Rhyme &
Meter
Review
1. How many syllables does “dilemma” have?
2. How many syllables do iambs & trochaics have?
3. The word “infer” has what type of rhythm?
4. How many syllables do anapestic & dactylic have?
5. The word “happily” has what type of rhythm?
6. The beat of poetry (stressed & unstressed) is called?
7. The length of a line of poetry based on rhythm is called?
8. Meter is measured in units of 2 or 3 syllables called…?
9. If a line of poetry has 1 foot it is called?
10. If a line of poetry has 4 feet it is called?
More
Rhyme & Meter
Shakespearean sonnets
• Contains 3 quatrains and a heroic couplet, all
written in iambic pentameter.
• 14 lines long
• Rhyming pattern of the sonnets:
– abab, cdcd, efef, gg
• Iambic Pentameter: a meter of syllables
(unstressed, stressed) containing 5 feet.
• Heroic Couplet: last two lines of the sonnet that
has 2 rhyming lines.
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; A
Coral is far more red than her lips' red; B
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; A
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. B
I have seen roses damasked, red and white, C
But no such roses see I in her cheeks; D
And in some perfumes is there more delight C
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. D
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know E
That music hath a far more pleasing sound; F
I grant I never saw a goddess go; E
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground. F
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare G
As any she belied with false compare. G
Meter/feet
• The rhythm of a poem is expressed in feet or
syllables. The syllables are either stressed or
unstressed. The pair (2) of syllables become a foot.
• In iambic pentameter there are 5 feet (10 syllables)
• The syllables are unstressed ( ) or stressed ( / )
• The division of the feet is marked by the symbol ( ǀ )
• It sounds like:
ᵕ
/
/
/
/
/
ᵕ
ᵕ
ᵕ
ᵕ
ᵕ
da DUM ǀ da DUM ǀ da DUM ǀ da DUM ǀ da DUM ǀ
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; A
Coral is far more red than her lips' red; B
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; A
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. B
I have seen roses damasked, red and white, C
But no such roses see I in her cheeks; D
And in some perfumes is there more delight C
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. D
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know E
That music hath a far more pleasing sound; F
I grant I never saw a goddess go; E
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground. F
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare G
As any she belied with false compare. G
iambic
iambic foot
iambic pentameter
pentameter
rhyming pattern
heroic couplet
quatrain
Shakespearean sonnet
1. A __________ consists of 4 lines of verse in a poem.
2. __________ refers to the foot that is used in a rhyming pattern.
3. __________ = five
4. A pair of syllables containing unstressed/stressed syllables is an
__________ .
5. Poems written in iambic pentameter are typically referred to as
__________.
6. Typical of Shakespearean Sonnets, the last two lines are referred to
as the __________ .
7. In a Shakespearean Sonnet the __________ is abab, cdcd, efef, gg
8. A meter used in poetry consisting of 5 feet in a line, or ten syllables
is written in __________ .
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POETRY CONCEPTS
& TERMS
Eye Rhymes
• When words look like thy should rhyme but in
actuality do not.
• Example:
Stone & none
Dove & move
Bough & though
• You can pronounce them so they rhyme even though
they don’t in reality.
• Open your books to page 162
“Upon his Departure Hence”
Parallelism
• Parallelism is the construction of 2 or more thoughts
in the same pattern. 3 types of parallelism:
1. An idea is stated in the first line & restated in the 2nd
For he hath founded it upon the seas,
And established it upon the floods.
2. An idea is stated in the first line & contrasted in the 2nd
Trust in the LORD with all your heart;
And lean not unto your own understanding.
3. A thought is developed/expanded throughout the poem
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul:
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making the wise simple.
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart:
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psalms in the Bible
• The Psalms were songs and poems originally written
in Hebrew and had their own sound and style
• Isaac Watts translated the Psalms of the Bible into
English verse, giving them rhyme and meter.
• He wrote most of the Psalms using the 3 most
popular meters:
– Common meter (a quatrain with a syllable pattern of 8686)
– Short meter (a quatrain with a syllable pattern of 6686)
– Long meter (a quatrain with a syllable pattern of 8888)
Psalms
Turn to page 166