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How to Use Meter
Meter
Meter comes from the Greek metron "a measure" and is related to the English word mete "to measure (out)". It is also related to the Latin metiri "to measure" with the past participle of mensus, whence the noun mensura and the verb mensurare "to measure", and eventually through French, the word measure itself come. Other related words/forms are Latin mensis "month", and English month and moon. And of course -meter as in diameter, kilometer, etc, and -metry, as in symmetry and geometry!
In poetry, meter is the measure or count of special "pulses" of sound called beats in a line. In conjunction with regulating the number of beats, the number of syllables in a line or between beats can also be regulated to control the pace of the meter.
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Stress & Beats
What makes these "pulses" of sound called beats? In English, most beats are created by stresses. The stress of a word is the syllable with the main "pulse" of energy or pressure on it when it is pronounced. Every word (unless it's a one-syllable "function word", as you will see in the next section) has one main pulse, or stressed syllable, as indicated by the capitalized and bolded letters in the words below:
aLOUD
DOWNfall
expecTATion
If you have difficulty recognizing the stress of a word, try pronouncing each syllable of the word with more emphasis. For example, pronounce horror as HORror, then horROR. HorROR should sound unnatural because this word doesn t have its stress on the second syllable in normal English. Therefore you know that the stress is on the first syllable. If you are still unsure where a word's stress is, you can look its pronunciation up in the dictionary. Dictionary.com for example shows the pronunciation of the word in brackets, with the stressed sound indicated in bold letters: hor-ror [hawr-er, hor-]
The stressed syllable generally goes where the meter or pattern "expects" a beat. Just as a stress is the pulse of a word, it then becomes a pulse of the meter: a beat. If you say aloud five times, you establish a pattern that has, and therefore expects, the stress every second syllable:
aLOUD aLOUD aLOUD aLOUD
That is a dull line, but it has a metrical pattern established by the stresses. The stresses now are not just stress of words, but are pulses (beats) of the pattern of the whole line. This is the basic principle behind making a meter. Now let's replace it with an actual sentence:
a VERSE with MEter PLEASes EARS
Every second syllable is still stressed, but now it is both a line with meter and a meaningful sentence. That wasn't too difficult was it?
One-syllable Function-words
But why don't the words "a" and "with" have stress in the line above? This is because they are part of a special group of one- syllable words that are "Function Words". One syllable function-words are the only words that normally don't have a stress. There are four kinds of function words:
"Bits and peices"-words: to, from, for, and, as, the, this, that, etc.
Pronouns: I, he, she, who, what, etc.
"Auxiliary" verbs: will, shall, do, must, have, etc (as in will go, shall go, do go, must go, have gone, etc)
Forms of the verb be: be, is, are, was, were, 'tis, 'twas, etc.
All other one-syllable-words have the stress on the whole word/syllable:
DAY
NIGHT
SWEET
Special Cases
In combinations such as "turn off", "high up", "stand still", "take heed", etc. the stress is generally on the second word:
turn OFF
set UP
hold ON
high UP
far OFF
stand STILL
hold TIGHT
make SURE
take HEED
Also, if a one-syllable function-word is given abnormal emphasis to make it stand out, it can be treated as a stressed syllable:
He did receive the note she sent = he DID reCEIVE the NOTE she SENT
'Tis he alone she loves til death = 'Tis HE alONE she LOVES til DEATH
Non-Beat Stresses
Sometimes a poet wishes to use a stress, but doesn't want it to be a beat. As long as this is not done too often, the stress may be used as non-beat, without altering the beat of the meter. This may be done most handily with one-syllable adjectives (especially very common adjectives, such as such, much, each, some, etc. ). Whenever a stress isn't a beat we will indicate it with unbolded capitalized letters:
SOME MEN were WISE, SOME MEN were FOOLS
Unstress
Unstress or unstressed syllables are syllables that are not stressed with the main "pulse" of energy of a word, the stress that we have been referring to so far. This doesn't mean they don't have any stress at all though. Usually it is not necessary to distinguish other degrees of stress, but once in a while you shall hear poets talk of a less degree of stress called "secondary stress". This is a syllable that doesn't have the main stress, but has more stress than the average "unstressed" syllable. This kind of syllable is often found in two-word compounds:
DOGhouse
GROUNDhog
SILvertongued
The unstressed syllables "house" "hog" and "tongue" have more stress than an average unstressed syllable and therefore could be called "secondary stress". Since they are words themselves within a compound words, it is easy to understand why they have a different degree of stress from other unstressed syllables. But you will find most of the time it isn't necessary to make an issue of "secondary" stress.
