“If you want to understand language, start with poetry.”
This might seem like trite and tired advice from an old dusty literary course, but the fact is that it’s true. Understanding the feel of literature within the realm of spoken language has its origins in understanding poetry. When working with writers who seek to seriously improve their craft, we always recommend a literary crash course in some of the most famous works of early poetry available in the English language. We’ve created this guide as a short hand reference to help both literary scholars, undergraduate English majors, and AP Lit crammers alike.
When it comes to examining the physical composition of poetry, two of the easiest attributes to pay attention to are meter and beat. The “beat” (which is described in the more official term of “foot”) simply refers to where an accent stressed is placed on a word or sound. “Meter” refers to the collective bundling of those beats, and describes how many feet there are within a line of poetry. We’ll give examples throughout to help explain.
1. What is an Iamb?
An “iamb” is a metrical foot (ie, a “beat”) with two syllables, where the accent of the sound is placed on the second syllable. Readers familiar with the works of Shakespeare will encounter this form frequently.
Examples include words like: Guitar, Offend, and Create
2. What is a Trochee?
You could almost think of a trochee as the opposite of an iamb. Like an iamb, a trochee is also a metrical foot with two syllables, but the main difference is that the accent is placed on the first syllable instead of the second.
For example: Apple, Whisker, and College
3. What is Iambic Pentameter?
Remember the distinction between feet and meter? The first two terms up above describe feet only, when we add the distinction of “pentameter” the composition changes slightly. Iambic Pentameter refers to lines of verse composed using five iambs (ie, penta = five). The result is then ten syllables.
Example of iambic pentameter in Shakespeare (stressed syllables are in bold):
“Oh pardon me thou bleeding piece of earth,”
— (Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 1)
4. What is Iambic Tetrameter?
Do you feel like you’re starting to get the hang of it? Iambic tetrameter is just like iambic pentameter, the only difference is that we have four feet per line instead of five (tetra = four). Therefore the resulting line is composed of eight syllables.
Examples of iambic tetrameter in poetry (stressed syllables are in bold):
“Come live with me and be my love,”
— Christopher Marlow, “The Passionate Shepherd to his Love”
5. What is Iambic Hexameter?
Yes, iambic hexameter happens, but not very often. When iambic hexameter happens in English, it’s also known as an “alexandrine.” Hex means six, so if you guessed that iambic hexameter is a line of poetry with six iambs (yielding twelve syllables) you would be correct! Congrats.
Here is an example of iambic hexameter (or an alexandrine) in poetry (stressed syllables are in bold):
“Thou art unseen, but yet I hear thy shrill delight,”
— Percy Bysshe Shelley, “To a Skylark”
6. What is Couplet?
When most people think of poetry, the most basic form they think of is usually a couplet. The term couplet simply refers to two successive lines of poetry that rhyme.
Example of a couplet in Shakespeare (rhyming portions are italicized):
"This precious book of love, this unbound lover,
To beautify him only lacks a cover."
— (Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, Scene 3)
7. What is a Heroic Couplet?
Now that you’ve got a handle on the idea of a couplet, just know that a “heroic couplet” means two successive lines of poetry that rhyme in iambic pentameter. Not hard at all!
Example of a heroic couplet in Shakespeare (stressed syllables are in bold, and rhyming portions are underlined):
"The time is out of joint, O cursed spite
That ever I was born to set it right!"
— (Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5)
8. What is Blank Verse?
Now we’re getting into uniquely complex and fancy distinctions, right? Not really. “Blank verse” simply means lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter. It’s quite a beautiful thing to read lines and lines of well written blank verse, such as the lines of John Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost (although you will see several instances where Milton takes creative syllabic liberty when forcing words to fit within the conventions of iambic pentameter).
Here’s an example of Blank Verse (stressed syllables are emphasized in bold):
Such place Eternal Justice had prepar'd
For those rebellious, here their Pris’n ordain'd
In utter darkness, and their portion set
As far remov'd from God and light of Heav'n
As from the Center thrice to th' utmost Pole.
— John Milton, “Paradise Lost”
9. What is Free Verse?
Free verse is a fun and free wheeling type of poetry that casts off convention. It’s poetry with no rhyme or reason that came into prominence toward the end of the 19th century and rose in popularity throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. However, the idea of “free verse” can also be applied to poems that contain an amalgamation of poetic forms, such as the works of T.S. Eliot. Now, most of what we think of as modern poetry is uniquely free verse, especially as the idea and concept of what we consider to be poetry continues to change.
April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
— T.S. Eliot, “The Waste Land”
10. What is Caesura?
We thought we’d end the list with an oldie but a goodie. At its core, a caesura really just means a linguistic pause between sounds within a line of verse. Think of it like a natural part in the hair, or a place where you would feel the need to place a comma or take a breath. Caesura is one of the oldest conventions of English poetry, dating all the way back to one of the first surviving epic poems, Beowulf, but it still exists today in poems, songs, and more!
Here’s an example of caesura in Shakespeare (the caesura is denoted by using “[ ]”):
“It is for you we speak, [ ] not for ourselves;” —(The Winter’s Tale, Act 2, Scene 1)
That wasn’t too bad, was it? Check back for more tips and notes about poetry and writing terms. Before long, this will all feel second nature. Is there something you’re still unsure about? Leave a comment below!