Rhythm and Meter in Poetry

This article discusses the aspect of rhythm and meter in English poetry.

Poetry is a very structured language. Most of the time, poets follow a discernible, fixed pattern when writing a poem. This often involves repeating a fixed number of words and syllables.

For example, just read Shakespeare’s poems, especially his sonnets. You will discover that each line of his poems contains ten syllables.

Remember the definition of a syllable? Check here if you don't:

What a syllable is

But Shakespeare does more than just repeat a fixed number of syllables in each line. He follows a pattern known as the iambic pentameter. In this pattern, he alternates the syllables in a pattern of stressed and unstressed or weak and strong.

Now, before we proceed, let me explain a few terms that I’ve heard poets using.

Remember I said that poetry can be measured? Yes it can. But please don’t take your ruler!

I simply mean that we can determine the structure and pattern of repetition that the poet uses.

First thing you have to know is that the smallest unit in a poem is the syllable, not the word. It goes without saying that sometimes a word can consist of only one syllable.

Next comes the Foot. A foot is the combination of two or more syllables.

Now we can get to the Meter. The number of  syllables in a foot determines its meter.

A foot with two syllables, depending on the stress, can be an iambic, trochaic, or spondaic meter.

An iambic meter consists of a combination one weak syllable and one strong syllable, the weak syllable going first.  In short, an iambic meter sounds like this:

taDA

You got that, huh?

Good. Let us proceed.

In a trochaic meter, the strong syllable goes first. In other words:

DAta

And in a spondaic, both syllables are stressed. So, it goes like:

DADA

There is also what is known as Pyrrhic meter. This meter contains two syllables, both of which are unstressed. So, it goes like:

tata

Now let us get to the three syllable feet.

A foot with three syllables can either be an Anapestic or a dactylic meter.

An anapestic consists of two unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. More like:

tataDA

A Dactylic meter consists of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. It sounds like this:

DAtata

A poet can choose any one of these meters to use in his poems. The pattern she follows will be named according to the number of meters in the line.

For example, if she uses the trochaic meter, and decides to include three of them in each line, then the pattern she is using is the trochaic triameter. So her poem will sound like this:

Data Data Data

Remember Shakespeare’s Iambic Pentameter? Why is it called thus?

Simple.

Shakespeare uses the Iambic meter in his poems. He includes five of these in each of his lines. Since each iambic meter consists of two feet, the poem is ten feet long. It sounds like this:

taDA taDA taDa taDA taDa

Now as you read these lines, you will discover that there is a consistent repetitive beat. This is what is known as rhythm. It is that constant pattern in the sound.

For you to write poems using any of these metric patterns or a combination of them, you have to learn to understand that the English language has a timing to it: the stressed syllables take a bit longer to enunciate than the unstressed ones.

But unfortunately, that is not as easy as it sounds, and for those of us for whom English is a second language, it is next to impossible.

Wait, did I say impossible?

I was just kidding. It can be done. You can actually become sensitive to the stress timed nature of the English language. However, you must be willing to die a little.

Firstly, read a lot of poetry. Shakespeare is always a good start. Read it aloud, trying to sense the stress. Tap out each syllable as you go along and try to sense where you tap harder.

Yes, practise, practise and PRACTISE more. Read and write until you get it right. Don't give up....

It would also help out if you get a dictionary which shows stress i.e. which syllable in a word is stressed.

But allow me to get back to the reading part. There is simply no better way. The more you read, the more sensitive you will become to stress and writing even in the iambic pentameter will be a breeze, and fun too.

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