The Art and Science of Poetic Rhythm and Meter

• Report rights infringement
• published: 24 Jun 2014
• views: 8936

If you missed anything, just read the mini-blog on poetic rhythm and meter below! This video is called "The Art and Science of Using Poetic Rhythm and Meter". To learn how to use rhythm in your writing, the best place to start is with the science of meter, which over time, translates into an art form. Learning Rhythm is like using the golden ratio in paintings like Leonardo da Vinci did. It's also similar to learning to box or ground fight. When you learn any martial art, it starts rigidly and scientifically, as you learn each move step by step. Once it's muscle memory however, it becomes an actual art. So keep that in mind as you learn how to use meter — it starts rigidly with a scientific and almost mathematical approach, but once it becomes muscle memory, it undergoes metamorphosis, emerging as the art of rhythm. Examples of meter: Iamb - an iamb consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.This is the most common form of meter and can have a bit of a bouncy feel to it. From Shakespeare's hamlet: "To BE or NOT to BE, that IS the QUEStion." ( Read How the meter is stressed.) Pyrrhic - a pyrrhic is a foot with two unstressed syllables. This rhythmic pattern formed the basis of an identically named Ancient Greek war dance. Alfred Lord Tennyson used both pyrrhic and spondee extensively. This example is from his poem "In Memoriam A.H.H" : When the blood creeps and the nerves prick. But not everyone liked it. This is what Edgar Allen Poe had to say about pyrrhic meter: "The pyrrhic is rightfully dismissed. Its existence in either ancient or modern rhythm is purely chimerical, and the insisting on so perplexing a nonentity as a foot of two short syllables, affords, perhaps, the best evidence of the gross irrationality and subservience to authority which characterise our Prosody." Spondee - a spondee is a metrical foot consisting of two long syllables. The word comes from the Greek σπονδή, spondē, which means "libation": A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid as an offering to a god or spirit or in memory of those who have died. This line from Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida has two spondees right at the beginning: "Cry, cry! Troy burns, or else let Helen go." Trochee - a foot with a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable is a trochee. longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha contains the perfect example of Trochee: Should you ask me, whence these stories? Whence these legends and traditions, With the odours of the forest, With the dew and damp of meadows, Another great example is again, from William Shakespeare: Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble Anapest - an anapest consists of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable. The following is from Byron's The Destruction of Sennacherib: The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee. Dactyl - a dactyl consists of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. From Robert Browning's The Lost Leader: Just for a handful of silver he left us Just for a riband to stick in his coat The last thought I'd like to leave you with is this. When you first start writing with meter, it'll feel unnatural, and many writers never learn the art of rhythm because they reject the scientific approach of meter. I just want to encourage you to push through the severe inflexibility of meter in the same way you would if you were learning to play piano, or the guitar — good art always begins with the harsh discipline of technique. But once it becomes muscle memory, you can write freely and instinctively, and your rhythm will flow naturally. And that's it — if you learned something, support this channel by liking and commenting below, and don't be shy — subscribe if you want to watch more videos like this!

The Art and Science of Poetic Rhythm and Meter

• Report rights infringement
• published: 24 Jun 2014
• views: 8936

If you missed anything, just read the mini-blog on poetic rhythm and meter below! This video is called "The Art and Science of Using Poetic Rhythm and Meter". To learn how to use rhythm in your writing, the best place to start is with the science of meter, which over time, translates into an art form. Learning Rhythm is like using the golden ratio in paintings like Leonardo da Vinci did. It's also similar to learning to box or ground fight. When you learn any martial art, it starts rigidly and scientifically, as you learn each move step by step. Once it's muscle memory however, it becomes an actual art. So keep that in mind as you learn how to use meter — it starts rigidly with a scientific and almost mathematical approach, but once it becomes muscle memory, it undergoes metamorphosis, emerging as the art of rhythm. Examples of meter: Iamb - an iamb consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.This is the most common form of meter and can have a bit of a bouncy feel to it. From Shakespeare's hamlet: "To BE or NOT to BE, that IS the QUEStion." ( Read How the meter is stressed.) Pyrrhic - a pyrrhic is a foot with two unstressed syllables. This rhythmic pattern formed the basis of an identically named Ancient Greek war dance. Alfred Lord Tennyson used both pyrrhic and spondee extensively. This example is from his poem "In Memoriam A.H.H" : When the blood creeps and the nerves prick. But not everyone liked it. This is what Edgar Allen Poe had to say about pyrrhic meter: "The pyrrhic is rightfully dismissed. Its existence in either ancient or modern rhythm is purely chimerical, and the insisting on so perplexing a nonentity as a foot of two short syllables, affords, perhaps, the best evidence of the gross irrationality and subservience to authority which characterise our Prosody." Spondee - a spondee is a metrical foot consisting of two long syllables. The word comes from the Greek σπονδή, spondē, which means "libation": A libation is a ritual pouring of a liquid as an offering to a god or spirit or in memory of those who have died. This line from Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida has two spondees right at the beginning: "Cry, cry! Troy burns, or else let Helen go." Trochee - a foot with a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable is a trochee. longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha contains the perfect example of Trochee: Should you ask me, whence these stories? Whence these legends and traditions, With the odours of the forest, With the dew and damp of meadows, Another great example is again, from William Shakespeare: Double, double, toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble Anapest - an anapest consists of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable. The following is from Byron's The Destruction of Sennacherib: The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee. Dactyl - a dactyl consists of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. From Robert Browning's The Lost Leader: Just for a handful of silver he left us Just for a riband to stick in his coat The last thought I'd like to leave you with is this. When you first start writing with meter, it'll feel unnatural, and many writers never learn the art of rhythm because they reject the scientific approach of meter. I just want to encourage you to push through the severe inflexibility of meter in the same way you would if you were learning to play piano, or the guitar — good art always begins with the harsh discipline of technique. But once it becomes muscle memory, you can write freely and instinctively, and your rhythm will flow naturally. And that's it — if you learned something, support this channel by liking and commenting below, and don't be shy — subscribe if you want to watch more videos like this!