RHYTHM & METER: THE HEARTBEAT OF POETRY

Rhythm
 It refers to the variation or alteration of strong & weak (stressed or unstressed) syllables or
elements in the flow of speech.
 The term rhythm is derivative of the Greek word rhythmos which means “measured motion.
 In both poetry & prose, the existence of rhythmic patterns provides both musical pleasure &
intensified emotional response, since it establishes a set of expectations, & it compensates the
patient reader or listener with a gratification of sequence of fulfillment of anticipated sonic
delights or melodious sound.

Meter
 In poetry, it is the regular recurrence or repetition of rhythmic patterns, or the rhythm set forth
or established by the consistent occurrence of similar units of sound.

Foot
 Foot refers to the basic rhythmic unit within a line poetry.

6 Types of Meter (Feet)

1. Iamb or Iambic Foot

The iamb or iambic foot is a metrical unit containing an unstressed syllable followed by an
accented or stressed syllable.

The Grizzly Bear is huge and wild;

He has devoured the infant
The infant child is not aware
It has been eaten by the bear.
2. Anapestic or Anapestic Foot
It is a metrical unit comprising three syllables, with two unaccented or unstressed syllables
followed by an accented syllable.

The Cloud by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,
I arise and unbuild it again.

(Iamb and Anapest are RISING METER)

3. Trochee or trochaic foot

It is a metrical unit consisting of an accented or stressed syllable followed by an unaccented
syllable or unstressed syllable.

Psalms of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
4. Dactyl or Dactylic Foot
It is made up of one accented syllables followed by two unaccented .

Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Lord Tennyson

 Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

(Trochee and Dactyl are FALLING METER)

5. Spondee or spondaic foot

It has two consecutively accented or stressed syllables.

Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare

Cry, cry! Troy burns, or else let Helen go.

6. Pyrrhus or Pyrrhic Foot

Composed of two unaccented syllables in accentual-syllabic verse, or two short syllables in
quantitative meter.

RHETHORICAL FIGURES

Rhetorical figures
These are basically wordplay. These are figures of speech that rely for their respective special sound
effects on the unusual sequencing of words or sentence structure. It must be noted though that such a
special ordering or arrangement of words and lines sometimes carries with it a change in the sense.
They are also called Figures of Sound.

1. Alliteration
 The repetition of proximate or nearby words whose initial consonant sounds are the same.
 This is also referred to as head rhyme.
 In an alliterative line, the series of words typically share the same sound or similar initial letter.

Takeoff Time by Ofelia Dimalanta

One dashes back to earth and shambles
More lost that seeking, sick
Of boarding passes, and fleeting
From time to time, tried, tired

/s / (3 words)
/t/ (7 words)
/f/p/ (3 words)

2. Anaphora
 Greek word for “carrying up or back”
 It refers to the noticeable repetition of the same word or expression at the start of two or more
lines, clauses, phrases or sentences.

“At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell; where he bowed, there
he fell down dead.” (Judges 5;27)
3. Anastrophe
 The deliberate inversion or reversal of the usual grammatical order of words to achieve a
rhetorical or poetic effect.

4. Anticlimax or Bathos
 It refers to the building up a climax that results in something that cannot be considered as
climax.
 It works against the climax, oftentimes a descent from a noble or elevated tone to one markedly
less exalted.

On discovering that his friend was murdered, with vengeance on his mind Ravi rushed back to his
college, only to find his friend sipping on coffee in the college canteen.

5. Assonance
 It is the repetition of vowel sounds
 The repetition of proximate or nearby words whose stressed vowel sounds are the same.
 Also refer to as slant, near, or oblique rhyme, it is different from true rhyme in the sense that
the true rhyme contains a resemblance of both vowel and consonant sounds.
 It has same vowel sounds but different consonant sound.

“lake” and “bake” – True Rhyme

“lake” and “lace” – Alliteration
“lake” and “fate” - Assonance

That dolphin-torn, that gong-tormented sea.

(Byzantium by William Butler Yeats)

The death of the poet was kept from his poems.

(In Memory of W.B. Yeats by W.H, Auden)

6. Chiasmus
 The kind of statement in which the second part is counterbalanced by the first part but with the
parts reversed.

“But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” (Matthew 19:30)

“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
(Matthew 23:12)

“I wasted time, and now doth time waste me” (Richard II by WS)

7. Apostrophe
 Someone is usually absent (but not necessarily so), a personified thing, some abstract quality, or
a non-existent personage is directly addressed as thought physically present.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Odes

8. Climax
 The organization of lines, phrases or sentences in increasing level or ascending order of
importance.
 In its earliest manifestations, such a structural arrangement requires that the last essential word
in one segment becomes the first essential word in the next segment.

