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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Essay & Composition Writing
Meter help please
I have to write a poem that is written primarily in iambic pentatmer, but I have extreme difficulty telling wether something is stressed or unstressed. Can anyone tell me what the meter is for the lines I have so far.
Also, my teacher is allowing us to use 11 syllables per line if we need to, so it does not need to be strictly 10 syllables.
The world is not in want of Winter's chill
Leaves leap from limbs to hide their flare with rot
Fall flowers sink coldly into dying hills
and fauna flee for dreams of warmth that's forgot
Sad winter, forced hermit, wanders alone
as sorrow falls from his eyes as soft cold white
that blankets earth, and marks his lonesome roam;
His heart feels ever doomed to this eternal plight.
Also, my teacher is allowing us to use 11 syllables per line if we need to, so it does not need to be strictly 10 syllables.
The world is not in want of Winter's chill
Leaves leap from limbs to hide their flare with rot
Fall flowers sink coldly into dying hills
and fauna flee for dreams of warmth that's forgot
Sad winter, forced hermit, wanders alone
as sorrow falls from his eyes as soft cold white
that blankets earth, and marks his lonesome roam;
His heart feels ever doomed to this eternal plight.
Top answer
A standard English dictionary will tell you where the stresses fall in a word, normally. In a poetic line, the connective words (like "of," "a," "for") are often the unstressed. Here is how I would read your lines (with -- showing an unstressed and / showing a stressed syllable).
- A standard English dictionary will tell you where the stresses fall in a word, normally.
- In a poetic line, the connective words (like "of," "a," "for") are often the unstressed.
- Here is how I would read your lines (with -- showing an unstressed and / showing a stressed syllable).
- -- / -- / -- / -- / -- / The world is not in want of Winter's chill (iambic) / / -- / -- / -- / -- / Leaves leap from limbs to hide their flare with rot (spondee opener) -- / -- / / -- / -- / -- / Fall flowers sink coldly into dying hills (reversed foot is a trochee) -- / -- / -- / -- / -- -- / and fauna flee for dreams of warmth that's forgot (mostly iambic) / / -- / / -- / -- -- / Sad winter , forced hermit, wanders alone (spondee, mixed, too many stresses) -- / -- / -- --- / -- / / / as sorrow falls from his eyes as soft cold white (anapest foot plus 3 stresses at end) -- / -- / -- / -- / --- / that blankets earth, and marks his lonesome roam; (iambic) -- / { /} / -- / -- / -- / -- / His heart feels ever doomed to this eternal plight.
- (iambic if we ignore the natural stess{/}) Now, how to put this poem more into iambic pentameter?
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2 Answers
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A standard English dictionary will tell you where the stresses fall in a word, normally. In a poetic line, the connective words (like "of," "a," "for") are often the unstressed. Here is how I would read your lines (with -- showing an unstressed and / showing a stressed syllable).
-- / -- / -- / -- / -- /
The world is not in want of Winter
-- / -- / -- / -- / -- /
The world is not in want of Winter
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Thanks, that helps a great deal and calirifes some of the areas I was unsure of.
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