1. P OETIC SOUND Key Terms and Vocabulary

2. O BJECTIVES By the time you finish taking notes on this presentation, you should understand the definitions of the following terms in the context of poetry and be able to identify examples of each: Meter Rhyme Sound Devices (Alliteration, Assonance, Consonance) Enjambment Repetition (Anaphora)

3. M ETER The rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of verse. The key word here is syllables. When reading a poem for meter, pay attention to the number of syllables in each line. Meter can be difficult to understand at times, but think of it as being the same as the “rhythm” of the poem. Poets frequently make intentional choices about the meter of their poems to create a specific effect.

4. M ETER To determine the meter of a poem, you need to pay attention to two things: the type of metrical foot used in the poem and the number of feet in each line (line length). A metrical foot refers to a group of syllables that creates a sound pattern. This pattern is created by the stress (or lack of stress) put on each syllable and the number of syllables in the foot.

5. E XAMPLE Iambic Pentameter is a very common form of meter that you may have heard of! IAMBIC refers to the type of FOOT used in the poem. Iambic means that the foot contains two syllables, in an unstressed (short)-stressed (long) pattern. For example, the word “betray” is an Iamb. PENTAMETER refers to the number of feet in each line. Penta means five. This means that a line of poetry written in Iambic Pentameter has five feet, or ten syllables.

6. E XAMPLE CONTINUED From William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: Two households both alike in dignity In fair Verona where we lay our scene 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 x / x / x / x / x / The “x” denotes an unstressed syllable. The “/” denotes a stressed syllable. You can probably see very clearly that each line here has 10 syllables – and therefore five feet. It might be harder to pick up on the unstressed – stressed pattern (that makes this iambic), but try saying it out loud.

7. S OME COMMON METRICAL TERMS This is more of a “nice to know” than a “need to know,” but here are some important terms related to meter: TermDefinition IambTwo-syllable metrical foot, unstressed-stressed pattern. TrocheeTwo-syllable metrical foot, stressed-unstressed pattern. DactylThree-syllable metrical foot, stressed-unstressed-unstressed pattern DimeterA line of poetry with two feet TrimeterA line of poetry with three feet TetrameterA line of poetry with four feet PentameterA line of poetry with five feet

8. R HYME The repetition of sounds, typically at the end of a line of verse For example: I have come to the borders of sleep, The unfathomable deep Forest where all must lose Their way, however straight Or winding, soon or late; They cannot choose. “Lights Out” by Edward Thomas

9. R HYME Based on SOUND, not spelling. See example on last slide! Even though “straight” and “late” have different spellings, they have the same sound. This does get tricky at times though! You will sometimes see rhymes that seem to be based on spelling instead of sound. This is often in older texts (pronunciation used to be different!) Sometimes it is just the poet playing loose with rules, however. There is also a concept called “ slant rhyme ” – which means the words ALMOST rhyme, but not quite.

10. D ETERMINING THE R HYME S CHEME The process for determining a rhyme scheme is fairly simple, but it requires you to pay close attention to the rhymes in the poem. As you read the poem, label each different “sound” that occurs at the end of a line with a letter, starting with “A” and working your way down the alphabet. For example (returning to the previous example) I have come to the borders of sleep, A The unfathomable deep A Forest where all must lose B Their way, however straight C Or winding, soon or late; C They cannot choose. B

11. R HYME S CHEME P RACTICE What is the rhyme scheme of this poem excerpt? O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being, Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing, Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red, Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou, Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low, Each like a corpse within its grave, until Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air) With living hues and odours plain and hill: Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere; Destroyer and preserver; hear, oh hear! “Ode to the West Wind” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

12. ANSWER O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being, A Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead B Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing, A Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red, B Pestilence-stricken multitudes: O thou, C Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed B The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low, C Each like a corpse within its grave, until D Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow C Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill D Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air) E With living hues and odours plain and hill: D Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere; E Destroyer and preserver; hear, oh hear! E A somewhat tricky example, as it includes some slant rhymes!

13. S OUND D EVICES There are three main sound devices you should know. They all involve the repetition of different kinds of sounds in words close to one another. Alliteration Assonance Consonance

14. A LLITERATION The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words For example The f air b reeze b lew, the white f oam f lew, The f urrow f ollowed f ree; We were the f irst that ever burst Into that s ilent s ea. “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge As you can see, Coleridge chooses to use many words that start with the letters “f”, “b” and “s” in this section of the poem.

15. A SSONANCE The repetition of vowel sounds within words that are close to one another in a poem For example In X a n a du did Kubl a Kh a n A stately pleasure-dome decree: Where A lph, the sacred river, r a n Through c a verns measureless to m a n Down to a sunless sea. “Kubla Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Here, Coleridge repeats the specific “a” sound in many of these words. It’s important to note that it’s not just the use of a vowel – it’s the specific vowel sound (which explains why the A in stately is not emphasized).

16. C ONSONANCE The repetition of consonant sounds within words that are close to one another in a poem. This is similar to alliteration (and often works together with it), but it includes the use of consonant sounds INSIDE words, where alliteration is only at the beginning. Example: O Captain! my Captain! our fea r ful t r ip is done, The ship has weathe r ’d eve r y r ack, the p r ize we sought is won, The po r t is nea r, the bells I hea r, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel g r im and da r ing; “O Captain! My Captain!” by Walt Whitman Note the repetition of the “r” sound throughout the stanza!

17. S OUND D EVICES These three sound devices often work together (especially alliteration and consonance). In many cases, if a poet is using one, then he or she is likely using the others as well. These sound devices help to create rhythm and link words, by placing greater emphasis upon them.

18. E NJAMBMENT The running-over of a sentence or phrase from one poetic line to the next, without terminal punctuation An extreme example might be this poem by William Carlos William: so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens Despite the lack of punctuation, this is all one sentence!

19. E NJAMBMENT However, enjambment can also look like: What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? “Harlem” by Langston Hughes The lines in red demonstrate enjambment. The important thing is the lack of punctuation at the end of the line.

20. R EPETITION A lot of poetry depends on repetition to help make its point The definition is more or less what you would expect – when sounds, words, phrases, lines, or stanzas are repeated within a single poem. There is at least one specific form of repetition that you might want to keep in mind.

21. A NAPHORA A type of parallelism when a number of lines begin with the same word(s). Consider this excerpt from The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot: After the torchlight red on sweaty faces After the frosty silence in the gardens After the agony in stony places The shouting and the crying Prison and palace and reverberation Of thunder of spring over distant mountains He who was living is now dead We who were living are now dying With a little patience Eliot uses anaphora in the first three lines.

22. C HECK YOUR U NDERSTANDING ! You should now have notes on the following poetic sound terms: Meter Rhyme Sound Devices (Alliteration, Assonance, Consonance) Enjambment Repetition (Anaphora)