Howard Miller
02-03-2002, 11:33 AM
A "foot" refers to the basic unit in which meter is measured; it is composed of a specific
number of syllables arranged in a set pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
TWO-SYLLABLE FEET:
There are four two-syllable feet in English (these tend to be the most common):
A. The Iamb
Forthe iamb, the pattern is Unstressed (U) Stressed (S), as in the word "today"--
written as / to DAY / to indicate the stress. The iamb is the most common
foot in English poetry; around 60% of metrical English poetry is iambic:
had WE / but WORLD / e NOUGH / and TIME
B. The Trochee
For the trochee, the pattern is / S U /, as in the word "running"--/ RUN ning /;
trochaic verse is fairly common, but much less so than iambic:
SPRING'S a / RRIVED in / ALL its / FLUR ry
C. The Spondee
For the spondee, the pattern is / S S /--as in / STOP THAT! /
D. The Pyrrhic
For the pyrrhic, the pattern is / U U /--as in the "to the" in the following phrase:
Today we went to the mountains--/ to DAY / we WENT / to the / MOUN tains /
IMPORTANT NOTE: Spondees and pyrrhics are used exclusively as substitutes for
iambics and trochees within individual lines; it is impossible to have a meter that is purely
composed of spondees or pyrrhics. Furthermore, most authorities on meter now agree that the pyrrhic foot cannot exist by itself but only as part of the / pyrrhic/ spondee/ combination known as the "double iamb."
NORMATIVE METER: The "meter" of a poem is determined by the type and number
of feet which appear in a single line. A line which consists of 4 iambs is called "iambic
tetrameter"; a line which consists of 3 trochees is called "trochaic trimeter." The most
common meter in English is "iambic pentameter," i. e., 5 iambs. This basic pattern
is called the "normative meter" of a poem.
However, any poem of more than 3 or 4 lines which adheres absolutely to its normative
meter quickly becomes boring, so the poet usually finds ways of varying the meter from
line to line (there are other, more important reasons for varying meter, as well).
Trochaic substitutions in iambic meter are common:
/ SOFT is / the STRAIN / when ZEPH / yr GENT / ly BLOWS
Here, the first iamb is replaced by a trochee.
/what SOFT / er VOICE / is HUSHED / O ver / the DEAD
Here, the 4th iamb is replaced by a trochee.
/ as WHAT / he LOVES / may NEV / er LIKE / TOO MUCH
Here, the final iamb is replaced by a spondee.
There can also be multiple substitutions within a single line:
/ WHEN to / the SESS / ions of / SWEET SI / lent THOUGHT
Here, the pattern is /trochee/ iamb/ pyrrhic/ spondee/ iamb
/HOLD like / RICH GAR / ners the / FULL RIP / ened GRAIN
/trochee/ spondee/ pyrrhic/ spondee/ iamb
The last two examples are rather extreme, the substituted feet outnumbering those
of the normative meter, or, at least, seeming to. But both these examples contain
the pattern "/pyrrhic/ spondee/"--this pattern is frequently called the "double iamb,"
and is considered a legitimate variation of (and substitute for) the normal iamb.
Shakespeare, Keats, and Frost, among others, make frequent use of the "double iamb" as a substitution.
THREE SYLLABLE FEET:
A. The Anapest
Although two-syllable feet are by far the most common in English poetry,
there are also three-syllable feet which sometimes occur. The most frequently
encountered is the anapest:
anapest: unstressed unstressed STRESSED
In the sentence "I went to the lake," the prepositional phrase
"to the lake" is an anapest: / to the LAKE /
"I am monarch of all I survey"
/i am MON / arch of ALL / i sur VEY
This meter is anapestic trimeter.
"The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold"
/the as SYR / ian* came DOWN / like a WOLF / on the FOLD [*pronounced as "yun"]
/and his CO / horts were GLEAM / ing in PUR / ple and GOLD /
This meter is anapestic tetrameter.
Anapestic meters are rather difficult to sustain in English; for that reason, one will
occasionally find an iambic foot substituted for an anapest, often as the first foot
in a line; such substitution, if not used excessively, is not considered to disrupt the
normative anapestic meter of the line:
"Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen."
/like the LEAVES / of the FOR / est when SUM / mer is GREEN /
/that HOST / with their BAN / ners at SUN / set were SEEN /
Here, the first foot of the second line is a substituted iamb.
"Why, there hasn't been time for the bushes to grow.
That's always the way with the blueberries, though.
There may not have been the ghost of a sign."
/why there HAS / n't been TIME / for the BUSH / es to GROW /
/that's AL / ways the WAY / with the BLUE / ber ries THOUGH /
/there MAY / not have BEEN / the GHOST / of a SIGN /
Here, the first foot of the second line is an iambic substitution,
as are both the first and third feet of the third line. Usually,
the number of substitutions is limited to one per line, but even
two substitutions here in the third don't seriously disrupt
the normative anapestic meter.
