Why are poetry lines measured in feet? Will knowing this information be helpful in understanding rhyme and the reason for poetry as an art form? A resounding YES! is my best answer. Not only will you understand the why of it, but you will also have the tools to create the what (poetry) by applying the all-encompassing how to words to make them sing and dance across the page.

The natural rhythm of language lends itself to being measured in some way that is logical, if not memorable. Make the language deliberately rhythmic and it will seem creative and poetic and perhaps even musical. Just as music has measurable entities in the form of numerically valued notes and measures, so also language, especially the language of poetry, has value measures in its compiled lines of verse. Music names its values ​​in the form of fractional notes from the full note to the penultimate hemidemisemiquaver, the 64 note and more. But words are a different story. They need more than just numerical values. They need substance from a classical heritage.

Thus, the measurements of the poetic units are clad in the unique garb of Greek and Roman antiquity, a stable and unchanging system of labels that uniquely identifies and labels any combination of literary poetry and prose that may exist now and for forever. They have feet. This is not in the sense of a foot per foot or a specific reference to the extensions of the limbs for mobility, the feet. It does refer to the fact that a foot is a standard unit of measure and those are the two requirements for its definition and application: standard and measure. Clever! The incomparable foot emerges triumphant.

How difficult must it be to find a workable system that is efficient and at the same time simplistic? It doesn’t have to be complicated at all, especially with syllable language that allows the natural flow of stressed and unstressed syllables to flow like a piece from the lips. Just as music is divided into bars with valuable notes, so poetry is divided into measured lines with valuable feet. Just as notes have names, feet have names. Everything is logical and easy to remember once understood.

In this system, look at the number of syllables in a word; note the stress pattern on each syllable both separately and in the context of some artificial sentence; Assign a symbol to each syllable to indicate that it is stressed or unstressed. Then find a pattern and give that pattern a recognizable and meaningful name. Attach that name to the established measuring device, the foot and poetic lines can be measured, described and named for all posterity.

Remember that some words may have the accent on a different syllable depending on their multiple functions and / or pronunciations.

Take the word CONFLICT, for example. In a sentence, en can be a noun and the accent would be on the first syllable, conflict. In another sense, it can be a verb and the accent would be on the second syllable, CONFLICT. [In this example, the stress is on the capitalized portion of the word and the unstressed portion is in the non-capitalized portion of the word.]

So where does the word feet come into play? Since each line of verse is measured, it stands to reason that it is measured through a recognizable measuring tool, the foot, which was used to measure distance. A mile was considered roughly a thousand steps, each step was a two-step step. Therefore, a mile (short for mille passuum) stretched for about five thousand feet and was determined and measured as a Roman mile. Over the centuries, the word foot became the measure of one of the types of labels assigned to a poetic unit. There are six that are in common use, although there are others that I won’t even address.

Multi-syllable words will have an accent assigned to one or more of the syllables in that word. This is how alphabetic languages ​​are built. The only question we have at hand is to determine which syllables are accented and which are not. Look at the patterns that are possible. Two-syllable words can be stressed / unstressed, unstressed / stressed, both stressed, or in context, both unstressed. Or use the terms long / short to represent stressed / not stressed if that’s more understandable. Whatever system is devised, make it consistent and easily recognizable. Whether it’s line / dot, green bean / pea, or banana / grape, it doesn’t matter. Something shows an accented (long) syllable and something else indicates an unstressed (short) syllable. Make it workable for you. Nothing is set in stone.

The names of the patterns are already firmly established by the powers that be. They are as follows:

The IAMB is the pattern that has a short syllable followed by a long syllable, or a tonic followed by an unstressed. The following words have a natural iambic pattern. Each would include one (1) iambic foot in the poetry. become, adult, comment, behave, assault, impart, withdraw, involve, repress

The TROCHEE is the pattern that is the reverse of the IAMB; it has a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed. It can also be considered long / short. These words have a naturally trochaic pattern. Each of these forms a single trochaic foot. beaver, anxious, apple, foreword, forward, appearance, aware, appreciate

The DACTYL is a nice form applied to three-syllable words with a pattern of stressed syllables followed by two unstressed. The words that fit this pattern are listed below. Each one constitutes one (1) fingerprint in poetic meter. uniform, courtesy, interview, joy, tearful, happiness, arrogant

ANAPEST is the reverse form of dactyl. It has the pattern of two unstressed syllables followed by an accented one. Words that fit this pattern include the following. Each could be called an anapestic foot in poetry. intervene, seventeen, applied, incomplete, promised or promised, interrupt, understand

Since the appearance of this pattern is relatively rare, it is best represented in the composition commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas” in which the pattern becomes musically obvious.

“It was the NIGHT before CHRISTMAS when the WHOLE HOUSE

not a creature stirred, not even a mouse …

Note the pattern of accented (no capital letters) and accented syllables characterized by UPPER CASE.

The SPONDEE has its own relegated list of words that fit its pattern, but it is mainly used for transition or variation of effect within the line of the verse. Its pattern is two long consecutive syllables. These patterns are in words like the following and are called spondaic. aircraft, neutral, break, photo, jump shot

The PYRRHUS or DIBRACH consists of only two (2) short syllables and is used to transition to other measures. Since all words by themselves have a certain accent, the accent removal comes in context with other words within a single line.

To determine what pattern a particular poetry line has, simply count the number of bars (the poetic feet) on the line. The one with the most is the name of that line. One line can be IAMBIC and another DACTYLLIC, or there can be three of one and two of another. The majority rule and always win.

The final part of measuring poetic lines is determining how many units of metric feet are in a line. The Greeks have the words for this. They gave us the word to measure, which is meter. They have also given the terms to describe the number of feet per line. These are monometer, diameter, quarter, tetrameter, pentameter, hexameter, heptameter, octameter, nonmeter, and decameter.

Putting it all together results in an accurate description of a line of poetry as it is scanned to determine its measurement in number and types of metric feet.

Thomas Herrick has one of the only known examples of an iambic monometer. Here it is in its entirety, “On your departure from here.”

So i

Pass through,

And dies:

Like one,

A stranger,

And gon:

I’m done

A tone,

And ugly

I’m serious

There they have

My cave

Where to count

I inhabit

Fired.

“It was the night before Christmas …” is clearly an anaplastic tetrameter that has four more analogous measurements per line.

Poe’s “The Raven” is made up of a trochaic octameter that has eight (8) troches per line.

For you to compose and create, keep your letter in mind, carefully select the words, put them together like a puzzle and maneuver to freely form what sounds to the musical rhythm of your message, a symphony that resonates in your mind. , heart and soul. There you go. That’s everything you need to know about metric feet and poetic measurements.