Scansion Overview

Question 1

Rhythm

Answer 1

In English poetry, the rhythm is the sequence of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.

Languages that don’t stress in the way that English does have different rhythmic principles

Question 2

Stress or Accent

Answer 2

Emphasis placed on a particular syllable in a word.

Stressed syllables can be spoken louder, higher in pitch or with greater precision than unstressed syllables

Question 3

Metre

Answer 3

Derives the ancient meaning “to measure”

In poetry, the metre is the rhythmic pattern or recurrent arrangements of stressed and unstressed syllables

Question 4

Prosody

Answer 4

The study of metre and verse forms in poetry

Question 5

Scansion

Answer 5

Analyzing the metre of a poem by identifying the stressed and unstressed syllables, and classifying the types of poetic foot you find

Question 6

Poetic Verse

Answer 6

A repeating unit of rhythm in a line of poetry.

-Poems often use multiple (would be boring of just one)
-One type tends to be more prominent and categorizes the metre

Question 7

Syllabic Verse

Answer 7

Rare in english but common in other language

Same number of syllables in each line but not a recurring rhythmic pattern

deca (10), octi (8), alex (12).

Prominent foot + syllabulus

Question 8

Marcon (-)

Answer 8

Stressed Syllable

Question 9

What 2 markups go together?

Answer 9

Macrom and Breve (-, smile curve)
Solidu and x (/, x)

Question 10

Verticle bar | is used for what

Answer 10

Separate Poetic Feet

Question 11

Caesura ||

Answer 11

Double bar, marks stong pause mid-line

Question 12

Breve (curve)

Answer 12

Unstressed syllable

Question 13

Most common verse form

Answer 13

Iamb Pentameter

Question 14

Iamb

Answer 14

Unstressed, Stressed

Question 15

Trochee

Answer 15

Stressed, Unstressed

Question 16

Pyrrhus

Answer 16

Unstressed, Unstressed

Impossible to write and entire poem in pyrrhic metre, only occurs occasionally for variety

Question 17

Spondee

Answer 17

Stressed, Stressed

Question 19

Dactyl

Answer 19

Stressed, Unstressed, Unstressed

Question 20

Anapest

Answer 20

Unstressed, Unstressed, Stressed

Question 21

Cretic

Answer 21

Stressed, Unstressed, Stressed

Question 22

Amphibrach

Answer 22

Unstressed, Stressed, Unstressed

Question 23

Defective Line

Answer 23

Not a value judgement but simply a line that lacks an unstressed syllable you’d normally expect it to have somewhere

Question 24

Acephalous Line

Answer 24

A line that lacks a expected at the beginning

Question 25

Catalexis (catalectic line)

Answer 25

Missing an unstressed syllable at the end Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Star is stressed when the entire think is trochee)

Question 26

Terminal Truncation

Answer 26

The practice of leaving of a syllable at the end of a line. Results in catalectic line

Question 27

best way to do scansion

Answer 27

Work backwards and count syllabulus, usuallly split into 2