Sound and Rhythm Flashcards
Iamb
Unstressed + Stressed
Defective Foot
Single stressed syllable, lacking the
unstressed syllable the rhythm would
normally require
IAMB
Catatletic Line
Lacking one or more
unstressed syllables that
the rhythm would
normally require
IAMB
Acephalous line
Lacking one or more unstressed syllables
from the first foot
First foot does not match metre
IAMB
Caesura
A mark that indicates a pause.
It’s a way of marking when the
metre requires you to pause for
a moment if you’re reading the
poem aloud.
Trochee
Stressed + Unstressed
Terminal truncation
Omission of one or more unstressed
syllables from the end of a line
Spondee
Stressed + Stressed
Pyyrhus
Unstressed + Unstresssed
anapaest / anapest
unstressed + unstressed + stressed
dactyl
stressed + unstressed + unstressed ̅
amphibrach
unstressed + stressed + unstressed
Why do we care about rhythm and sound
-Because rhythm and metre are among the elements poets can manipulate to make meaning and produce effects
-Metre is the main characteristic that defines poetry as poetry
- If you are not attuned to rhythm and metre when you read a poem, then you are reading prose
Rhythm
Tthe pattern of sound in a text, or part of a text—mostly commonly, the arrangement of
stressed and unstressed syllables
Metre
The classification of a text’s rhythm—in English poetry, this means identifying the type of
poetic foot, and the number of them, that a line comprises
Prosody
The study of poetic metre
To Scan
to read a poem specifically to identify its rhythmic and metrical structure; to mark up the
text indicating stressed and unstressed syllables, metrical units, etc.
Scansion
the act of scanning poetry
Poetic Foot
a unit of rhythm, specifically an arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables. Poetic
feet need not always correspond to words, and no text will use only one type of foot with no variation
