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Analyzing LanguageAnalyzing Language

Dr. Peter PaolucciDr. Peter Paolucci

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Poetry Poetry vs.vs. Prose Prose

Poetry – ictic regularity (meter), or rhyme, or both

Blank Verse – non-rhyming iambic pentameter

Prose– May approach poetry but no ictic regularity or rhyme

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Table of ContentsTable of Contents

PoetryMeter

Classical, Syllabic, Accentual

Metrical Variants

RhymeRhyme patterns, Poetic License,

ProseSchemes of construction, Sentences, Syntax, Thought, Speech

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PoetryPoetry

Analyzing Poetic LanguageAnalyzing Poetic Language

Meter & RhymeMeter & Rhyme

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MeterMeter

Analyzing MeterAnalyzing Meter

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(i)(i) ““ClassicalClassical” ” akaaka “ “Accentual-SyllabicAccentual-Syllabic””

Recurring patterns of stressed/unstressedDuple

– iamb (iambic) [ u /u / ]– trochee (trochaic) [ / u/ u ]– spondee (spondaic) [ / // / ]– pyrrhus (pyrrhic) [ u uu u ]

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ClassicalClassical akaaka Accentual-SyllabicAccentual-Syllabic (Cont’d)(Cont’d)

Triple– anapest (anapestic) [ u u /u u / ] – dactyl (dactylic) [ / u u/ u u ]

Dimeter = 2 Trimeter = 3 Tetrameter = 4 Pentameter = 5 Hexameter (Alexandrine) = 6

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(ii) (ii) SyllabicSyllabic

Count only the total number of syllables per line

– Monosyllabic = 1– Disyllabic = 2– Trisyllabic = 3– Tetrasyllabic = 4– Pentasyllabic = 5– Decasyllabic = 10– Duidesasyllabic (dodecasyllabic) = 12

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(iii)(iii) ““AccentualAccentual” ” akaaka “ “Sprung RhythmSprung Rhythm””

Only count stressed syllables per line

– Monosyllabic = 1– Disyllabic = 2– Trisyllabic = 3– Tetrasyllabic = 4– Pentasyllabic = 5– Desyllabic = 10– Duidesasyllabic = 12

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33 Approaches Approaches to Meterto Meter

From George T. Wright, Shakespeare's Metrical Art (1988)

1. Counterpointers– Focus on the divergence between ictic regularity (metric

norm) and metrical variants/stress displacements

2. Fourstressers Hypothesize that in iambic pentameter there is always ONE

of the 5 stresses that is weaker than the others

3. Phrasalists– No such thing as “lines;” only phrases (chunks) of combined

rhythmical phrases

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((i)i) Metrical Variants Metrical Variants

– Caesura Pause/natural break around mid line (usually breaks into 6/4)

– Isocolon x2 equal/balanced halves caused by a mid-point caesura

– Epic Caesura Extra syllable before mid-line caesura

– Segmented Lines More than 1 caesura per line

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(ii) (ii) Metrical VariantsMetrical Variants

Headless Line– Line of iambic pentameter with missing unstressed

syllable before first syllable

Broken-Backed Line– Lacks unstressed syllable after midline pause

Straddling Trochee– Trochaic variant that straddles 2 phrases in the

middle of an iambic line

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(iii) (iii) Metrical VariantsMetrical Variants

End-stopped (truncated) lines– One less syllable that usual

Tumbling (“mighty”) lines– One more syllable than usual (Marlowe)

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Other Kinds of MeterOther Kinds of Meter

Musical Meter– Regularly recurring caesura over 10+ lines;

equivalent of a musical rest (for breathing)

Poetical Meter– Little opportunity for caesura

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RhymeRhyme

Analyzing RhymeAnalyzing Rhyme

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Rhyme VariantsRhyme Variants

MasculineMasculine = monosyllabic (shy/high) FeminineFeminine = multi-syllabic (only/lonely) AlliterationAlliteration = same consonant sounds (top/ten) AssonanceAssonance = internal rhyming vowel sounds

(vowel/owl) but not consonants ConsonanceConsonance = harmony or congruity in different

and final consonant sounds (call/pull)

