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Drop and give me 4
Jan. 24th, 2008 09:47 amAmong all the other homework assignments I've given myself, I want to work my way through the metrics exercises in Stephen Fry's (yes, that one) book on poetry An Ode Less Travelled.**
His aim is to get you writing, a little bit everyday. To be a hobbyist poet: to just enjoy the creation of the work, as a hobby painter would. Learn your craft, learn its techniques---but do learn to just do and doodle it.
Stephen starts off explaining accentual-syllabic meter and gets into iambic feet right in the first chapter. First writing assignment for the reader is a challenge to write ten lines OR couplets of iambic pentameter.
And I thinks to meself, Self, you'd rather start off with something more basic, more instinctual.
Anglo Saxon poetry.
Don't count the syllables. Just count the number of accented syllables. Make it four per line, and don't worry about the unaccented syllables.
There should be a casesura, a pause, in the middle of the lines. It can be noted with punctuation, such as commas, dashes, colons semi and un-semi. Or just some kind of mental pause, or a gathering of breath if you spoke.
And alliteration. A.S. poetry doesn't rhyme--its sound echoes come at the start of the syllable, not the end.
And note: Not the first letter of the word, but of the first letter/sound of the accented syllable. "BeSIDE" would alliterate on the "S" sound, not "B".
Now, here's where the opinions differ.
Stephen describes it describes the rhythm (because if it doesn't have a rhythm or pattern, it ain't poetry), as boom-boom-boom-crash. He says you alliterate the first three accented syllables and the final one does not. The first three set up the pattern (boom-boom-boom) and the final gets some attention by refusing to go along (crash).
Other books*** (try Miller Williams wonderful Patterns of Poetry) suggest an easier style: that third accented syllable alliterates with the first AND/OR second syllable. Again, the last syllable mustn't alliterate.
Or just make it easy on yourself: 4 accented beats, and get some alliteration in there. Oh, and by the way, in A.S. poetry, all vowels alliterate with each other. I at least like to do it up Irish, and divide my vowels into "broad" and "narrow" and alliterate those.
********************
So....
Give me a few lines, hopefully at least four. Each with four beats, Make them alliterate at least once in each line. Yes, you can have enjambments between lines and couplets.
Topic: How's your day starting out? Anglo Saxon is good for strong statements, declarations of feelings and opinions, editorials, or just plain venting.
Of course, if you are feeling a bit more mellow, you can just give me lines and couplets of iambic pentameter, if you like.
And if you just feel like staring at your coffee, observe your cup and cubicle, and give me some senyru.
************************
( The footnotes )
His aim is to get you writing, a little bit everyday. To be a hobbyist poet: to just enjoy the creation of the work, as a hobby painter would. Learn your craft, learn its techniques---but do learn to just do and doodle it.
Stephen starts off explaining accentual-syllabic meter and gets into iambic feet right in the first chapter. First writing assignment for the reader is a challenge to write ten lines OR couplets of iambic pentameter.
And I thinks to meself, Self, you'd rather start off with something more basic, more instinctual.
Anglo Saxon poetry.
Don't count the syllables. Just count the number of accented syllables. Make it four per line, and don't worry about the unaccented syllables.
There should be a casesura, a pause, in the middle of the lines. It can be noted with punctuation, such as commas, dashes, colons semi and un-semi. Or just some kind of mental pause, or a gathering of breath if you spoke.
And alliteration. A.S. poetry doesn't rhyme--its sound echoes come at the start of the syllable, not the end.
And note: Not the first letter of the word, but of the first letter/sound of the accented syllable. "BeSIDE" would alliterate on the "S" sound, not "B".
Now, here's where the opinions differ.
Stephen describes it describes the rhythm (because if it doesn't have a rhythm or pattern, it ain't poetry), as boom-boom-boom-crash. He says you alliterate the first three accented syllables and the final one does not. The first three set up the pattern (boom-boom-boom) and the final gets some attention by refusing to go along (crash).
Other books*** (try Miller Williams wonderful Patterns of Poetry) suggest an easier style: that third accented syllable alliterates with the first AND/OR second syllable. Again, the last syllable mustn't alliterate.
Or just make it easy on yourself: 4 accented beats, and get some alliteration in there. Oh, and by the way, in A.S. poetry, all vowels alliterate with each other. I at least like to do it up Irish, and divide my vowels into "broad" and "narrow" and alliterate those.
********************
So....
Give me a few lines, hopefully at least four. Each with four beats, Make them alliterate at least once in each line. Yes, you can have enjambments between lines and couplets.
Topic: How's your day starting out? Anglo Saxon is good for strong statements, declarations of feelings and opinions, editorials, or just plain venting.
Of course, if you are feeling a bit more mellow, you can just give me lines and couplets of iambic pentameter, if you like.
And if you just feel like staring at your coffee, observe your cup and cubicle, and give me some senyru.
************************
( The footnotes )
