Tuesday, August 21, 2012

What is the rhyme scheme and metre in Hardy's "The Spell of the Rose"?

Let's look at the language of the first stanza; I will put stressed syllables in a bold font and use the "|" symbol to separate metrical feet:

I mean | to build | a hall | a nonAnd shape | two tur | rets thereAnd a | broad new | elled stairAnd a | cool well | for cry | stal wa | terYes; I | will build | a hall | a nonPlant ro | ses love | shall feed | u ponAnd ap | ple trees | and pear

The first line has four feet, each consisting of one unaccented syllable followed by one accented syllable: these are called iambs. This meter is called iambic tetrameter. The second line, however, only has three iambs. This is called iambic trimeter. The third line has three iambs as well, but then the fourth line not only has four iambs (like the first line), but it also has an extrametrical syllable at the end "("ter"). The fifth line has four iambs; the sixth line has four as well, and the the final and seventh line of the stanza has only three. We would go with the meter used most frequently in the poem, so we can call this a work written in iambic tetrameter: four feet per (most) lines and the foot is an iamb.
The rhyme scheme is as follows: abbcaac. This means that lines 1, 5, and 6 have end rhyme. Lines 2 and 3 also have end rhyme, and so do lines 4 and 7.

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