Christopher Aruffo, MFA, MBA, MSc, PhD
Once every long syllable is marked, you can group them into feet. In English verse, every foot contains one long syllable plus one or two short. The long syllable produces a rhythmic beat, while the shorts create equal spacing. You can group feet by assigning every short to a nearby long.
, , , ,
Once u|pon a | midnight | dreary
, , , ,
For the moon | never beams | without bring|ing me dreams
Don't forget that a long syllable can be on either side of its foot. When every foot is the same length, switching sides does not disrupt rhythm. Rather, a reversed foot creates rhythmic variation.
, , , , ,
That had | he Dun|can's sons | under | his key
Two short syllables are the same length as one long (s + s = L). Therefore, wherever there is space for two short syllables, the two short can be replaced by one long. Robert Service does so frequently in "The Cremation of Sam McGee."
, , , , , ,
In the long | long night, | by the lone | firelight,
Every foot on a line must be the same length. On different lines, foot length can be different. John Dryden's "Song" from Marriage a la Mode changes foot length between lines: from one to two short syllables per long.
, , , ,
What wrong | has he | whose joys | did end,
, , , ,
And who | could give | no more? | * *
, , , ,
'Tis a mad|ness that he | should be jeal|ous of me,
, , , ,
Or that I | should bar him | of ano|ther. * *
*Pause
Once you've grouped syllables into feet, your analysis may already be finished. It is possible that every short syllable may group with a neighboring long. If so, no further analysis is necessary.
However, if any inequalities remain, you must fix them. Where lines are unequal, rhythm stumbles. Where feet are unequal, verse becomes prose. Your analysis is complete only when all feet and all lines are equal.
| , , , , ,
My for|mer speech|es have | but hit | your thoughts, , , , , , Which can | inter|pret fur|ther: on|ly, I say, XXX , , , , , Things have | been strange|ly borne. | The gra|cious Dun|can XXX , , , , , , Was pit|ied of | Macbeth: | marry, | he was | dead: XXX , , , , , And the right|valiant | Banquo | walked too | late; XXX , , , , , , Whom, you | may say, if | it please | you, Fle|ance killed, XXX , , , , , , For Fle|ance fled: | men must | not walk | too late. XXX , , , , , , Who can|not want | the thought | how mon|strous XXX , , , , , It was | for Mal|colm and | for Don|albain , , , , , To kill | their gra|cious fa|ther? damn|ed fact! , , , , , , How it | did grieve | Macbeth! | did he | not straight XXX , , , , , In pi|ous rage | the two | delin|quents tear, , , , , , That were | the slaves | of drink | and thralls | of sleep? , , , , , , Was not | that nob|ly done? | Ay, and | wisely | too; XXX , , , , , For 'twould | have an|gered an|y heart | alive , , , , , To hear | the men | deny | it. So that, | I say, XXX , , , , , , , He has borne | all things | well: and | I do think XXX , , , , , That had | he Dunc|an's sons | under | his key-- , , , , , , , As, and | it please | heaven, | he shall not-- | they should find XXX , , , , , What 'twere | to kill | a fa|ther; so | should Fle|ance. XXX , , , , , , But, peace! | For from | broad words, | and 'cause | he failed XXX , , , , His pres|ence at the ty|rant's feast, | I hear XXX , , , , , Macduff | lives in | disgrace. | Sir, can | you tell , , , Where he | bestows | himself? XXX XXX line is unequal Notice that, already, 8 out of 24 lines are equal. |
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