The stressed and unstressed syllables thing confuses me.
Could anyone help me with understanding on this?
Thanks again
![Laughing :lol:](https://www.booktalk.org/images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
In total there are 51 users online :: 0 registered, 0 hidden and 51 guests (based on users active over the past 60 minutes)
Most users ever online was 1086 on Mon Jul 01, 2024 9:03 am
geo wrote:The woods decay, the woods decay and fall. (Tennyson)
Try reading this aloud. You can't help but place the emphasis on the even-numbered syllables (2,4,6,8,10).
The WOODS deCAY, the WOODS deCAY and FALL.
So in this line there are a total of 10 syllables and each pair of syllables is called a metrical foot. The "iamb" in "iambic" is a metrical foot consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable.
So "The WOODS" is one iamb.
"DeCAY" is one iamb. And so on.
In poetry there are other kinds of stressed syllables. For example, a trochee, just the opposite of an iamb, features one long (or stressed) syllable followed by one short (or unstressed) syllable.
Pentameter simply means there are five metrical feet in this thing (penta = five). In this case, since we're talking about iambic pentameter, it means we're talking about five iambs in a row.
The woods decay, the woods decay and fall.
Hope that helps! I borrowed heavily from James Fenton's AN INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH POETRY.
tbarron wrote:What goes ti-ti-TUM?geo wrote:An iamb goes ti-TUM.
A trochee goes TUM-ti.
A spondee goes TUM TUM!