Poetic Meter Iamb (Iambic) ̌ ʹ Trochee (Trochaic) ʹ ̌

Presentation on theme: "Poetic Meter Iamb (Iambic) ̌ ʹ Trochee (Trochaic) ʹ ̌"— Presentation transcript:

1 Poetic Meter Iamb (Iambic) ̌ ʹ Trochee (Trochaic) ʹ ̌
That time of year thou mayst in me behold ---Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare Trochee (Trochaic) ʹ ̌ TY ger TY ger BURNning BRIGHT --"The Tyger," by William Blake

2 Poetic Meter Iamb (Iambic) ̌ ʹ That time of year thou mayst in me behold Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare Trochee (Trochaic) ʹ ̌ TY ger TY ger BURNning BRIGHT "The Tyger," by William Blake Anapest (Anapestic) ̌ ̌ ʹ The As SYRian came DOWN like the WOLF on the FOLD "The Destruction of Sennacherib“ Lord Byron Dactyl (Dactylic) ʹ ̌ ̌ This is the forest primeval, the murmuring pines and the hemlock Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Spondee (Spondaic) ʹ ʹ Pyrrhic ̌ ̌

3 Meter meter: a poem’s pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. Meter is generally described by the dominant foot of the poem and the number of times the foot is typically repeated in a line of the poem. For example, a poem that generally has an iambic foot (˘’) repeated five times (pentameter) in a line of poetry uses iambic pentameter (˘’/˘’/˘’/˘’/˘’). Blank verse is unrhymed iambic pentameter.

4 Poetic line length Monometer One Foot Dimeter Two Feet
Trimeter Three Feet Tetrameter Four Feet Pentameter Five Feet Hexameter Six Feet Heptameter Seven Feet Octameter Eight Feet

5 Stanza stanza: A group of lines, generally (but not always) separated by a blank line or space. Stanza types are often denoted by the number of lines in the stanza: couplet (2) triplet (3) quatrain (4) quintet (5) sestet (6) septet (7) octave(8)

6 Sonnets 14 line lyric Single stanza Iambic pentameter line
Intricate rhyme scheme Common themes of love, desire, and death Diversity of sonnet models: Italian (Petrarchan), English (Shakespearean), and Spenserian

7 Italian/Petrarchan Sonnet
Named for Petrarch 2 main units Octave—eight line section—rhyming abbaabba Sestet—six line section—rhyming cdecde or variation (e.g. cdccdc) Octave presents problem or poses scenario that is answered or resolved in sestet Becomes imitated in English by Milton, Wordsworth, and Rossetti

8 Sonnet 7: “ON HIS BEING ARRIVED AT THE AGE OF 23” by John Milton
HOW soon hath time, the subtle thief of youth, a     Stolen on his wing my three and twentieth year! b     My hasting days fly on with full career, b     But my late spring no bud or blossom sheweth. a Perhaps my semblance might deceive the truth, a     That I to manhood am arrived so near, b     And inward ripeness doth much less appear b     That some more timely happy spirits indueth. a Yet be it less or more, or soon or slow, c     It shall be still in strictest measure even d     To that same lot however mean or high, e Toward which time leads me and the will of heaven. d     All is, if I have grace to use it so, c     As ever in my great taskmaster's eye. e

9 Nature by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
As a fond mother, when the day is o'er, A Leads by the hand her little child to bed, B Half willing, half reluctant to be led, B And leave his broken playthings on the floor, A Still gazing at them through the open door, A Nor wholly reassured and comforted B By promises of others in their stead, B Which, though more splendid, may not please him more; A So Nature deals with us, and takes away C Our playthings one by one, and by the hand D Leads us to rest so gently, that we go E Scarce knowing if we wish to go or stay, C Being too full of sleep to understand D How the unknown transcends the what we know. E

10 Nature explained The octave (the"vehicle" of the simile) establishes the images that are paralleled in the sestet (the "tenor" of the simile). In the opening octave, the image is that of a “fond mother” leading to bed a reluctant child, who gazes at his broken toys, wondering if he will like the things that will replace them as much as them. Longfellow's Nature, Journal article by Harold Aspiz; The Explicator, Vol. 42, 1983

11 Nature In the second octave, the speaker parallels the images in the tenor of the simile. So Nature [in age] deals with us, and takes away /Our playthings one by one, and … Leads us to rest [death]so gently, that we go Scarce knowing if we wish to go or stay, Being too full of sleep to understand How the unknown [afterlife] transcends the what we know.

