Wstęp do literaturoznawstwa 2

METER

METER: a set of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line; a characteristic device of poetry.

ACCENTUAL

• counting only stressed syllables in a line •Caesura placed only in the middle of the line • standard OE meter • makes the poetry sound more formal and elevated • e.g., Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

ACCENTUAL-SYLLABIC

• counting stressed and unstressed syllables in a line • variety of places for caesura • standard after Chaucer (14th c.) • makes use of metrical feet, either duple (two-syllable) or triple (three-syllable)

POPULAR METRICAL FEET

DUPLE; TRIPLE

DUPLE

More popular; give the effect of naturalness and vivacity Iamb: an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one Trochee: a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one; usually used in a truncated (irregular) form Spondee: two stressed syllables

TRIPLE

Rare, unusual; create either a comical or solemn effect Anapest: two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed one Dactyl: a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones

RHYTHM

sprung rhythm: an irregular rhythm used by GM. Hopkins; adds unstressed syllables to metrical feet in a particular poem

POPULAR METRICAL LINES

TETRAMETER; PENTAMETER

TETRAMETER

•Consists of four metrical feet •Older form, natural for accentual meter •Musical, popular in songs, ballads • e.g., Tell me not, in mournful numbers, /H.W. Longfellow/

PENTAMETER

•Often employed by poets in variations • e.g., Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? /W. Shakespeare/

POPULAR METRICAL LINES

TETRAMETER; PENTAMETER

STANZA:

STANZA: a unit of poetry made of a particular number of verses; an equivalent of prose paragraph

Popular stanzaic forms:

Couplet: two-verse stanza; frequent conclusion of a sonnet Quatrain: four-verse stanza Sestet: six-line stanza; used, e.g., in Petrarchan sonnet as a reflexive part

Popular stanzaic forms:

Rime royal: seven-line stanza, rhyming ababbcc, in five-foot verse; gives comic effect; can be worked into narrative Octave: eight-line stanza; allows to build reflection, description or a scene

Popular stanzaic forms:

Spenserian stanza: nine-line stanza, rhyming ababbcbcc, 8 lines in five-foot verse, the last one contains 6 feet; appeared in 16th c.; e.g., Faerie Queene

RHYME

RHYME: the duplication of sounds, usually at the end of a line of verse

Feminine rhyme:

Feminine rhyme: stress falls on the penultimate syllable (baby-maybe)

Masculine rhyme:

Masculine rhyme: stress falls on the last syllable (intrude-include)