scanning verse

1
scanning verse

• to scan a line means to mark the stressed accents
• English likes iambic pentameter
• You can find prose sentences in iambic pentameter
  in The Lord of the Rings or Moby Dick and other
  novels

2
Iambic pentameter

• metrical terminology comes from Greek poetry
• English meter is syllabic, based on stress-accent
  (the loudness with which a syllable is
  pronounced)
• An iamb is a unit, or foot, that has one un
  stressed syllable followed by a stressed one
• pent is five in Greek
• Five iambs make one line (2 x 5 10)

3
A line of verse is a unit

• Strong beginning, therefore the first syllable is
  often stressed rather than the second
• Strong middle--look for a pause and verbs
• Strong ending--therefore rhymes are common in
  English

4
Feminine ending

• A line that ends with an eleventh, unstressed
  syllable is said to be feminine (a term used in
  French poetry
• Example
• To be or not to be, that is the question.
• A line that ends on a stress is said to be
  masculine
• Masculine lines are more common in English

5
Usefulness of scanning

• Scanning helps you pronounce strange names
  correctly
• Wilt thou have music? Hark, Apollo plays.
• If, Biondello, thou wert come ashore
• But sometimes scanning is hard
• Obviously the poet does not want dull repetition
  of a sound pattern, and so, even in very regular
  verse, will vary the stress.
• C. S. Lewis reminds us of this point, and the
  choriamb

6
Choriamb

• Sometimes a line has a choriambic
  stress/unstress/unstress/stress
• Often this follows a pause or comma
• To be or not to be, that is the question.
• Notice there are two ways to scan this line
• Or the choriamb occurs at the beginning
• Tarry, Petruchio, I must go with thee.
• 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
• Or both places
• Knock you here , sir? Why, sir, what am I?

7
Practice

• Tranio, since for the great desire I had
• To see fair Padua, nursery of arts,
• I am arrivd for fruitful Lombardy,
• The pleasant garden of great Italy.

8
Tips

• In early Shakespeare, find five stresses
• Find two- or three- syllable words whose accent
  you know.
• An affable and courteous gentleman.
• In later Shakespeare, there may be only four.
• There is more elision (blurring together of
  syllables, or additional syllables sounded
  quickly)

9
Tips

• Only regular (5- stressed) lines appear on
  exams.
• Accents or stresses fall on the even syllables
  2, 4, 6, 8, 10
• Just count the syllables and mark stresses on the
  even numbered ones.
• Her name is Katharina Minola.
• 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
• Sometimes -ed is pronounced.

10
Acting

• A break in the meter is an indication something
  unusual is happening.
• Use pauses to give shape to lines.
• Tranio, since for the great desire I had
• Tranio, since for the great desire I had
  (choriambic)