Although iambs can be substituted for anapests fairly easily,
the reverse process is more questionable--i. e., substituting
anapests for iambs in iambic meters. The extra syllable of
an anapest, even though unstressed, can often disrupt the
iambic normative meter. Usually, when an anapest is to be
substituted for an iamb, the varied meter should be a reflection
of the action taking place in the line:
"The whiskey spread through all his veins,
and mounted quickly to his brains.
He danced a jig on the table top."
/the WHIS / key SPREAD / through ALL / his VEINS /
/and MOUNT / ed QUICK / ly TO / his BRAINS /
/he DANCED / a JIG / on the TA / ble TOP /
Here, the first two lines are strictly iambic; in the third line,
the third foot "on the TA" is anapestic--the extra syllable adds
a kind of skipping or dancing motion that reflects the action of
the character at that point in the poem. Accordingly, the anapest
here would be considered an effective substitution.
A particularly fine example of an anapestic substitution in iambic meter
where the introduced metrical variation reinforces the meaning
can be found in the line:
"Up to the Brownian motion of the air"
/ UP to/ the BROWN/ i an MO/ tion OF/ the AIR/
/ trochee/ iamb/ anapest/ iamb/ iamb/
Here, the anapest introduces an unexpected random variation
in the meter precisely within the words "Brownian motion" which
themselves refer to the random motion of molecules, a variation
which directly emphasizes the meaning. This is superb craftsmanship.
However, when this kind of correspondence between meter and meaning
doesn't occur, anapestic substitutions in iambic verse often simply seem
intrusive and clumsy, and probably are best avoided.
B. The Dactyl
The only other three-syllable foot encountered with any frequency in English poetry
is the dactyl which has the pattern:
dactyl--/ STRESSED unstressed unstressed /
The word "dithering" is a dactyl: / DITH er ing /
Dactylic verse is relatively rare in English. Probably the single best-known poem
using dactylic meter is Longfellow's Evangeline, written in dactylic hexameters:
"This is the forest primeval, the murmuring pines and the hemlocks"
/THIS is the / FOR est pri / MEV al the / MUR mur ing / PINES and the / HEM locks /
Here, the pattern is /dactyl/dactyl/dactyl/dactyl/dactyl/trochee/
The sixth foot is a trochee, which is the foot commonly substituted for the dactyl,
just as the iamb is commonly substituted for the anapest.
"All the incongruous things of past incompatible ages,
Seem to be treasured up here to make fools of present and future."
/ALL the in / CON gru ous / THINGS of / PAST in com / PAT i ble / A ges/
/SEEM to be / TREAS ured up / /HERE to make / FOOLS of / PRE sent and / FU ture/
Here, the patterns are:
/dactyl/dactyl/trochee/dactyl/dactyl/trochee
/dactyl/dactyl/dactyl/trochee/dactyl/trochee
Each line has two trochaic substitutions. The fact is that maintaining a strict dactylic
meter is much more difficult than maintaining almost any other meter; this situation
often results in a greater number of substitutions than in other meters, probably one
significant reason why dactylic verse is comparatively rare in English.
Furthermore, dactylic meter does not lend itself easily to rhymed verse. Rhyme words
are normally important words in the lines in which they occur; accordingly, they are
always stressed. Since the dactyl ends with two unstressed syllables a one- or two-syllable
rhyming word won't work in dactylic meter, and there are relatively few triply-rhyming
words (i. e., all three syllables would have to rhyme)in English which fit the
"STRESSED unstressed unstressed" pattern necessary for a rhyming word to
receive the required stress. (NOTE: There is a way around this particular difficulty
we'll examine in a later lesson.)
C. The Amphibrach
The third three-syllable foot in English is the amphibrach:
amphibrach: / unstressed STRESSED unstressed /
The word "undying" is an amphibrach: / un DY ing /
"The sportsmen keep hawks, and their quarry they gain."
/the SPORTS men / keep HAWKS and / their QUAR ry / they GAIN /
/amphibrach/amphibrach/amphibrach/iamb
The problem with the amphibrach is that it can often be scanned as if it
actually consisted of anapests with a first-foot iambic substitution:
/the SPORTS / men keep HAWKS / and their QUAR / ry they GAIN /
/iamb/anapest/anapest/anapest/
If the last foot in the original scanning of the line had been an amphibrach
rather than an iamb, the line would simply have appeared to have had an extra
(hypermetrical) unstressed syllable at the end, a perfectly acceptable
situation.
