scansion

[Damselfly]

is there anything on this site that I can read about scansion?

Could you give me an idea of where I can read about and learn how to on the web?

thanks http://www.everypoet.com/poetry/poetry_forums/wink.gif

[Rachel Lindley]

Types of meter:

iambic (weak-strong)
trochaic (strong-weak)
anapestic (weak-weak-stong)
pyrric (weak-weak)
spondaic (strong-strong)
dactylic (strong-weak-weak)
amphimacic (strong-weak-strong)
amphibrachic (weak-strong-weak)

Links on Poetic Terms:

Bob's Byway of Poetic Terms (http://shoga.wwa.com/~rgs/glossary.html) - look under "M" for "meter".

Rhythm, Meter, and Scansion Made Easy (http://server.riverdale.k12.or.us/~bblack/meter.html)

Elements of Poetry: A Brief Introduction (http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/append/AXF.HTML)

A Guide to the Theory of Poetry (http://www.uni-koeln.de/~ame02/pppp.htm)

St. Edwards University - Scansion (http://www.stedwards.edu/hum/klawitter/poetics/scansion.html)

UCLA English Department - Poetic Meter (http://englishwww.humnet.ucla.edu/individuals/mcgraw/meter.htm)

That about covers it.

Rachel

[Howard Miller]

Quick Lesson in Basic Scansion:

Basic meter is based on the fact that all syllables in English are either stressed (at one of several different levels) or unstressed. In ordinary speech, we pay no attention to the patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables, so that no pattern emerges--the "pattern" is random. In metrical poetry, however, the poet takes syllables and arranges them so that the stresses that fall normally will occur in set patterns, as defined by the various feet (iamb, trochee, etc.).

The basic meter in English is iambic pentameter, i. e., a line containing 5 iambs.
"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
"To STRIVE, to SEEK, to FIND, and NOT to YIELD."
/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb/

"When I do count the clock that tells the time"
/ when I/ do COUNT/ the CLOCK/ that TELLS/ the TIME/
/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb/

"When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has gleaned my teeming brain"
/ when I/ have FEARS/ that I/ may CEASE/ to BE/
/ be FORE/ my PEN/ has GLEANED/ my TEEM/ ing BRAIN/
/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb/
/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb/

Certain substitutions are allowed which are not considered to disrupt the basic meter (iambic pentameter in this case), specifically the trochee and the spondee:

"Thus is his cheek the map of days outworn"
/ THUS is/ his CHEEK/ the MAP/ of DAYS/ out WORN/
/ trochee/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb/

The first-foot trochee is the most common of all substitutions in iambic verse, although the trochee can be substituted in any foot (except possibly the last foot of a line).

"Keen, fitful gusts are whisp'ring here and there"
/ KEEN FIT/ ful GUSTS/ are WHIS/ pring HERE/ and THERE/
/ spondee/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb/
The spondee can also be substituted anywhere within a line, including--unlike the trochee- the last foot.

The important thing is that, as a general rule of thumb, there should always be more iambs in the line than substituted feet; otherwise, the iambic rhythm will be lost.

There is, in addition, one further substitution which may occur, the combination of a pyrrhic foot followed by a spondaic foot; this combination is called the "double iamb" and is counted the same as two regular iambs in a line:

"I summon up remembrance of things pasts"
/ i SUM/ mon UP/ re MEM/ brance of/ THINGS PAST/
/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb{/ pyrrhic/ spondee/ = double iamb}

"When all the birds are faint with the hot sun"
/ when ALL/ the BIRDS/ are FAINT/ with the/ HOT SUN/
/ iamb/ iamb/ iamb {/ pyrrhic/ spondee/ = double iamb}

"When to the sessions of sweet, silent thought"
/ WHEN to / the SES/ sions of /SWEET SI/ lent THOUGHT/
/ trochee/ iamb {/ pyrrhic/ spondee/} iamb/
Since the "pyrrhic"/"spondee" is counted as two regular iambs, there are still 4 iambic feet in this line, despite the trochaic substitution.

Hope this helps.


Howard



[This message has been edited by Howard Miller (edited 11-02-2001).]

[Andrea345]

This may be worth only two cents, but -
Get yourself a great dictionary & keep an eye out for good online dictionaries.

First step - divide the line into syllables.
2nd - locate the stresses within the line. There's at least three primary types of stress:

Words with more than one syllable will have a stressed syllable.

Nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs will have more stress than conjunctions, prepositions, or articles.

"contrastive" stress - (Steele, <u>all's the fun</u>, p.28) - "a rhetorical context that requires us to emphasize a word or a syllable that does not normally receive heavy stress."