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Unstress & Beats
If stresses were all that made up the "pulses" of meter it would be a strict and difficult thing. Thankfully meter is much more flexibile than just stresses. You know how stresses are usually beats, but it is important to understand "beats" a bit more completely. Stresses refer to the main pulses of words: HORror, expecTATion, LOVE, etc. Beats, though, refer to the main pulses of an established meter or pattern in general. Beats often correspond with stresses, but not always. This is because once you have a meter or pattern established mostly by the stresses, it is acceptable to slip in an unstressed syllable as a beat without hindering the meter. Consider the line below, capitalizing only the syllables with stresses:
the KINGdom of the MIGHTy KING
The unstressed word "of", however, blends in as a beat, even though it isn't a stress. This may work better or worse depending on how important the syllable is to the structure or meaning of the line. When a beat isn't a stress (as the onesyllable functuion- word "of" in this example) it will be indicated only with bold lettering, but not capitals:
the KINGdom of the MIGHTy KING
Natural Rhythm-Points
With most words that have more than two syllables, we can take advantage of natural rhythm-points in the unstressed syllables, based on where the stressed syllable is.
The rhythm naturally has an up and down movement, based on where the stress is. Therefore, as long as you know where the highest point (the stress) of the rhythm is, you will know where the next highest points of the rest of the word's rhythm is. Every second syllable away from stressed syllable (to the right or the left) is a higher "up"-point in the rhythm of the unstressed syllables. In personALity, for example, the highest point of the rhythm is the syllable with the stress (AL), but the next highest points are the bolded syllables pers and ty It is these kind of syllables that may also be used as beats when using longer words in a meter.
harMOnious
BEAUtiful
expecTAtion
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Coming to Terms
There are many different terms poets have to refer to different kinds of meters. Most of them are somewhat unnecessary, for as long as one knows the key elements, that is, stresses and beats, things that go into every meter, he may generally understand whatever pattern is being used for a meter, even if he doesn't know the official name for the pattern. Therefore, don't make too much of the terminology. It is given here only to encourage some awareness of it.
The Main Groups of Meters
The two main groups of meter are stress meter and syllable-stress meter.
Stress (or accentual) meter is a meter that only has a certain number of beats in a line, but allows the number of syllables between the beats to vary from none to a few. Below is an example of this kind of meter:
STAR LIGHT, STAR BRIGHT
FIRST STAR I SEE toNIGHT,
I WISH I MAY, I WISH I Might,
HAVE the WISH I WISH toNIGHT.
There was an OLD WOMan who LIVED in a SHOE.
She HAD so MANy CHILDren, she didn't KNOW what to DO.
She GAVE them SOME BROTH, withOUT ANy BREAD,
WHIPPED them ALL SOUNDly, and SENT them to BED.
In both examples there are only four beats in each line, but syllables between beats are variable and sometimes absent as in the line STAR LIGHT, STAR BRIGHT (all four syllables are beats).
Syllable-stress meter is a meter that has a certain number of beats, but also regulates the number of syllables between the beats. It is this kind of meter that uses the special names such as Iambic, Trochaic, etc. to refer to pattern of beats and syllables.
Foot
Syllable stress meter is often thought of in terms of a basic unit called a foot. Representing a beat with a slash (/) and a non-beat with an x, the below line is made up of the foot ( x / ):
(x / )( x / )( x / )( x / )
a VERSE with MEter PLEASes EARS
The Kind of Foot in a Line
The kind of foot used in a line is indicated by its own special name:
Foot Name
( x / ) = Iamb
( / x ) = Trochee
( x x / ) = Anapest
( / x x ) = Dactyl
The adjectives to refer to meters that use these feet are: Iambic, Trochaic, Anapestic, and Dactylic.
When the beat comes after the other syllables, as in the Iamb and Anapest it is called rising rythm.
When the beat comes before the other syllables, as in the Trochee and the Dactyl it is called falling rhythm
Those with two syllables in the foot (the Iamb and Trochee) are sometimes called duple rhythm.
Those with three syllables in the foot (the Anapest and Dactyl) are sometimes called triple rhythm.
The Number of Feet in a Line
When we wish to refer to the number of times a foot is used in a line we prefix the greek word/form for the number onto the word meter.