12 English Sonnet Also known as Shakespearean sonnet
Three quatrains (4 line poetic section) with a final couplet abab cdcd efef gg Each quatrain presents a view of a problem The final couplet presents an epigrammatic thought or conclusion

13 Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? A Thou art more lovely and more temperate: B Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, A And summer's lease hath all too short a date: B Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, C And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; D And every fair from fair sometime declines, C By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd; D But thy eternal summer shall not fade E Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; F Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, E When in eternal lines to time thou growest: F So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, G So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. G

14 William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18
English sonnet Beloved more lovely than a summer’s day Beloved does not fade Endurance of poetry

15 Sonnet 18 explained In the first quatrain, the speaker establishes the conceit: he is comparing his beloved to a summer’s day, focusing on temperance and endurance.

16 Sonnet 18 The second quatrain develops the concept that summer is not temperate or enduring; sometimes it is too hot and unpredictable, as “fair from fair declines by chance” (foul weather) or nature’s changing course (in the course of the seasons, summer leads to fall).

17 Sonnet 18 The third quatrain begins with “[b]ut,” shifting the focus to how the beloved is more temperate and eternal, stating that “for thy eternal summer shall not fade.” But thy eternal summer shall not fade E Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; F Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, E When in eternal lines to time thou growest: F

18 Sonnet Great diversity of form and subject matter
Initially about love and courtship Becomes used to address religious, political, and personal issues Can be presented as occasional poem—poems that memorialize or celebrate specific day or occasion Can be presented in sequence

19 Sonnet 18 The final couplet asserts the main thought in an epigram:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. In other words, as long as this sonnet survives, he has immortalized his beloved in verse.

20 Stanza stanza: A group of lines, generally (but not always) separated by a blank line or space. Stanza types are often denoted by the number of lines in the stanza: couplet (2), triplet (3), quatrain, quintet, sestet, septet, octave) and by the rhyme scheme or other such characteristics.

21 Spenserian Sonnet Minor variation of English sonnet
Still thee quatrains and final couplet Quatrains linked by continuing rhyme abab bcbc cdcd ee

22 Foot foot: a foot is described variously as iambic (˘’) trochaic ( ‘˘)
anapestic (˘˘’) dactylic (’˘˘). The prefix for the meter denotes the number of repetitions (monometer, dimeter, tri-mester, tetrameter, pentameter, hexameter, heptameter, octometer).

23 Poetic features of sonnet
Conceits—yoking together of disparate concepts or images Metaphor—expression in which one kind of concept or activity is compared or applied to notably distinct kind of concept or activity (e.g. he’s a fox)

24 Poetic Features Apostrophe- an address to someone or something that does not hear the address. The address may be to a person who is absent or deceased or it may be to something inanimate or personified Metonymy—literal term for one concept or action is used to denote closely related concept or action (e.g. crown)

25 Poetic features of sonnet
Synecdoche—a part of concept or thing is used to denote the whole of concept or thing (40 head [of cattle]) Petrarchan conceit—conceits (extended metaphors, usually about women, love, and beauty) used in love poems that were original when Petrarch used them but became cliché when used by later English writers

26 Things we see in the sonnet
Organic form—internal form, structure, balance, and organization Conventions Stock characters—recognizably conventional figures Stock responses—recognizably conventional responses Stock situations—recognizably conventional settings

27 Things we see in the sonnet
Antitype—New Testament correlatives to Old Testament Types Blazon—Poetic technique in which individual (often woman) is imagined or portrayed by partitioning the body into specified metaphors; mock-heraldic descripton Bombast—pretentious, verbose, and inflated diction that is notably inappropriate to the matter it signifies

