Scansion

1
Scansion

• The Rules of Poetic Structure

2
A look at structure

• Whose woods these are I think I know
• His house is in the village though
• He will not see me stopping here
• To watch his woods fill up with snow

3
Metric Patterns - Meter

• u / u / u /
  u /
• Whose woodsthese are I think I know
• u / u / u / u
  /
• His house is in the vil lage though
• u / u / u / u
  /
• He will not see me stop ping here
• u / u / u / u
  /
• To watch his woods fill up with snow

4
Iambic and Trochaic

• Both have two syllables per foot
• Iambic
• u / (away)
• Trochaic
• / u (coming)

5
Iambic and Trochaic Practice

• Identify each as iambic or trochaic
• Sunday 8. birthday
• correct 9. simple
• believe 10. because
• dispute 11. sister
• convey 12. laughter
• gather 13. music
• relief 14. attack
• 15. Create two examples of Iamb.
• 16. Create two examples of Trochee.

6
Anapestic and Dactylic

• Both have three syllables per foot
• Anapestic
• u u / (cannonade)
• Dactylic
• / u u (victory)

7
Anapestic and Dactylic Practice

• Identify each as anapestic or dactylic
• fugitive 8. rhapsody
• beautiful 9. lemonade
• contradict 10. syllable
• alkaline 11. arrogant
• satisfy 12. indigo
• understand 13. masquerade
• disappear 14. interject
• 15. Create two examples of Anapest.
• 16. Create two examples of Dactyl.

8
Spondee and Pyrrhic

• Rarely used
• Spondee
• / /
• Pyrrhic
• u u
• u u / / u u / /
• And the white breast of the dim sea

9
Metrical Feet

• 1 2 3
  4
• Whose woodsthese are I think I know
• His house is in the vil lage though
• He will not see me stop ping here
• To watch his woods fill up with snow

10
Metrical Feet

• One Foot Monometer
• Two Feet Dimeter
• Three Feet Trimeter
• Four Feet Tetrameter
• Five Feet Pentameter
• Six Feet Hexameter
• Seven Feet Heptameter
• Eight Feet Octameter
• Nine or more X-lined Stanza

11
Metrical Feet

• Once upon a midnight dreary
• Leaf again, life again
• Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly
  stopped for me
• How do I love thee? Let me count the ways
• I am called to the front of the room

12
Metrical Feet

• Once upon a midnight dreary
• trochaic tetrameter
• Leaf again, life again
• dactylic dimeter
• Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly
  stopped for me
• iambic heptameter

13
Metrical Feet

• How do I love thee? Let me count the ways
• iambic pentameter
• I am called to the front of the room
• anapestic trimeter