What is scansion used for

Sonnets are written in iambic pentameter, so the scansion is made easy because the lines have five feet with a pattern of unstressed, stressed syllables. Here is Sonnet by William Shakespeare. My mis tress' eyes are noth ing like the sun ; Co ral is far more red than her lips' red ; If snow be white , why then her breasts are dun ; If hairs be wires , black wires grow on her head.

I have seen ros es dam asked, red and white , But no such ros es see I in her cheeks ; And in some per fumes is there more de light Than in the breath that from my mis tress reeks. I love to hear her speak , yet well I know That mu sic hath a far more pleas ing sound ; I grant I nev er saw a god dess go ; My mis tress, when she walks , treads on the ground.

And yet , by heav en, I think my love as rare As an y she be lied with false com pare. Toggle navigation. In classical poetry, these patterns are based on the different lengths of each vowel sound, and in English poetry, they are based on the different stresses placed on each syllable. In both cases, the meter often has a regular foot. Over the years, many different systems have been established to mark the scansion of a poem.

A foot is a group of two or three syllables. There are three common types of feet— disyllable feet, trisyllable feet, and tetrasyllable ionic feet:. Iambic means to have two syllables, one stressed and one unstressed.

Pentameter indicates there are ten syllables in the line. So iambic pentameter describes poetry written in a ten-line, alternating stress structure. Iambic hexameter otherwise known as an an alexandrine is a longer line containing twelve syllables. The rhythm of the line is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables over the course of the line or passage. It may be regular or irregular, which usually conveys information about the speaker and their feelings or motivations.

This stressed syllable appears at the beginning and in the middle of the lines. The rhyme scheme of this poem is irregular and unpredictable, and in this stanza it is AAAB. The tric kle of un der ground springs , the bab ble of swol len gul ches un der drenched ferns , l oos ening the grip of their roots , till their hai ry clods….

Walcott has used mixed metrical pattern in this poem. In this example, the first two lines are using trochaic heptameter, while the final line is using dactylic tetrameter. In the first line, you can notice the use of caesura in the middle; it breaks the monotony and creates a dramatic effect. This is the famous example of a blank verse , using unrhyming lines with iambic pentameter ten syllables in a line and five are stressed.

Scansion demonstrates variation and regularity in poetry. It also proves very helpful in determining the natural rhythm of a free and blank verse.