28 More poetic genres Dramatic Monologue—a lyric poem in which a single speaker (other than poet) addresses a distinct individual, who remains silent, in an identifiable situation to expose speaker’s character Lyric monologue—similar to dramatic monologue; lyric monologue in which focus is on speaker’s own arguments rather than revealing speakers character

29 More poetic genres Idyll—narrative verse that relies upon pastoral techniques

30 Reading Poetry Example from Paradise Lost do s av John asked whom to the prom Mary, the girl whom John asked to the prom, is a member of Key Club and Beta Club. subject verb do the Almighty Power [God] / Hurled him [Satan] down

31 Reading Poetry Example from Paradise Lost
"Him the almighty power  Hurled headlong flaming from the ethereal sky  With hideous ruin and combustion down  To bottomless perdition, there to dwell  In adamantine chains and penal fire,  Who durst defy the omnipotent to arms."

32 Reading Poetry Example from Paradise Lost
"Him the almighty power  Hurled headlong flaming from the ethereal sky  With hideous ruin and combustion down  To bottomless perdition, there to dwell  In adamantine chains and penal fire,  Who durst defy the omnipotent to arms.“ Who? (Subject) The Almighty Power [God] Did What? (verb) What did God do? Hurled To whom? Him [Satan}, Where? Down to the bottomless perdition Why? [Satan did] defy the Omnipotent [God] to arms When? (does not say)

33 Try asking the 6 Ws Who? (Subject) The Almighty Power [God]
Did What? (verb) What did God do? Hurled To whom? Him [Satan}, Where? Down to the bottomless perdition Why? [Satan did] defy the Omnipotent [God] to arms When? (does not say)

34 Ask- Under what condition? in adamantine [hard, inflexible] chains and penal [punishing] fire How? Headlong [pitched him headfirst], flaming from the ethereal sky with hideous ruin and combustion

35 Epigrams by Ben Franklin
There never was a good war nor a bad peace. Time is money. Love your neighbor, but don’t pull down your hedges. God helps them that help themselves. Fish and visitors smell after three days. Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life’s made of.

36 Epigram by Ben Franklin
The Body of B. Franklin, Printer; Like the Cover of an old Book, Its Contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Gilding, Lies here, Food for Worms. But the work shall not be wholly lost: ,

37 A Printer’s Epitaph (1728) cont.
For it will as he believ’d appear once more, In a new and more perfect Edition Corrected and amended By the Author. He was born Jan. 6, Died 17—

38 Francis Petrarch (1304-1374) Great Italian poet
Credited with creating sonnet Seeks to break from medieval learning and customs Writes on cusp of modernity Writes of desire for elusive woman dubbed Laura in Rime Sparse

39 Francis Petrarch (1304-1374) Humanistic training
Modern sense of alienation in world Documents diverse effects of his powerful love for Laura Struggles to reconcile earthly and spiritual love

40 Francis Petrarch (1304-1374) Sonnets have confessional tone
Adopts poetic conventions of Apollo pursuing Daphne Internal male poet revealed through physical descriptions of external female Petrarchan style becomes imitated and parodied by English sonneteers

41 Petrarch, “Sonnet” 1 Addresses reader and prospective reader
Poet seeking pity not pardon Ashamed to have received so much publicity Result of shame

42 Petrarch, Sonnet #3 “Taken” by Laura on anniversary of Christ’s death
Didn’t think he needed to protect himself from love on such a day Love finds him disarmed

43 Petrarch, Sonnet 61 Blesses time and place when 1st saw Laura
Blesses pain and wounds of love Blesses despair of lovel Blesses his own fame derived from sonnets

44 Petrarch, Sonnet 90 Laura used to have wild golden hair and bright eyes Laura used to walk as angel—divine on earth Would of love still bleeds even if such may no longer be true

45 Petrarch, Sonnet 333 To go to Laura’s grave Poet sick of living
Only business is to praise Laura Asks Laura may be by his side as he dies