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(i)(i) Rhyme Patterns Rhyme Patterns

Couplets (aa, bb) aka “Gemells”

Interlocking (abab cdcd) aka “Open Rhyme” or “Rima Alternata”

Closed Rhyme (abba) aka “Rima Chiusa”

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(ii)(ii) Rhyme Patterns Rhyme Patterns

Reverse Rhyme– 1st syllable alliteration + 2nd syllable assonance

(great-graze or kin-kind) Interlaced Rhyme (cycles of 3 cde cde)

Para-rhyme– Beginning and end rhyme in consonants with

different vowels in between (great-goat)

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(iii)(iii) Rhyme Patterns Rhyme Patterns

Forced Rhyme– Maltreated pronunciation

Eye Rhyme either

– Words that used to rhyme (prove/love)– Visually rhyming (daughter/laughter)

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(i)(i) Renaissance Poetic LicenseRenaissance Poetic License

Range doublets– fancy/fantasy or posey/posy or courtesy/curtsey

Variable pronunciation– opin-yon or opin – eee -- yon

Exaggerated auxiliary verbs– He hides or He doth hide

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(ii)(ii) Renaissance Poetic LicenseRenaissance Poetic License

Syntactical inversion– “He the damned traitor down doth strike”

Elision– Omitting a vowel (th’object)

Pronunciation of “ed”– belovED, learnED

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ProseProse

Analyzing ProseAnalyzing Prose

(Stylistics)(Stylistics)

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(i)(i) Schemes of Construction Schemes of Construction

From Robert Cluett, Grossly Speaking (1977)

Anaphora– Begin successive clauses with same word

Epistrophe– End successive clauses with same word

Symploce– Anaphora + Epistrophe

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(ii)(ii) Schemes of Construction Schemes of Construction

Anadiplosis– repetition of the last word of one line or clause to

begin the next" such as, "they looked, loved; loved, signed; signed, sought the reason, knew the reason"

Polyptoton– Repeated use of same lexeme as different parts of

speech. You can run, but running won’t help you.

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(iii) (iii) Schemes of ConstructionSchemes of Construction

Seriation– 3 or more items in a parallel series

Parallelism – Like ideas in like form in a series of two or more

Amplification– Heaping up of examples or modifiers

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(iv) (iv) Schemes of ConstructionSchemes of Construction

Ellipsis– Omission of needed (understood) part of a clause

Minus Additioning– 1 subject to govern 2 or more predications

Zuegma– 1 verb to govern 2 or more complements

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Quality of SentenceQuality of Sentence

Weighty– He stinks

Distributed– He possesses and emits an effluvious aroma

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(i) (i) SyntaxSyntax

Anastrophe– Deviation from subject-verb-predicate order

Hypotaxis– Subordination (who,if when,which,that,since, etc)

Parataxis– Coordination (and, or)

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(ii) (ii) SyntaxSyntax

Left branching– Late-completing sentence

Right branching– Early-completing sentence

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(iii) (iii) SyntaxSyntax

Ciceronian style– Amplified, seriated, elaborate schemes,

subordination (hypotactic ), repetition, long periods, distributed, sometimessometimes left branching

Senecan (Attic) style– Terse, paratactic, incremental, ellipsis, minus-

additioning, sometimessometimes right branching

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(i) (i) Figures of ThoughtFigures of Thought

Metaphor– Implied comparison

Simile– Explicit comparison using like or as

Personification– Attribution of human qualities to non-humans

Reification– Attribution of inanimate qualities to a person

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(ii) (ii) Figures of ThoughtFigures of Thought

Oxymoron– Inherent contradiction of logic or sense

Litotes– Understatement

Hyperbole– Overstatement

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(iv) (iv) LinkingsLinkings

Doublets– Antithetic Doublet

Opposites (good and evil)

– Range Doublet Groupings (kings and queens)

– Pleonastic Doublet Overlapping meanings (dictionaries and lexicons)

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(iii) (iii) Figures of SpeechFigures of Speech

Antiphrasis– Using a word 1800 opposite its meaning (irony)

Euphemism– Pleasant term for unpleasant thing

Dysphemism– Unpleasant term for pleasant thing

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FinisFinis