Transcript Scanning the Verse PowerPoint

scanning verse
to scan a line means to mark the stressed
accents
 English likes “iambic pentameter”
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– You can find prose sentences in iambic
pentameter in The Lord of the Rings or Moby
Dick and other novels
Iambic pentameter
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metrical terminology comes from Greek poetry
English meter is syllabic, based on stress-accent
(the loudness with which a syllable is pronounced)
An iamb is a unit, or foot, that has one un stressed
syllable followed by a stressed one
“pent” is five in Greek
Five iambs make one line (2 x 5 = 10)
A line of verse is a unit
Strong beginning, therefore the first syllable
is often stressed rather than the second
 Strong middle--look for a pause and verbs
 Strong ending--therefore rhymes are
common in English
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Feminine ending
A line that ends with an eleventh, unstressed
syllable is said to be “feminine” (a term
used in French poetry”
 Example:
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– To be or not to be, that is the question.
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A line that ends on a stress is said to be
“masculine”
– Masculine lines are more common in English
Usefulness of scanning
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Scanning helps you pronounce strange names
correctly:
– Wilt thou have music? Hark, Apollo plays.
– If, Biondello, thou wert come ashore
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But sometimes scanning is hard
– Obviously the poet does not want dull repetition of a
sound pattern, and so, even in very regular verse, will
vary the stress.
– C. S. Lewis reminds us of this point, and the choriamb
Choriamb
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Sometimes a line has a “choriambic” =
stress/unstress/unstress/stress
Often this follows a pause or comma:
– To be or not to be, [that is the question].
– Notice there are two ways to scan this line
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Or the choriamb occurs at the beginning:
– [Tarry, Petru]chio, I must go with thee.
– 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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Or both places:
– [Knock you here , sir?] Why, [sir, what am I?]
Practice
Tranio, since for the great desire I had
To see fair Padua, nursery of arts,
I am arriv’d for fruitful Lombardy,
The pleasant garden of great Italy.
Tips
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In early Shakespeare, find five stresses
Find two- or three- syllable words whose accent
you know.
– An affable and courteous gentleman.
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In later Shakespeare, there may be only four.
– There is more “elision” (blurring together of syllables,
or additional syllables sounded quickly)
Tips
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Only “regular” (5- stressed) lines appear on
exams.
Accents or stresses fall on the even syllables: 2, 4,
6, 8, 10
Just count the syllables and mark stresses on the
even numbered ones.
– Her name is Katharina Minola.
– 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
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Sometimes -ed is pronounced.
Acting
A break in the meter is an indication
something unusual is happening.
 Use pauses to give shape to lines.
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– Tranio, since for the great desire I had
– Tranio, since for the great desire I had
(choriambic)