46 Sir Philip Sidney Great English sonneteer Modifies sonnet
Writes lengthy sonnet sequence—Astrophil and Stella Also known for prose romances and literary criticism

47 Sidney, Sonnet 1 English sonnet Opening sonnet of Astrophil and Stella
Poet to relate his pain to give beloved pleasure Hoping she’ll read them His words want invention Struggling to write Muse tells him to look to his heart to write

48 Sidney, Sonnet 2 Variation of English sonnet rhyme scheme
Wounded by love Forced to agree to love’s decrees Tries to convince himself he’s happy as he documents his misery

49 Sidney, sonnet 7 English sonnet Stella’s eyes as nature’s chief works
Questions why her eyes so bright Offers different explanations

50 Sidney, sonnet 39 English sonnet Calls on sleep Sleep as balm
Sleep to calm his internal civil wars If he doesn’t sleep—Stella’s image to be livelier

51 Sidney, Sonnet 72 Variation on rhyme scheme of English sonnet
Addresses desire as old companion Must depart beloved—virtue? Attempts to banish desire—how?

52 William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18
English sonnet Beloved more lovely than a summer’s day Beloved does not fade Endurance of poetry

53 Shakespeare, Sonnet 73 English sonnet
Autumnal tone—autumnal time of life Glow of fire on ashes of youth Fire consumed by source of nourishment

54 Shakespeare, Sonnet 116 English sonnet
Attempt to define love/absence of love Does not alter Does not bend Ever-fixed mark Not time’s fool Lasts till edge of doom Witty epigrammatic closing couplet

55 Shakespeare, Sonnet 130 Anti-blazon Parodies Petrarchan conceits
Coral more red than beloved’s lips Snow far more white than beloved’s breasts Wire as hair Does the poet still uphold his lady?

56 Edmund Spenser, Sonnet 1 Taken from Amoretti Spenserian sonnet
Slight variation on English sonnet Continues one rhyme from each couplet Love/captivity Writes with tears Devoted poet—poems aimed to please beloved alone

57 Spenser, Sonnet 54 Spenserian sonnet Poet’s love idly sits
Can make mirth or tragedy Beloved mocks his comedy and laughs at his tragedy Nothing can move this woman

58 Spenser, Sonnet 64 Spenserian sonnet Trying to kiss beloved
Blazon of woman Beloved’s smell better than smell of all these flowers

59 Christopher Marlowe, “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”
Not a sonnet Contemporary of Shakespeare, Sidney, and Spenser Invitation to love poem—Carpe diem tropes Pastoral imagery Poet will adorn beloved with nature Dress “organically” Carpe diem trope dependent on pleasing beloved

60 John Milton, “How Soon Hath Time”
Italian sonnet New sonnet subject matter No longer concerned with love, desire, and courtship Far more personal sonnets Religious implications Time stealing youth Perhaps he can deceive Time pays evenly

61 Milton, “When I consider How My Light is Spent”
Italian sonnet Life half over Going blind Questions why he should continue How can he serve God? Told he need not see to serve God God happy when we bear our mild yoke—or when we simply stand and wait

62 William Wordsworth, “Composed upon Westminster Bridge”
Italian sonnet Natural splendor surrounds him City wears beauty of nature like garment Yet city still asleep—might heart of human energy and potential latent

63 Wordsworth, “London, 1802” Italian sonnet
Employs trope of occasional poem England needs Milton now England in state of turmoil Claims English are selfish men Great admiration for energy and vision of Milton

64 Wordsworth, “The world is too much with us”
Italian sonnet Have become too worldly Lost touch with nature Out of tune No longer moved by nature Turns to pagan alternatives for vivacious imagery of sestet

65 John Keats, “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer”
Commemorates his reading of George Chapman’s English translation of Homer He’s traveled plenty He’s read plenty He’s heard of Homer Everything changes when he reads Chapman’s translation Images of astrology, conquest, exploration to describe experience of opening Chapman’s translation