Number of Feet + Meter
mono- "one" + meter = monometer
di- "two" + meter = dimeter
tri- "three" + meter = trimeter
tetra- "four" + meter = tetrameter
penta- "five" + meter = pentameter
hexa- "six" + meter = hexameter
hept- "seven" + meter = heptameter
octa- "eight" + meter = octameter
ennea- "nine" + meter = enneameter
deca- "ten" + meter = decameter
Now let's go back to our earlier example:
1 2 3 4
(x / )( x / )( x / )( x / )
a VERSE with MEter PLEASes EARS
Since this line uses the foot ( x / ) called the Iamb, it is therefore Iambic Meter. If we wish to refer to the number of times the Iamb is used in the line, then Iambic tetrameter, because the Iamb ( x / ) is used tetra (four) times in the line of the meter.
Examples
You already saw a few examples of the Iamb used in meter. Here are some examples of the other three kinds of foot:
Trochee
The Trochee ( / x ) is a foot where the beat comes before one non-beat. The last foot in a trochaic line is often shortened to only the beat so that it is easier to use as a rhyme.
( / x ) ( / x ) ( / x ) ( / )
TWINKle, TWINKle, LITTle STAR,
TWINKle, TWINKle, LITTle STAR,
how I WONDer WHAT you are!
up aBOVE the WORLD so HIGH,
LIKE a DIAmond in the SKY!
WILLiam DEWy, TRANTer REUBen, FARMer LEDlow LATE at PLOUGH,
ROBert's KIN, and JOHN'S, and NED'S,
and the SQUIRE, and LADy SUSan, LIE in MELLstock CHURCHyard NOW!
(From Thomas Hardy's "Friends Beyond")
Anapest
The Anapest ( x x / ) is a foot where the beat comes after two non-beat syllables.
( x x / ) ( x x / ) ( x x / )( x x / )
'Twas the NIGHT beFORE CHRISTmas and ALL through the HOUSE
'Twas the NIGHT beFORE CHRISTmas and ALL through the HOUSE
not a CREAture was STIRring, not EVen a MOUSE;
The next two lines need us to look a bit more carefully. Remember the Iamb is the foot that only has one syllable before the beat instead of two as the Anapest. We therefore can recognize an Iamb (with red type) at the beginning of the following lines. When a different kind of foot is slipped in like this it is called a substitution and the best place of a substitution is often at the beginning (or the end) of a line. It helps give a bit of variety to the way the meter sounds, without losing the main rhythm of it.
( x / ) ( x x / ) ( x x / )( x x / )
The STOCKings were HUNG by the CHIMney with CARE,
The STOCKings were HUNG by the CHIMney with CARE,
In HOPES that ST.NICHolas SOON would be THERE.
Dactyl
The dactyl ( / x x ) is a foot where the beat is followed by two non-beat syllables. The last foot may be adjusted for the sake of creating more flexible rhymes:
( / x x ) ( / x x)( / x x )( / x )
HAIL to the CHIEF who in TRIumph adVANCes!
HAIL to the CHIEF who in TRIumph adVANCes!
HONored and BLESSED be the EVer-green PINE!
LONG may the TREE, in his BANner that GLANCes,
FLOURish, the SHELter and GRACE of our LINE!
(From Sir Walter Scott's Lady of the Lake)
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Common Variations
Initial Trochee in Iambic Meter
As mentioned earlier, a meter may slip in a different foot sometimes, usually at the beginning or end of the line to give it some variation. One of the most common is a Trochee ( / x ) at the beginning of an Iambic line. This substitution is solidly established, and can be found in the works of most famous poets, including Shakespeare, Sir Walter Scott and Alexander Pope just to name a few. Here is a passage from Dryden's translation of Aeneid. Notice the substitution in the very first line:
( / x ) ( x / ) ( x / )( x / ) ( x / )
ARMS and the MAN I SING, who, FORC'D by FATE,
ARMS and the MAN I SING, who, FORC'D by FATE,
And HAUGHTy JUno's unreLENTing HATE,
ExPELL'D and EXil'd, LEFT the TROjan SHORE.
LONG LAbors, both by SEA and LAND, he BORE,
Extra Syllables
A rhyme word may have extra syllables if necessary, as the -en and -on of the burden and guerdon below. These add extra syllables to the meter, but are necessary for certain rhymes:
In HOLDing this mine HEART apPLAUDS
To GAIN SUCH ANswers from the gods.
This is the BIRTH from your NIGHT'S BURDen,
For SMITES and BLOWS, your GAIN and GUERDon.