As a result, very little use is made of the amphibrach itself, since perfectly
adequate descriptions of this meter can be made in terms of anapests and
iambs.
number of syllables arranged in a set pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
TWO-SYLLABLE FEET:
There are four two-syllable feet in English (these tend to be the most common):
A. The Iamb
Forthe iamb, the pattern is Unstressed (U) Stressed (S), as in the word "today"--
written as / to DAY / to indicate the stress. The iamb is the most common
foot in English poetry; around 60% of metrical English poetry is iambic:
had WE / but WORLD / e NOUGH / and TIME
B. The Trochee
For the trochee, the pattern is / S U /, as in the word "running"--/ RUN ning /;
trochaic verse is fairly common, but much less so than iambic:
SPRING'S a / RRIVED in / ALL its / FLUR ry
C. The Spondee
For the spondee, the pattern is / S S /--as in / STOP THAT! /
D. The Pyrrhic
For the pyrrhic, the pattern is / U U /--as in the "to the" in the following phrase:
Today we went to the mountains--/ to DAY / we WENT / to the / MOUN tains /
IMPORTANT NOTE: Spondees and pyrrhics are used exclusively as substitutes for
iambics and trochees within individual lines; it is impossible to have a meter that is purely
composed of spondees or pyrrhics. Furthermore, most authorities on meter now agree that the pyrrhic foot cannot exist by itself but only as part of the / pyrrhic/ spondee/ combination known as the "double iamb."
NORMATIVE METER: The "meter" of a poem is determined by the type and number
of feet which appear in a single line. A line which consists of 4 iambs is called "iambic
tetrameter"; a line which consists of 3 trochees is called "trochaic trimeter." The most
common meter in English is "iambic pentameter," i. e., 5 iambs. This basic pattern
is called the "normative meter" of a poem.
However, any poem of more than 3 or 4 lines which adheres absolutely to its normative
meter quickly becomes boring, so the poet usually finds ways of varying the meter from
line to line (there are other, more important reasons for varying meter, as well).
Trochaic substitutions in iambic meter are common:
/ SOFT is / the STRAIN / when ZEPH / yr GENT / ly BLOWS
Here, the first iamb is replaced by a trochee.
/what SOFT / er VOICE / is HUSHED / O ver / the DEAD
Here, the 4th iamb is replaced by a trochee.
/ as WHAT / he LOVES / may NEV / er LIKE / TOO MUCH
Here, the final iamb is replaced by a spondee.
There can also be multiple substitutions within a single line:
/ WHEN to / the SESS / ions of / SWEET SI / lent THOUGHT
Here, the pattern is /trochee/ iamb/ pyrrhic/ spondee/ iamb
/HOLD like / RICH GAR / ners the / FULL RIP / ened GRAIN
/trochee/ spondee/ pyrrhic/ spondee/ iamb
The last two examples are rather extreme, the substituted feet outnumbering those
of the normative meter, or, at least, seeming to. But both these examples contain
the pattern "/pyrrhic/ spondee/"--this pattern is frequently called the "double iamb,"
and is considered a legitimate variation of (and substitute for) the normal iamb.
Shakespeare, Keats, and Frost, among others, make frequent use of the "double iamb" as a substitution.
THREE SYLLABLE FEET:
A. The Anapest
Although two-syllable feet are by far the most common in English poetry,
there are also three-syllable feet which sometimes occur. The most frequently
encountered is the anapest:
anapest: unstressed unstressed STRESSED
In the sentence "I went to the lake," the prepositional phrase
"to the lake" is an anapest: / to the LAKE /
"I am monarch of all I survey"
/i am MON / arch of ALL / i sur VEY
This meter is anapestic trimeter.
"The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold"
/the as SYR / ian* came DOWN / like a WOLF / on the FOLD [*pronounced as "yun"]
/and his CO / horts were GLEAM / ing in PUR / ple and GOLD /
This meter is anapestic tetrameter.
Anapestic meters are rather difficult to sustain in English; for that reason, one will
occasionally find an iambic foot substituted for an anapest, often as the first foot
in a line; such substitution, if not used excessively, is not considered to disrupt the
normative anapestic meter of the line:
"Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green,
That host with their banners at sunset were seen."
/like the LEAVES / of the FOR / est when SUM / mer is GREEN /
/that HOST / with their BAN / ners at SUN / set were SEEN /
Here, the first foot of the second line is a substituted iamb.
"Why, there hasn't been time for the bushes to grow.
That's always the way with the blueberries, though.
There may not have been the ghost of a sign."
/why there HAS / n't been TIME / for the BUSH / es to GROW /
/that's AL / ways the WAY / with the BLUE / ber ries THOUGH /
/there MAY / not have BEEN / the GHOST / of a SIGN /
Here, the first foot of the second line is an iambic substitution,
as are both the first and third feet of the third line. Usually,
the number of substitutions is limited to one per line, but even
two substitutions here in the third don't seriously disrupt
the normative anapestic meter.