Once you've found the stressed syllables, then you can begin the division of the line into feet. Notice in the examples how there's only one stressed syllable per foot (except the spondee). Division of syllables into feet will be based on the relationship of the stressed / unstressed pattern. Stick with the most simple patterns in the beginning.

Hope this helps a bit,
-a

[This message has been edited by Andrea345 (edited 08-25-2001).]

[Damselfly]

Thanks for being so generous with your time, I really appreciate that you have sat down to answer this for me...now off to the couch for me! I've got some reading to do http://www.everypoet.com/poetry/poetry_forums/biggrin.gif

[Harry Rutherford]

One point I'd like to make-

scansion always seems extravagantly complicated when you first encounter it, because of all the jargon.

However, consider the limerick. Everyone knows what they sound like, can hear if they're wrong, and can write them-

di DUM/ di di DUM/ di di DUM
di DUM/ di di DUM/ di di DUM
di DUM/ di di DUM
di DUM/ di di DUM
di DUM/ di di DUM/ di di DUM

this without knowing that this pattern can be described 'iamb anapest anapest'.

Similarly, people writing light verse often use quite a strong sing-song iambic meter, even when they don't know what it's called.

The point is that if you take an interest in the subject, you won't have to spend the rest of your life carefully counting syllables- you develop an ear for it.

Harry
just remember
'di DUM di DUM di DUM di DUM di DUM'

[shadygrove]

Two other points:

One thing I didn't realize about scansion for the LONGEST time is that there often is no "one right way" to scan a poem -- that different folks will disagree about where the stress lies, and whether it scans well or poorly. And that this is affected by the reader's dialect, the author's ear, and such things as the change of language over time. As a person just learning about all this stuff, it can be very confusing to read a poem that has been given a metrical analysis, and realize that to your ear the stresses don't all go where the analyst says they go! It certainly is an acquired skill, but there are also real variations between readers -- another thing that makes it tough to write formal poetry!

My second point is this: This thread provides more information about scansion than I've seen in one place anywhere. Can I nominate it for preservation in blurbs?

[Damselfly]

great points, thanks for that http://www.everypoet.com/poetry/poetry_forums/wink.gifand it's good to know that this has been such a good source of info from/for everyone.

Yes i think we should save it too.

[Harry Rutherford]

And another thing, which I don't think is always made clear.

Stress patterns within a line are relative; a syllable can be counted as stressed with very little absolute stress if the syllables next to it are even less stressed.

e.g.-
The buddha in the attic holds the key

If I was teaching English as a foreign language, I would say that 'in' was effectively not stressed at all. But in this context it can function as a stressed syllable.
This kind of variation is one of the things that prevents iambic pentameter getting too repetitive.

Another example-

'A beetle's mandibles are sharp and strong'

Where I count mandible as having two stresses, but

In the house on the hill is a man with a cage;
in the cage is an ant with a mandible-ache
for the ant in a fit of unbearable rage
bit a pebble and that made it's mandible break.

where I scan it as with only one stress. It depends on context, which is why I don't really believe in using dictionaries to find out stress patterns- you should be able to trust your ears.

Harry

[Dunc]

I second the motion. You can read, listen, take things in, repent, re-write and so on; but in the end you can't write by rules, and you can't write by the opinions of others - you have to trust your ear. Regards / Dunc

[Howard Miller]

Reliance on the dictionary and on counting syllables are virtually absolute requirements for beginners who don't yet have trained ears. I've seen some incredibly bizarre and totally unbelievable scansions from those who relied entirely on the ear.

Ahd what Harry refers to is called "promoted stress" which means when 3 unstressed syllables occur in a row, the middle of the 3 is "promoted," i. e., is given a weak stress. There is also the opposite effect, "demoted stress," which occurs when 3 stressed syllables occur in a row--the middle syllable there is "demoted," i. e., lowered to a lesser degree of stress or to unstressed, depending on the level of stress at which it starts out.


Howard

[Harry Rutherford]

When I was teaching English in Japan, this question of stress was quite important because Japanese is not a language that uses stress a lot, so they tend to get it wrong.

I found that when I needed to check the stress pattern of a word (for my own benefit) the easiest thing to do was to intentionally put the stress in different places to see which sounded right; ie

BA-na-na
ba-NA-na
ba-na-NA

As a native speaker, you do know how words are stressed, because you use them correctly all the time. It's just finding the best way of making that knowledge consciously available.

If people find dictionaries a help, then by all means use them; it just seems like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Harry
but try different things and see what works best for you.
(I still count syllables on my fingers)