(From a translation I wrote of Statius' Thebaid, BOOK II )
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Special Pronunciations
I Pronounced as "Y"
Endings such as ious, ier, ior, ient, ial, etc. may be pronounced as one-syllable with a y-sound: -yous, -yer, -yor, -yent, -yal, etc. Therefore, material (pronounced as mat-er-yal) and genial (pronounced as gen-yal) in the below lines fit perfectly into the Iambic meter:
To MUTE and to matERial THINGS
NEW LIFE reVOLVing SUMmer BRINGS;
The GENial CALL DEAD NATure HEARS,
And in her GLORy reapPEARS
(From Sir Walter Scott's Marmion)
The endings -eus, -eous, -eon may be treated the same, the e being pronounced as a y-sound:
So SINKS the YOUTH: his BEATeous HEAD dePREST
BeNEATH his HELMet, DROPS uPON his BREAST.
(From Alexander Pope's translation of Homer's Iliad)
The phrase many a often experiences a similar shortening to "man-ya" as in:
LULL'D in the COUNTless CHAMbers of the BRAIN
Our THOUGHTS are LINK'D by MANy a HIDden CHAIN.
(From Samuel Roger's The Pleasures of Memory)
That MANy a DWELLing HAD the FOX
But HERE, high UP aMONG the ROCKS,
Was FOUND the SAFest, and the best
(From F. S. Ellis' History of Reynard the Fox)
U Pronounced as "W"
Likewise, endings such as -uous, ual, -uent, -uit, etc. are sometimes pronounced as one-syllable with a w-sound: -wous, -wal, -went, -wit, etc. as contiguously and confluent in the lines below:
The NEXT of KIN, conTIGuously emBRACE;
And FOES are SUNDer'd, by a LARGer SPACE.
(From John Dryden's translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses)
BUZZ the WING'd BEES, and TRAIL in CLOUDS their FLIGHT,
On TOPmost TREES in CONfluent CROWDS unITE,
(From William Sotheby's translation of Virgil's Georgics)
Short'nings with M, N, L, or R
Syllables such as -om, -en, -il, er, (with m, n, l, or r) may be shortened to 'm, 'n, 'l , 'r, in words like bosomy, evening, heavily, every, giving pronunciations such "bos'my", "ev'ning", "heav'ly", "ev'ry". These words may or may not have apostrophes to indicate the pronunciation:
Til HARD'ning EV'ry where, and SPEECHless GROWN,
She SITS unMOV'D, and FREEZes to a STONE.
(From Dryden's Translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses)
Some two syllable-words are often shortened as well; ever and never may be shortened to e'er and ne'er (pronounced as "air" and "nair"), even to e'en (pronounced as "een"), over to o'er (pronounced as "ore"), heaven, given, driven, to heav'n, giv'n, driv'n, etc.
And when he DIES this consoLAtion's GIV'N
His CHAMber's NEARest in the HOUSE to HEAV'N.
(From The Bard's Advantage)
Likewise words such as flower, tower, bower, power etc. may be pronounced as "-our" (as in hour):
FAR as creATion's AMPle RANGE exTENDS,
The SCALE of SENsual, MENtal POWERS aSCENDS
(From Alexander Pope's Essay on Man)
Th' and t'
The and to may be shortened to th' and t' before words beginning with a vowel or h and are then pronounced as one with that syllable instead of taking up their own syllables in a line:
Thy BEAUTies then from which I would reBEL
Th'EYES SEE, th'EARS HEAR, th'HEART THINKS, and TONGUE must TELL.
Note: Th'eyes, th'ears, th'heart are just one syllable each.
(From William Alexander's Sonnet XCIV)
Then MET th'eTERnal SYNod of the SKY
BeFORE the GOD who THUNDers from on HIGH
(From Alexander Pope's translation of Homer's Odyssey)
At EIther PUMP they PLY the CLANKing BRAKE,
And TURN by TURN th'unGRATEful OFfice TAKE.
(From Shipwreck, by William Falconer)
Why STILL deSIRE t'inCREASE thy WRETCHed STORE
And WISH for what must WASTE LIKE those beFORE?
(From Thomas Creech's translation of Lecretius' Of the Nature of Things)
-'d for -ed
To indicate that the e of ed should not be pronounced, earlier poets would use an apostrophe, as in wing'd, because winged would imply the pronunciation wing-ed. In today's English the -e of -ed is normally not pronounced in such words, therefore we expect only one syllable in winged. There are only a few examples, such as bless-ed, learn-ed, belov-ed, that could somewhat logically be spelt as learn'd, bless'd, belov'd if one wished to omit the sound of the e. Otherwise this convention is no longer useful in modern English.
Yet OH that FATE, proPITiously inCLIN'D
Had RAIS'D my BIRTH, or had deBAS'D my MIND
(From Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel)
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