Basic Elements of Poetry

Prosody is the study of versification, covering the principles of metre, rhythm, rhyme and stanza forms. Rhythm and metre are different, although closely related. Metre is the definitive pattern established for a verse, while rhythm is the actual sound that results from a line of poetry.

Foot

The foot is a certain fixed combination of syllables, each of which is counted as being either stressed or unstressed.

 Greek names for various feet:-

Monometre                      One foot

Dimetre                           Two feet

Trimetre                          Three feet

Tetrametre                       Four feet

Pentametre                       Five feet

Hexametre                       Six feet

Heptametre                      Seven feet

Octametre                        Eight feet

Feet are classified according to the sequence of stressed and sequence of unstressed syllables they contain. There are four different kinds of feet and they are: 1) Iambic 2) Trochaic 3) Anapestic and 4) Dactylic.

 1. Iambic Metre

 It consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

Examples:  The cur/ few tolls/ the knell/ of par/ ting day/

This line consists of five iambic feet. So it is known as iambic pentametre

 2. Trochaic Metre

 It has first syllable stressed and second unstressed.

Examples: There they/ are my/ fifty/ men and/ women/

There are five in the line. The metre is known as trochaic pentameter.

3. Anapestic Metre

It consists of first two syllables unstressed and the third stressed.

Examples: The Assy/ rian came down/ like a wolf/ on the fold

The line consists of 12 syllables. There are four anapests. So the metre is known as anapestic tetrameter.

 4. Dactylic Metre

 It consists of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.

Examples: Eve with her/ basket was/

                  Deep in the/bells and grass

Each line has two feet and six syllables. The metre is dactylic dimetre.

                                                     Iambic- Unstressed, Stressed

                                                    Trochaic- Stressed, Unstressed

                                                    Anapestic- Unstressed, Unstressed, Stressed

                                                    Dectylic- Stressed, Unstressed, Unstressed

Rhyme

A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounding words occurring at the end of the lines in poems or songs.

Hard Rhyme: Two words with exactly same sound make hard rhyme.

Examples:  Be     Me

                   Say   Way

Soft Rhyme: Two words which does not exactly rhyme but are close enough make soft rhyme.

Examples: Dine    time

                  Work    mark

Internal Rhyme: A rhyme that occurs in the middle of lines of poetry, instead of at the ends of lines.

Examples: “I drove myself to the lake/ and dove into the water.”

Alliteration

It is the repetition of a speech sound in a sequence of words; the term is usually applied only to consonants.

Examples:  A big bully beats a baby boy

                   But a better butter makes a batter better.

Assonance

It is the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds-especially in stressed syllables.

Examples: “Men sell the wedding bells”

Diction

Diction in poetry refers to that specialized language which employs words and figures not normally found in common speech or prose.

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