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I
Situation 2.
A boy works hard for two years at after school jobs so he can buy
the one thing he wants most in the world-a motorcycle. He finally
manages to buy one, takes it out for a ride, and is killed when it skids
off the road.
The same kind of ironic reversal can then be discussed in such poems as "KnowIt Boheimer" by Edgar
Lee Masters (in which a young man runs away to join the army in order to avoid being jailed and is immedi-
ately killed in a battle), "Dust" by Sydney King Russell (in which a housewife who has fought dust all her
life dies and turns into dust), or e. e. cummings' "Nobody Loses All the Time" (in which a man who
attempts-and fails at-all sorts of farming finally dies and succeeds in running a worm farm).
You can point out to students that the irony of situation in some poems results not from a reversal of
a particular character's expectations about a situation but from an upsetting of our own expectations about
the way life ought to be. Sarah Cleghorn's brief poem "The Golf Links," which describes children forced
to work in a factory looking out to see men playing at golf, is a fine example of this type of irony of
situation.
Meter
Definition: A regular pattern of sound within the poem. This pattern is
identified by (a) the number of feet within each line (the number of stressed
syllables within each line) and (b) the type of foot consistently employed in
each line (the type of regular alternation of each stressed syllable with a certain
number of unstressed syllables).
Terms used to indicate the number of feet per line:
manometer-one foot (one stressed syllable) per line
dimeter-two feet (two stressed syllables) per line
trimeter-three feet (three stressed syllables) per line
tetrameter-four feet (four stressed syllables) per line
pentameter-five feet (five stressed syllables) per line
hexameter-six feet (six stressed syllables) per line
heptameter-seven feet (seven stressed syllables) per line
octameter-eight feet (eight stressed syllables) per line
Terms used to indicate the type of foot consistently employed:
iambic-each stressed syllable is preceded by an unstressed one
v / V./
(to-night; re-ceive)
'-'/1..1./ \.1/ \.1/
example: I-am-bics march from short to long.
trochaic-each stressed syllable is followed by an unstressed one
./ u /.1..1
(sim p-Iy ; dai-Iy)
./ LI /. v /' v/
example: Tro-chee trips from long to short.
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anapestic-each stressed syllable is preceded by two unstressed ones
.V lJ /" V V ",.
(m-ter-cept; sab-o-teur)
vv/' vv /" LlV
example: With a leap and a bound the swift
/"v v /"
An a pests truong.
dactylic-each stressed syllable is followed by two unstressed ones
~ v / vV
(an-I-mal; cap-a-ble)
/\..IV /' LI V / V
example: Ev-er to come up with Dac-tyl
v /. v'-'
tri-syll-a-ble.
Discussion: Only rarely does a poem retain a perfectly regular rhythmic
pattern throughout. Frequent small variations in the pattern of alternating
stressed and unstressed syllables provide variety of sound and allow emphasis
at certain points in the poem. The length of line may also occasionally vary,
a tetrameter line and hexameter one replacing two pentameters, for example.
In indicating the meter of a poem we are merely indicating the basic pattern of
sound in the poem, realizing that variations in this pattern will generally occur.
Other ways of measuring and constructing metrical patterns can be used.
The poet Marianne Moore, for example, constructed lines so they would con-
tain a set number of syllables, regardless of stresses. Gerard Manley Hopkins
employed a sprung rhythm in which the stressed syllables are frequently jammed
against each other in the line and the number of unstressed syllables in each line
constantly varies.
Identifying Stressed Syllables
In order to identify, or even to hear, the meter of a poem the student needs first to be able to identi:':
the stressed and unstressed syllables in multi-syllable words. In effect, then, students must be able to ider:-
tify the metrical pattern of each word before they can identify the metrical pattern of a line. If your stu-
dents are unable to do this, you will have to begin your study of meter with exercises on marking stressed
syllables in words. Dictionaries are of only very limited usefulness for such exercises. Students need to be
able to hear the stresses within words. Yet each individual may hear a stressed syllable differently. To 50::-
it will sound louder, to others longer or slower, to still others higher in pitch than the other syllables in a
word. The problem is compounded by the fact that a few students will be unable to distinguish any diffe:--
ences between stressed and unstressed syllables. (For such students you can point to words like "record"
or "object" which change their meaning depending on which syllable you stress when you pronounce the
word.)
