Honors English 12
Mrs. Voorhies
In Memoriam:
The stanzas are iambic tetrameter quatrains with the rhyme scheme ABBA
Quatrains are four line stanzas
"Tetrameter" means "four measures." Verse written in tetrameter has four
measures, which are also called feet. In English, the most common foot or
measure is the iamb, which is a pair of syllables that follow this pattern: ta
TUM. Iambic tetrameter has four such feet, for a total of eight syllables. A
line of poetry is in iambic tetrameter if it follows this pattern:
ta TUM ta TUM ta TUM ta TUM.
Example from In Memoriam A.H.H. (mark the stressed and unstressed
syllables, as well as rhyme scheme):
So runs my dream, but what am I?
An infant crying in the night
An infant crying for the light
And with no language but a cry.
Elegy: a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song
or a lament for the dead.
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ASSIGNMENT: Write a four quatrain (16 line) elegy in iambic tetrameter.
Your elegy CANNOT be about a person or animal… be creative!
Examples: Lamenting – an old relationship, the loss of childhood innocence,
the trust of a parent, faith in oneself, etc.
*DUE Tuesday January 17, 2012