RHYTHM Rhythm is the beat and the pace of words in a piece of writing.
Dec 26, 2015
RHYTHM
Rhythm is the beat and
the pace of words in a
piece of writing.
The ordinary form of written language.
(Poetry, drama and songs are not considered forms of prose.)
Unlikely to have a regular pattern, but sometimes it contains a recognizable
tempo.
PROSE
RHYTHM
Poetry has rhythm called the metric pattern.
The metric pattern is similar to the beat of music in that it uses the syllables in the words falling at regular intervals.
Rhythm is established in a few different ways by using tools.
FOOTThere are different
types of feet within poetry.
Each foot contains a set number of stressed and unstressed syllables.
Feet combine together to create a line of poetry.
FEET
The different feet create different paces because unaccented syllables do not take as long to say as accented syllables.
A line of poetry containing mostly unaccented syllables would have a faster pace.
A line of poetry containing mostly accented syllables would have a slower pace.
TYPES OF FEETName Iambic Trochaic Dactylic Anapestic
Pronunciation
Eye AMB TRO key DACK til an uh PEST
Sounds like
Ocean waves
Muffled drums
Horses galloping
Horses galloping
Number and type of sounds
1 heavy; 1 light
1 heavy; 1 light
2 light; 1 heavy
2 light; 1 heavy
Used for Lighter Grief Humor and adventure
Humor and adventure
Accents de DUM DUM de DUM de de
de de DUM
Symbols u / / u / u u u u /
EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT FEET
Iambic Trochaic Anapestic Dactylic
de DUM DUM de de de DUM DUM de de
u /to DAY
/ uCOM ing
u u /un a WARE
/ u uVIC tor ies
u /a WAY
/ uBASE ball
u u /lem on
ADE
/ u u
BEAU ti ful
DETERMINING METER
Once you have determined what type of foot is being used, you will then be able to determine the meter of the poem.
After every foot, place a vertical line and then count the number of feet listed within the line.
The number of feet within each line will determine the meter of the poem
METER
Number of feet
Name Pronunciation
1 foot Monometer mo NOM e ter
2 feet Dimeter DIM e ter
3 feet Trimeter TRIM e ter
4 feet Tetrameter te TRAM e ter
5 feet Pentameter pen TAM e ter
6 feet Hexameter hex AM e ter
7 feet Heptameter hep TAM e ter
8 feet Octameter oc TAM e ter
9 feet Nonameter no NAM e ter
HOW TO REMEMBER THE METER
Mono- means one. For example a monologue has only
one speaker
Di- means two. Remember when you cut something in
two you are dissecting.
Tri- means three. A tricycle has three wheels and a
triangle has three sides.
Penta- means five. The Pentagon in Washington has
five sides.
Oct- means eight. An octopus has eight legs.
Inversion occurs when the beat within a line may change or vary.
Inversion occurs for 2 reasons:
1. The poet was unable to find a word that fit with the meter and foot
2. They changed the meter and foot for emphasized effect
If inversion is used to often, it loses all effect.
INVERSION
CAESURAA short pause which can take the place of an unaccented syllable.
It CANNOT be used in the place of an accented syllable because the pause would be too long.
Pausing at a comma or end of the sentence is normal, and when it occurs within a line, it is called a Caesura.
Ex: Oh CAN’T you STAY ? STAY and PLAY. U / U / U / U /
DETERMINE THE METER
It’s Christmas Eve and there in splendor bright
It’s Christmas Eve and there in splendor brightIt’s Christmas Eve and there in splendor brightU / U / U / U / U /