Unit 2 Prosody

Word History and Origin

Etymology
Middle English, from Latin prosodia accent of a syllable,
from Greek prosōidia song sung to instrumental music, accent,
from pros in addition to + ōidē song — more at PROS-, ODE.

[ pros-uh-dee]
noun
1. the science or study of poetic meters and versification.
2. a particular or distinctive system of metrics and versification

3. Linguistics. the stress and intonation patterns of an utterance .

Rhyme
The word “rhyme” refers to the pattern of similar sounding words used in writing.
E.g. An example of a rhyme is: "The cat and the hat, sat on a mat".

Definition- Rhyme is the use of corresponding sounds in lines of writing. This can
occur at the end of lines or in the middle. The most commonly resigned type of rhyme
is full-end rhymes. These appear at the end of lines and rhyme perfectly with one
another.
To create a rhyme, the piece of writing has to have two or more similar-
sounding words. It can be used to help unify a piece of poetry or create a specific
effect. The rhyme might make the poem sound more upbeat or more haunting,
depending on how it’s used.

Stanza
A stanza is one of the most important fundamental elements of
a poem. It is the unit of writing poems are composed of. They
are as fundamental to poetry as paragraphs are to prose.

Stanzas are the verse equivalent of a paragraph. Sometimes,

they contain one idea or are simply a few lines discussing a
broader idea. Stanzas range in length from one line up to an
unlimited number of lines. Most poems contain stanzas with
groups of lines between three and ten lines long.

The four-line stanza is one of the most popular. It’s been used
by everyone from William Shakespeare to Robert Frost, Edgar
Allen Poe.
o Couplet: A couplet is a literary device that is made up of two rhyming lines
of verse. These fall in succession, or one after another.
 Couplets are included in poems because of their constant
rhythm and the way that the pairing of lines can draw a reader’s
attention to a specific thought. Often poems with the most
consistent of meters make use of this form.

o Heroic Couplet: A heroic couplet is a form of poetry commonly used in

epics and narrative poems. It is composed of a pair of rhyming lines that are
written in iambic pentameter. E. g. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer,
Aeneid by Virgil, Cooper’s Hill by John Denham etc.

o Tercet: A tercet is a three-line stanza. It is a common stanza form, although

not as common as the couplet and quatrain. It can be used to enhance the flow
of a piece of poetry, and provide writers with the ability to experiment with
rhyme schemes. Depending on how the three lines are used, whether they’re
within a longer stanza or by themselves, they may be more or less obvious.
The tercet might have the rhyme scheme of ABA, ABC, or several other
combinations. Or, it might not rhyme at all. Each line might be an individual
sentence, or all three lines could make up one sentence. Types- Triplet, Haiku,
Terza Rima etc.

o Quatrain: A quatrain is a verse form that is made up of four lines with

fifteen different possible rhyme schemes. The word is usually used to refer to
sets of lines that form a stanza. The most popular rhyme schemes of a quatrain
are AAAA, ABAB, and ABBA. Stanza forms that experiment with quatrains
are- Ballad stanza, Goethe stanza, Petrarchan or Italian stanza, Elegiac stanza
etc.

o Sestina: A sestina is a unique poetic form that utilizes repetition. It has six,
six-line stanzas that use a complex pattern that can be hard to utilize. E.g. An
example of sestina in poetry can be seen with Elizabeth Bishop's 'Sestina.' as it
uses a repeating pattern of end words that change from stanza to stanza.
 These poems are usually considered to be quite challenging.
They force poets to use different words and phrases for every
sentence while also maintaining their pattern of repetition.

o Rhyme Royal (or rime royal): is a rhyming stanza form that was
introduced to English poetry by Geoffrey Chaucer.[1] The form enjoyed
significant success in the fifteenth century and into the sixteenth century. It has
had a more subdued but continuing influence on English verse in more recent
centuries.
 The rhyme royal stanza consists of seven lines, usually in
iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme is ABABBCC. In
 practice, the stanza can be constructed either as a tercet and two
couplets (ABA BB CC) or a quatrain and a tercet (ABAB
BCC).