Because of these individual differences you might need to show students several ways of listening for
a stressed syllable. You could, for example, have the class clap out the beat of several words, clapping
louder and longer for the stressed syllables. If you (or your students) have a guitar or other musical instru-
ment which can be brought to class, you can demonstrate how a stressed syllable causes a rise in pitch:
J
~
J
/"
de - light ful
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./
A mer ca, A mer ca
'\10stimportantly,studentscan pronouncewordsaloud togetherslowly,givingparticularlystrongempha-
sis tothestressedsyllables,untilstudents'earsbecomeattuned tothechangesinbothrhythmandpitch
which accompanyastressedsyllable.
If youaregoingtoemphasizethetechnicalvocabularyofprosody-ifyouexpectstudentstobe able
ro distinguishbetweeniambicand trochaicmeters,forexample-youcan save time andconfusion byintro-
ducing thesetechnicaltennsimmediatelyin these exercises. Thatis,insteadofmerelyaskingstudentsto
pointoutthestressedandunstressedsyllablesina word,youmightadditionallyask them toidentifythe
'Kord as eitheriambic, dactylic, trochaic,and so on.
DeterminingtheMeterof aPoem
Oncestudentscan identifythestresses in multi-syllablewordstheycanbegin toworkoutthemeter
l21 actuallines. Thefollowing rulesfor determiningstressesinaline will behelpfultothematthis point:
Rule 1. Amulti-syllableword will alwaysretainitsusualstresspattern.
Rule 2. An unstressed syllablelocatedbetween twootherunstressedsyllables
willbecomestressed.
/'.u v<'d
Example: caut-lOUS catsarrwe becomes
",.V /' v/, d
caut-lOuscatsarrwe
Rule 3. Inaseriesofsingle syllable words,everysecond wordisgenerally
stressed.
v/" U/"V",V /'
Example: The dogs thatbay, thecatsthatmew.
Rule 4. Stressimportantwordsas dictatedbythe sense ofthepoem. Ignore
rules 2and3iftheyresultinstressing unimportantwords(articles,
prepositions)ratherthankey words (nouns,pronouns,verbs).
Example: JackandJill wentupthehill.
Sincerule3 wouldresultinastresspatternthatemphasizes
unimportantwords,like this-
\...; ", v"", v/ u
JackandJill wentup thehill-
we canpretendthereisaninvisible syllab1e beforethename
Jack-
~ V V
( V ) Jack andJillwentup thehill-
thusshiftingthestresses tomoreofthe key words.
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Youcan demonstratetostudentshowtheserulescanhelp themscan (determinethemeterof)a
Hereis anexampleofhowthis processworks. Usingtheselinesfrom "MeetingatNight"by Robert
Browning-
The gray sea andthelongblackland;
Andtheyellow half-moonlarge andlow;
Andthestartledlittle waves thatleap
In fiery ringlets from theirsleep...-
we lookfirst atmulti-syllablewordsin the poem,since thesewords(rule I)alwaysretaintheirusual
patterns. Partofthemetricalpatterncanthusbeestablished from thesewords:
The grayseaandthelongblackland;
/.v /. v
Andthe yell-owhalf-moonlarge andlow;
/' v .... v
Andthe star-tIedlit-tIewaves thatleap
T ft'v v . ./ IV -I' h' l
J.n l-er-y nng- ets,romt elrseep...
We cannowapplyrule 2tothewords "large"inline 2, "waves"inline3,and "from"in line4,
eachoftheseis anas yetunstressedsyllablelocatedbetweentwo otherunstressedones. We place stn
oneachofthese words:
.l':v A v /'
Andtheyell-owhalf-moonlargeandlow;
./ v ./v ./
Andthestar-tlealit-tle waves thatleap
/vv v/,.
In fl-er-y nng-letsfrom thewsleep...
