Rhyme Scheme–using letters to identify a pattern of end rhyme in a poem
Scansion—Measuring beat in lines of poetry.
Feet—A set of syllables with a beat.
Meter—Number of feet in a line
Iamb (2 syllables) unstressed/stressed pattern. For example, today, between, or again
*Iambic Pentameter – Most important form! U / U / U / U / U / (5 feet of iambs) Used for most blank verse and sonnets.
Blank Verse—Poetry written in iambic pentameter without rhyme.
Trochee (2 syllables) stressed/unstressed
Example: sample
(compare how you say sample vs. today)
pyrric 2 unstressed syllables u u
anapest 3 syllables u u /
Ex. The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold
dactyl 3 syllables / u u (Waterfall)
The following lines are examples of iambic pentameter: See if you can find the beats…
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Here’s a video if you’re still not getting it…
In class we’ll look at the poem My Papa’s Waltz to further demonstrate these things.