1. POETIC DEVICES Beginners guide Saturday, November 17, 2018
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2. THE IAMB
If you read most lines of Shakespeare you will notice a rhythmic pattern:
If music be the food of love, play on
I have underlined the stresses and you will notice a de-DUM de-DUM pattern to the line.
The de-DUM unit is called the IAMB… EASY.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
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3. De-DUM
Try to write two lines, (a couplet) using this device five times in each line.
If you are stuck, look around and write using what you can see in the room.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
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4. Well Done
You have just mastered the iambic pentameter, the King of poetic form in the English language.
To celebrate, write another pair.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
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5. The Trochee
If you invert the rhythm, you get a trochee. Dum-de Dum-de,
As in the line
“How I wonder what to do with Connor”
You can see that the stresses have shifted.
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6. Try a trochee couplet… Go on, try… Saturday, November 17, 2018
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7. Now… Poetry based on these alone would be pretty dull actually.
Let’s look again at the first example:
If music be the food of love, play on.
Does “play ON” sound odd?
What happens if you say:; “PLAY on”?
Is this still a line of Iambs?
Saturday, November 17, 2018
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8. If music be the food of love, play on.
Shakespeare has slipped in a trochee to a line of Iambs – cheeky devil.
What separates the trochee from the iamb before it?
The comma creates a breathing point and allows the speaker to shift emphasis easily. This break is called a CAESURA.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
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9. Task 4 lines of Iambic pentameter.
4 lines of Iambic pentameter in which you may use a trochee instead of an Iamb for effect. You may well need a caesura (or a drink) to help.
Give it a go – treat it as a game and aim for a high score.
For the really talented, an extra task:
4 lines alternating Iambic and Trochaic pentameter.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
SGS peel 2007