Ten syllables, five stressed, five not. It's an alternating pattern, so five pairs of syllables = five feet = pentameter. There are four types of foot comprising 2 syllables. A trochee goes : stressed - unstressed. An iamb : unstressed - stressed. The other two are generally used as 'variations' (we don't want to go there yet - variations are just too subversive) So, it's trochaic. If all that makes sense, seek psychotherapy before it's too late. If not, slap me - then tell me where I messed up. The second line - "A withered citrus tree does execute" What is that (metrically speaking)? Either: Trochaic (2 syllables, first stressed, second unstressed) or Iambic (2 syllables, first unstressed, second stressed) If you can't decide, try the 'bold alternate syllable' approach, and read it aloud. One version should sound relatively normal, the other like a demented goth on 'medication'. (Hey, I have nothing against goths - some of my best friends were goths etc.) and either: Pentameter - (5 feet per line) or Tetrameter - (4 feet per line) Ok - it's safe to wake up. [I'm sure someone will soon tell me/you if I've indulged in misrepresentation here - either that or they'll be terminally stoned and giggling hysterically at your misfortune confident shrug ]
Colleen Sperry 622 posts	on Sep. 20 2008 thank you so much for your help.. as for the next line.. Its not the same pattern as the first is it.. ... well.. think I see what happened.. I think that next line is unstressed then stressed.. (am I right??)... I have so much to learn!! thank you for the lesson.. lets see if I can put it to use now!! ...
Laura doomfrom The Divided Queendom Associate, 1336 posts	inspired from Colleen on Sep. 20 2008 Colleen: No, it's not the same. And yes, it is essentially five pairs of unstressed/stressed syllables - so it's iambic. Iambic...what? In practice, there are frequent irregularities to be found within individual lines of poetry. Example - "Planted in our starkly muted garden". 'in' & 'our' are not usually given particular emphasis, so neither is strictly counted as a 'stressed' syllable. That's a common occurence when using stuff like prepositions (in), determiners (our), pronouns, articles etc. They're often neccesary for conveying meaning, but really they are merely grammatical accessories used to connect and qualify the 'meat' of the poem - imagery, ideas, humour, irony, pathos & whatever else the writer wants to indulge in. It's the nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs that make an impression on the reader - and they also generally determine the basic pattern of meter. In the same way that a pattern of 'trochaic' lines results in a 'trochaic' poem, so a pattern of trochaic feet produces a trochaic line. Exceptions (variations) are just that - exceptions to a predominant form. It's the overall impression of sounds that determines/identifies the metrical form. So, ignoring the accessories (and forgetting about the meaning), 'Planted starkly muted garden' represents the trochaic metrical pattern, and the two unstressed syllables (in & our) are just 'fillers', as far as meter is concerned. However, when reading that line, the 'fillers' don't significantly detract from the rhythmic quality of the line, so they are our friends, and we must respect and accept these subversive little ~~bastards~~ variations. That variation - a foot of two unstressed syllables - is called a pyrrhus. Variations can be useful - for intentionally introducing subtle changes in rhythm, so it would be misleading to say that a pyrrhic foot is just a 'filler' (unless the variation doesn't work - in which case it qualifies as an authentic 'f' word). Removing 'accessory' words can restore a line's meter. Example - "For the frigid cold of Winter's nearing woes" (S3 L1 - Lush Dreams) 'the' - the definite article - could be removed without changing the meaning, and the line would scan as perfect iambic pentameter. 'for' - a conjunction - could be removed instead, though that would change the meaning, by omitting an implied connection with the previous stanza. Tell me when it's time to hush my mouth
Colleen Sperry 622 posts	on Sep. 21 2008 no.. thank you for sharing! its a lot of information for my little brain to absorb all at once... so I'll be sure to be re reading this often! .. can you suggest a few poems that I could read as examples?? I know. I ask for too much ...
Laura doomfrom The Divided Queendom Associate, 1336 posts	inspired from Colleen on Sep. 21 2008 " ...can you suggest a few poems that I could read as examples?? I know. I ask for too much ... " Am I right in recalling that you have a copy of Leanne's 'Odd Verse Effects' Colleen?
Colleen Sperry 622 posts	on Sep. 21 2008 yes, of course... hand hitting forehead thank you Laura.. bye

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