Mahal kita noon bilang kaibigan lang. Minahal kita ng walang ibang motibo kundi ang mahalin
ka ng lubusan kahit ang turing sa akin ay kabigan lamang. Kaibigan, iniibig kita hindi lang bilang
kaibigan kundi higit pa don. Higit pa sa taas ng pinakamatayog na bundok o sa pinakamalalim
na dagat. Kaibigan, sana tayo’y magkaibigan ng higit pa sa kaibigan lang.

9. Ellipsis
 The omission of one or several words that can be easily supplied by the reader or listener to
complete the grammatical structure.

So…what happened?
You went to the school. And….?
But I thought we were meeting on Wednesday….?

• Gapping: I ordered the C2, and he (ordered) the PM1.

• Stripping: I ordered the C2, (I did) not (order) PM1.
• Verb Phrase: I’ll order the C2, and you can (order the C2), too.
• Answer Ellipsis: Who ordered C2? I did (order the C2).
• Sluicing: I’ll get something to drink, but I’m not sure what (I’ll get to drink).
• Nominal: I study at FCU, and she (studies) at CPC.

10. Euphemism
 The replacement of an offensive words or mild expression for one that may be potentially harsh,
blunt, or even politically incorrect to other people.
 Referred to as “double-speak”, or the refusal to call a spade a spade, it makes the negative
appear positive, the unnatural appear natural, and the unpleasant appear pleasant.

• Adult entertainment instead of pornography

• Big-boned instead of heavy or overweight
• Comfort woman instead of prostitute
• Vertically-challenged instead of short
• Chronologically-challenge instead of late
• Hide the sausage instead of having sex

11. Irony
 The utterance of actual intention in words that communicate the exact opposite meaning.
 As a literary device, the use of irony is very effective if the writer wants to give the impression of
great restraint.
 Dramatic Irony (Readers/Audience are waiting for the other “shoe” to drop)
Snow White
Beauty and the Beast
Ratatouille
• Situational Irony (Everyone involved is shocked)
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
Ambulance
Professional
Current issues in Ph

• Verbal Irony (Words don’t line up with true intentions)

Hot Air Balloon
Rainy day
Necklace

12. Litotes
 The form of understatement in which something is asserted by declaring the negation of
opposite.

“not bad” instead of “good”
“not disagreeable” means agreeable

Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Ulysses

little profits for profits not at all
not the least for great
not to fail for succeed splendidly
not unbecoming for thoroughly appropriate
13. Onomatopoeia
 The deliberate deployment of a word whose sound approximates, implies, or is suggestive of its
meaning.
 An onomatopoetic word mimics the sound of the action or thig that it refers to.
A-Z
achoo, buzz, clash, drip, eew, fizz, guffaw, hiss, icky, jingle, knock, lisp, moo, neigh, ooze, poof,
quack, roar, splash, ticktock, ugh, vroom, whisper, yap, and zoom

14. Rhetorical Question

 The deployment of a question that does not require or expects to generate an answer. The
underlying assumption of a rhetorical question is that there can only be one possible reply.

Ode to the West Wind by Percy Byshee Shelley

O Wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?

15. Metanoia
 Correct or qualifies a statement
Ex.
You are the most beautiful woman in this school, nay the entire province.
She devoured the food hurriedly, but also hardly.
You are so amazing to me, to everyone too.
 16. Antithesis
 Makes a connection between two things.
 Two opposing lines (words) of thought placed in a balanced sentence.
Ex.
“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
“Man proposes; Gad disposes”

17. Antiphrasis
 Uses a word with an opposite meaning.
Ex.
The Chihuahua was named Goliath.
Ants are Incredible Hulk in the animal kingdom.
Clown is the monster in It movie.

18. Epanalepsis
 Repeats something from the beginning of the sentence at the end.
Ex.
My ears heard what you said but I couldn’t believe my ears.
I study the lesson attentively but I don’t know how to study.

19. Pararellism
 Used words or phrases with similar structure.
Ex.
I went to the store, parked the car, and bought a pizza.
Today is a day to celebrate, to be happy, and to be thankful of.

20. Epizeuxis
 Repeats one word for emphasis
Ex.
The amusement park was fun, fun, fun!
I just wanted to love, love, love everyone.

21. Antanagoge
 Places a criticism and compliment together to lessen the impact.
Ex.
She is very passive in class but she’s generous.
FCU’s tuition fees are too expensive but the school offers very quality education.