Although iambs can be substituted for anapests fairly easily,
the reverse process is more questionable--i. e., substituting
anapests for iambs in iambic meters. The extra syllable of
an anapest, even though unstressed, can often disrupt the
iambic normative meter. Usually, when an anapest is to be
substituted for an iamb, the varied meter should be a reflection
of the action taking place in the line:
"The whiskey spread through all his veins,
and mounted quickly to his brains.
He danced a jig on the table top."
/the WHIS / key SPREAD / through ALL / his VEINS /
/and MOUNT / ed QUICK / ly TO / his BRAINS /
/he DANCED / a JIG / on the TA / ble TOP /
Here, the first two lines are strictly iambic; in the third line,
the third foot "on the TA" is anapestic--the extra syllable adds
a kind of skipping or dancing motion that reflects the action of
the character at that point in the poem. Accordingly, the anapest
here would be considered an effective substitution.
A particularly fine example of an anapestic substitution in iambic meter
where the introduced metrical variation reinforces the meaning
can be found in the line:
"Up to the Brownian motion of the air"
/ UP to/ the BROWN/ i an MO/ tion OF/ the AIR/
/ trochee/ iamb/ anapest/ iamb/ iamb/
Here, the anapest introduces an unexpected random variation
in the meter precisely within the words "Brownian motion" which
themselves refer to the random motion of molecules, a variation
which directly emphasizes the meaning. This is superb craftsmanship.
However, when this kind of correspondence between meter and meaning
doesn't occur, anapestic substitutions in iambic verse often simply seem
intrusive and clumsy, and probably are best avoided.
B. The Dactyl
The only other three-syllable foot encountered with any frequency in English poetry
is the dactyl which has the pattern:
dactyl--/ STRESSED unstressed unstressed /
The word "dithering" is a dactyl: / DITH er ing /
Dactylic verse is relatively rare in English. Probably the single best-known poem
using dactylic meter is Longfellow's Evangeline, written in dactylic hexameters:
"This is the forest primeval, the murmuring pines and the hemlocks"
/THIS is the / FOR est pri / MEV al the / MUR mur ing / PINES and the / HEM locks /
Here, the pattern is /dactyl/dactyl/dactyl/dactyl/dactyl/trochee/
The sixth foot is a trochee, which is the foot commonly substituted for the dactyl,
just as the iamb is commonly substituted for the anapest.
"All the incongruous things of past incompatible ages,
Seem to be treasured up here to make fools of present and future."
/ALL the in / CON gru ous / THINGS of / PAST in com / PAT i ble / A ges/
/SEEM to be / TREAS ured up / /HERE to make / FOOLS of / PRE sent and / FU ture/
Here, the patterns are:
/dactyl/dactyl/trochee/dactyl/dactyl/trochee
/dactyl/dactyl/dactyl/trochee/dactyl/trochee
Each line has two trochaic substitutions. The fact is that maintaining a strict dactylic
meter is much more difficult than maintaining almost any other meter; this situation
often results in a greater number of substitutions than in other meters, probably one
significant reason why dactylic verse is comparatively rare in English.
Furthermore, dactylic meter does not lend itself easily to rhymed verse. Rhyme words
are normally important words in the lines in which they occur; accordingly, they are
always stressed. Since the dactyl ends with two unstressed syllables a one- or two-syllable
rhyming word won't work in dactylic meter, and there are relatively few triply-rhyming
words (i. e., all three syllables would have to rhyme)in English which fit the
"STRESSED unstressed unstressed" pattern necessary for a rhyming word to
receive the required stress. (NOTE: There is a way around this particular difficulty
we'll examine in a later lesson.)
C. The Amphibrach
The third three-syllable foot in English is the amphibrach:
amphibrach: / unstressed STRESSED unstressed /
The word "undying" is an amphibrach: / un DY ing /
"The sportsmen keep hawks, and their quarry they gain."
/the SPORTS men / keep HAWKS and / their QUAR ry / they GAIN /
/amphibrach/amphibrach/amphibrach/iamb
The problem with the amphibrach is that it can often be scanned as if it
actually consisted of anapests with a first-foot iambic substitution:
/the SPORTS / men keep HAWKS / and their QUAR / ry they GAIN /
/iamb/anapest/anapest/anapest/
If the last foot in the original scanning of the line had been an amphibrach
rather than an iamb, the line would simply have appeared to have had an extra
(hypermetrical) unstressed syllable at the end, a perfectly acceptable
situation.
As a result, very little use is made of the amphibrach itself, since perfectly
adequate descriptions of this meter can be made in terms of anapests and
iambs.