A simple guide to Prosody
Introduction
First and foremost, poetry should be
entertainment. Sadly, over the years it has become, with few
exceptions, virtually the preserve of an intellectual pseudo-elite and
it seems that the deeper and more obscure the work, the more it (and the
poet) is admired (even though not necessarily understood) by its
readership. The further in that direction poetry goes, the further it
gets from any form of popular entertainment, except in the most rarefied
sense.
There was a time when almost all poetry
was written in 'proper' verse, i.e. it rhymed and scanned. Pick up any
book of famous or at least popular poetry and everything is written
thus. Rhyme and scansion certainly helps make a poem memorable. The
rhythmic form of the poem can even add value to the words used.
Clearly, Shakespeare thought there was some merit in writing all his
plays in Iambic Pentameter (‘De-dum, de-dum, de-dum, de-dum, de-dum)
while a metric form such as anapaest adds the galloping ‘tiddy-dum,
tiddy-dum’ rhythm that puts pace and spirit into a narrative like no
other writing form.
To the apparently eternal chagrin of
most of my fellows, I write (or at least attempt to) poems that rhyme
and scan. I am told that it is unnecessary and restricts and can
shape what is said. I argue that it makes it more difficult and
challenging and therefore serves a purpose. Much like as in sex, just
finishing isn’t enough - it’s how you get there that matters. Why else
would someone choose to run a marathon wearing a diving suit, or why
choose the difficult crossword when the easy one is available?
There are times when more difficult is
more enjoyable and making things easier – as in so-called free verse (which isn’t really verse at all?) serves only to take the best of the
challenge away.
This part of the site is intended for those who
aspire to 'real' poetry. However it is does not provide any kind
of deep discussion of the subject. I would not presume to do so.
Other sites do this much more effectively than ever I could.
For a more detailed discussion of
Prosody visit
http://digilander.libero.it/troubadours/prosody/pvers.html
Instead I have set out to summarise the
various techniques and rules (if rules indeed they be!) used in creating
verse of this type. It is inevitably not complete and provides
only a shallow overview of the subject, but nonetheless will hopefully
provide a useful aide-memoire for those new to the subject that
weightier treatments do not.
In addition, perusing it may just
inspire something that can clear a bout of the infamous writer's block
that bedevils even seasoned hands every now and then.
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