Prosody
Prosody is the study of the meter,
rhythm, and
intonation
of a poem. Rhythm and meter are different, although closely related.
[26] Meter is the definitive pattern
established for a verse (such as
iambic pentameter), while rhythm is the
actual sound that results from a line of poetry. Prosody also may be used more
specifically to refer to the
scanning of poetic
lines to show meter.
[27]
Rhythm
The methods for creating poetic rhythm vary across languages and between
poetic traditions. Languages are often described as having timing set primarily
by
accents,
syllables,
or
moras,
depending on how rhythm is established, though a language can be influenced by
multiple approaches.
Japanese is
a
mora-timed
language. Syllable-timed languages include
Latin,
Catalan,
French,
Leonese,
Galician and
Spanish.
English,
Russian and, generally,
German are stress-timed languages.
[28] Varying
intonation
also affects how rhythm is perceived. Languages can rely on either pitch, such
as in Vedic Sanskrit or Ancient Greek, or tone.
Tonal languages include Chinese,
Vietnamese, Lithuanian, and most
Subsaharan
languages.
[29]
Meter
In the Western poetic tradition, meters are customarily grouped according to
a characteristic
metrical foot
and the number of feet per line.
[38] The number of metrical feet in a
line are described using Greek terminology:
tetrameter for four feet and
hexameter for six feet, for example.
[39] Thus, "
iambic pentameter" is a meter
comprising five feet per line, in which the predominant kind of foot is the
"
iamb". This metric system originated
in ancient
Greek poetry,
and was used by poets such as
Pindar and
Sappho, and by the great
tragedians of
Athens. Similarly, "
dactylic hexameter",
comprises six feet per line, of which the dominant kind of foot is the "
dactyl". Dactylic hexameter was the
traditional meter of Greek
epic poetry, the
earliest extant examples of which are the works of
Homer
and
Hesiod.
[40] Iambic pentameter and dactylic
hexameter were later used by a number of poets, including
William Shakespeare
and
Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow, respectively.
[41] The most common metrical feet in
English are:
[42]
- iamb – one unstressed syllable
followed by a stressed syllable (e.g. describe, Include, retract)
- trochee – one stressed syllable
followed by an unstressed syllable (e.g. picture, flower)
- dactyl –
one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables (e.g.annotate
an-no-tate)
- anapest – two unstressed syllables
followed by one stressed syllable (e.g. comprehend com-pre-hend)
- spondee – two stressed syllables
together (e.g. e-nough)
- pyrrhic – two unstressed syllables
together (rare, usually used to end dactylic hexameter)
There are a wide range of names for other types of feet, right up to a
choriamb, a four syllable metric foot with
a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables and closing with a
stressed syllable. The choriamb is derived from some ancient
Greek and
Latin poetry.
[40] Languages which utilize
vowel length or
intonation
rather than or in addition to syllabic accents in determining meter, such as
Ottoman Turkish
or
Vedic, often have concepts similar to the
iamb and dactyl to describe common combinations of long and short sounds.
[43]
Metrical patterns
Different traditions and genres of poetry tend to use different meters,
ranging from the Shakespearean
iambic pentameter and the Homeric
dactylic hexameter
to the
anapestic
tetrameter used in many nursery rhymes. However, a number of
variations to the established meter are common, both to provide emphasis or
attention to a given foot or line and to avoid boring repetition. For example,
the stress in a foot may be inverted, a
caesura (or pause) may be added (sometimes
in place of a foot or stress), or the final foot in a line may be given a
feminine ending to soften it or be replaced
by a
spondee to emphasize it and create a hard
stop. Some patterns (such as iambic pentameter) tend to be fairly regular,
while other patterns, such as dactylic hexameter, tend to be highly irregular.
[48] Regularity can vary between
language. In addition, different patterns often develop distinctively in
different languages, so that, for example,
iambic tetrameter in Russian will generally
reflect a regularity in the use of accents to reinforce the meter, which does
not occur, or occurs to a much lesser extent, in English.
[49]
Some common metrical patterns, with notable examples of poets and poems who
use them, include:
Rhyme, alliteration,
assonance
Rhyme, alliteration, assonance and
consonance
are ways of creating repetitive patterns of sound. They may be used as an
independent structural element in a poem, to reinforce rhythmic patterns, or as
an ornamental element.