We nextapplyrule3andstressevery secondwordin aseriesofsingle syllablewords:
V/'V/' v/, v/'
Thegray seaandtIielongblackland;
vf'" /.v./. v/, u/
Andtheyell-ow half-moonlarge andlow;
v/,./ V ..... 1.,.1 /' V ./
Andthestar-tledlit-tle waves thatleap
v /'v v /' V ..... v..t
In fi-er-y ring-lets from theirsleep...
However,wesee thatinlines 2and3this resultsin placingtwo stressed syllablestogether-
v /' L V
Andtheyell-ow...
v ..... ,/ v
Andthestar-tIed...
and moreoverviolatesrule4,whichstatesthatthestressesshouldbeonimportantwords. We thusre
the stressesfrom thewords "the"in bothlines,allowingbothlinestobeginwithtwounstressedsyllal
v v /' u
Andtheyell-ow...
v V ./ V
Andthe star-tIed...
Thisarrangementseems correct,sinceitcreatesan equalnumber ofstressed syllables-orfeet-inall tl
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However, one last change seems necessary. Oneofthekey wordsin the firstline-"sea"-isunstressed
while theunimportantword "and"isstressed. Followingrule 4,we shiftthe stress tothe more important
word, andourscansionis complete:
v/ /vV'.;' V /
The gray sea and the long black land;
1,...1\.//1./ /,v / v.;'
And the yellow half-moon large and low;
v V ,., v /v / v /'
And the startled little waves that leap
v !"Vl,J -(" V ./ V ./
In fIery rmglets from their sleep . ..
We cannow see thatan interesting-andunusual,rhythmicpatternexistsin the poem. While every
line is consistentlytetrameter,two patternsoffeetoccurregularlyinthe poem-iambicand anapestic.
(Eachanapestisindicatedby squarebracketsbelow,eachiambicby parentheses.) Anunusual spondee--
twostressedsyllablesoccuringtogether-alsooccursin thefirst line.
(The gray) sea [and the long] (black land);
[And the yell (ow half)-(moon large) (and low);
[And the star] (tied lit) (tie waves) (that leap)
(In fi) [ery ring] (lets from) (their sleep) . ..
Inplacingametricallabelonsuchapoem,should we callitiambicoranapestic? Becauseiambicis
consideredthe normalmeterofEnglishspeech,weshould probablylabelthe poemas anapestic. Thatis,
sincethe iambicfeet are considered tooccurnaturally,whiletheanapesticonesare carefullycontrivedby
the poet,we should probablystresstheartfulaspectsofthe meterinourlabel.
Writing Number Poems
Thisis notapoetry-writingactivityassuchbutis ratheragroupactivitywhichcanbe used withstu-
dentsofall abilitylevelstointroducetherelationship ofsoundand sense. Tobegintheexercise,list the
numbers 5,6,7, 10, 11, 12, 19, 20,and 21 ontheboard,andpointouttotheclass thatwhenpronounced
iloudthesenumbersrepresent I-syllable, 2-syllable,and3-syllablesounds. Thenask studentstowritea
Joem, usingonly theseninenumbersandanypunctuationtheydesire,thathassomebasicunderlyingidea
)f emotionbehindit. (By havingstudentsuse onlynumbersin theirpoems,youcanensure thatthey focus
mlyonsound,ignoringsense for the moment.) You mightgive them thefollowingmodel toshow them
,"hat youmean;thisstudentnumberpoem is basedon theideaofsomeonegettingstuckand suddenly
reeinghim orherself:
5,6,
5,6,
5...
6?
7!
When eachstudenthaswrittenanumberpoem,turnbackto thenumbersontheboardandask the
ass to supplytwo wordsto representeachnumber,theonlyrequirementbeingthatthe wordsmustbe
nilarin syllable countandstresspatternto thenumberstheyreplace. (Sev-en, forexample,couldbe
presentedbylis-ten orlight-ning butnotbywild orre-new.) When youtell thestudentsthatthesewords
11 be used toreplaceall thenumbersinthe poemsthey'vejustwritten,theirinterestin this taskwill
obablybeintense,sinceeveryonewill feel someinvestmentinwhatwordswill be chosen. As wordsare
[led out,askforconfirmationofthe choices,andifthereis generalagreement,writethewordsnextto
appropriatenumbers.