o Ottava Rima: The phrase “ottava rima” is used to describe a particular type
of stanza in poetry. It uses eight iambic lines and follows a rhyme scheme of
ABABABCC. This stanza is Italian, dating back at least to the writings of
Giovanni Boccaccio. The lines make use of what is known as an iamb. That is
a set of two syllables, the first of which is unstressed and the second stressed.
 It was introduced into English by Sir. Thomas Wyatt and
popularized by poets like Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley,
and John Keats. The first record of the form ever being used
was in Bocaccio’s Decameron. E.g. of Ottava Rima in Poetry-
Beppo by Lord Byron, Isabella: or the Pot of Basil by John
Keats, Among the School Children by W.B. Yeats etc.

o The Spencerian Stanza: The Spenserian stanza is a fixed verse form

invented by Edmund Spenser for his epic poem The Faerie Queene (1590–96).
Each stanza contains nine lines in total: eight lines in iambic pentameter
followed by a single 'alexandrine' line in iambic hexameter. The rhyme scheme
of these lines is ABABBCBCC.
 Spenser's invention may have been influenced by the Italian
form ottava rima, which consists of eight lines of iambic
pentameter with the rhyme scheme ABABABCC. This form
was used by Spenser's Italian role models Ludovico Ariosto and
Torquato Tasso.

The Sonnet
The word sonnet comes from the Italian word “sonneto,” meaning “little song.
Traditionally, sonnets are fourteen-line poems that follow a strict rhyme scheme and conform
to the metrical pattern of iambic pentameter.
There are two major types of sonnets: Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnet.
 The Shakespearean sonnet, sometimes referred to as “Elizabethan.”
 It is made up of three quatrains, or sets of four lines, and one concluding couplet, or
set of two rhyming lines.
 The poem follows a consistent rhyme scheme that conforms to the pattern of ABAB
CDCD EFEF GG and it is written in iambic pentameter. This means that each line
contains five sets of two-beat. The first is unstressed and the second stressed. It
sounds something like da-DUM, da-DUM.

The Italian or Petrarchan sonnet was created by Giacomo da Lentini in the early
1200s. But, it was used in depth by another Italian poet Guittone d’Arezzo who
rediscovered the form and wrote close to 250 sonnets. At this same time, Dante Alighieri,
the famed author of ‘The Divine Comedy’ and Guido Cavalcanti were also writing in this
form. But it was Petrarch who became the most famous for his early sonnets.
  Within Petrarchan sonnets, there are two halves, the first eight lines, or octet, which
is followed by the sestet, a set of six lines.
 The octet always follows the rhyming pattern of ABBAABBA, but the sestet is
open to change.
 Two of the most common rhyming patterns are CDCDCD and CDECDE. Also in
contrast to a Shakespearean sonnet, the turn occurs between the octet and the sestet,
rather than before the final two lines

Blank Verse
Blank verse is a kind of poetry that is written in unrhymed lines but with a regular
metrical pattern. E.g. In Shakespearean plays such as 'Hamlet' and 'Macbeth,' blank verse
takes centre stage, showcasing unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter that, while lacking
rhyme, convey a natural and rhythmic flow. This type of verse is almost always iambic
pentameter. It is extraordinarily widespread and has had an enormous impact on English
poetry since it became popular in the 16th century. Scholars have estimated that close to
three-fourths of all English poetry is in blank verse. It is first documented in the 1500s in
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey’s translation of the Aeneid. The Latin original, written by
Virgil, did not conform to a blank verse-like pattern. There are numerous other very well-
known examples. Such as, Paradise Lost by John Milton, which is written in what is known
as Miltonic blank verse. Other English poets, specifically the Romantics, William
Wordsworth, and John Keats also used the form to varying degrees.

Free Verse
Free verse is most commonly used in modern and contemporary writing. It is useful
when a writer is seeking to mimic natural speech patterns. It is important to note that while
the free verse is liberated from the meter, there are elements of form. Many poets have
spoken on the difficulties of writing in this form, as the lack of limitations is often a
limitation in itself.
In free verse, lines are unrhymed and there are no consistent metrical patterns. But
that doesn’t mean it is entirely without structure. E.g. Walt Whitman's use of free verse allows
for a greater sense of emotional expression in his poetry.