Page 3 Rhythm in Poetry
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Rhythm in Poetry
Often, language has a kind of musical flow or balance that holds a listener’s attention. Rhythm: is the pattern of sound in a language, and it is particularly evident in poetry. Read aloud the following to hear the rhythm.
Tyger, tyger, burning bright
In the forests of the night
~William Blake (1757-1827)
Walking to the Beat
In poetry, these patterns of sound can have accentuated beats that are strong and long as well as unstressed beats that are weak and short. The repetitive beat forces the speaker and listener to follow the pattern.When considering the rhythm of poetry, weaker beats are represented by a U symbol. Stronger beats are represented by a / symbol.
When poetry has a rhythm or flow and you try walking to the beat of the poem, one foot comes down heavier than the other does on key syllables in words.
For example, Emily Dickinson's "Because I Could Not Stop for Death":
| Because I could not stop for Death, (4 beats)
He kindly stopped for me; (3 beats) The carriage held but just ourselves (4 beats) And Immortality. (3 beats) |
L (left leg) R (right leg)
|
L |
R |
L |
R |
L |
R |
L |
R |
|
Be |
cause |
I |
could |
not |
stop |
for |
Death |
|
da |
dum |
da |
dum |
da |
dum |
da |
dum |
4 beats
|
L |
R |
L |
R |
L |
R |
|
He |
kind |
Iy |
stopped |
for |
me |
|
da |
dum |
da |
dum |
da |
dum |
3 beats