[55] They can also carry a meaning
separate from the repetitive sound patterns created. For example,
Chaucer used heavy alliteration to mock Old
English verse and to paint a character as archaic.
[56]
Rhyming schemes
In many languages, including modern European languages and Arabic, poets use
rhyme in set patterns as a structural element for specific poetic forms, such
as
ballads,
sonnets and
rhyming couplets. However, the use of
structural rhyme is not universal even within the European tradition. Much
modern poetry avoids traditional
rhyme schemes. Classical Greek and Latin
poetry did not use rhyme.
[61] Rhyme entered European poetry in
the
High Middle Ages,
in part under the influence of the
Arabic language in
Al Andalus (modern Spain).
[62] Arabic language poets used rhyme
extensively from the first development of literary Arabic in the
sixth century,
as in their long, rhyming
qasidas.
[63] Some rhyming schemes have become
associated with a specific language, culture or period, while other rhyming
schemes have achieved use across languages, cultures or time periods. Some
forms of poetry carry a consistent and well-defined rhyming scheme, such as the
chant royal or the
rubaiyat, while other poetic forms have
variable rhyme schemes.
[64]
Form
Poetic form is more flexible in modernist and post-modernist poetry, and
continues to be less structured than in previous literary eras. Many modern
poets eschew recognisable structures or forms, and write in
free verse. But poetry remains
distinguished from prose by its form; some regard for basic formal structures
of poetry will be found in even the best free verse, however much such
structures may appear to have been ignored.
[68] Similarly, in the best poetry
written in classic styles there will be departures from strict form for
emphasis or effect.
[69]
Among major structural elements used in poetry are the line, the
stanza or
verse paragraph, and larger combinations of
stanzas or lines such as
cantos. Also sometimes
used are broader visual presentations of words and
calligraphy. These basic units of poetic
form are often combined into larger structures, called
poetic forms or
poetic modes (see following section), as in the
sonnet or
haiku.
Lines and stanzas
Poetry is often separated into lines on a page. These lines may be based on
the number of metrical feet, or may emphasize a rhyming pattern at the ends of
lines. Lines may serve other functions, particularly where the poem is not
written in a formal metrical pattern. Lines can separate, compare or contrast
thoughts expressed in different units, or can highlight a change in tone.
[70] See the article on
line breaks
for information about the division between lines.
Alexander Blok's
poem, "
Noch, ulitsa, fonar, apteka" ("Night, street,
lamp, drugstore"), on a wall in
Leiden
.
[75]
Visual presentation
Visual poetry
Even before the advent of printing, the visual appearance of poetry often
added meaning or depth.
Acrostic poems
conveyed meanings in the initial letters of lines or in letters at other specific
places in a poem.
[76] In
Arabic,
Hebrew and
Chinese poetry, the visual presentation of
finely
calligraphed poems has played an important
part in the overall effect of many poems.
[77]
With the advent of
printing, poets gained
greater control over the mass-produced visual presentations of their work.
Visual elements have become an important part of the poet's toolbox, and many
poets have sought to use visual presentation for a wide range of purposes. Some
Modernist poets have made the placement of
individual lines or groups of lines on the page an integral part of the poem's
composition. At times, this complements the poem's
rhythm through visual
caesuras of various lengths, or creates
juxtapositions
so as to accentuate meaning,
ambiguity or
irony,
or simply to create an aesthetically pleasing form. In its most extreme form,
this can lead to
concrete poetry
or
asemic writing.
[78][79]
Diction
Poetic diction treats the manner in which language is used, and refers not
only to the sound but also to the underlying meaning and its interaction with
sound and form.
[80] Many languages and poetic forms
have very specific poetic dictions, to the point where distinct
grammars and
dialects are used specifically for poetry.
[81][82] Registers
in poetry can range from strict employment of ordinary speech patterns, as
favoured in much late-20th-century
prosody,
[83] through to highly ornate uses of
language, as in medieval and Renaissance poetry.
[84]
Poetic diction can include
rhetorical devices such as
simile and
metaphor, as well as tones of voice, such
as
irony.
Aristotle wrote in the
Poetics
that "the greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor."
[85] Since the rise of
Modernism, some poets have opted for a
poetic diction that de-emphasizes rhetorical devices, attempting instead the
direct presentation of things and experiences and the exploration of
tone.
[86] On the other hand,
Surrealists have pushed rhetorical devices
to their limits, making frequent use of
catachresis.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry
