Thank you so much Renee! One of my critique partners had the same concern about the caesura in the first line. I love the idea to at least take it out for submission purposes.
@@LyricalLanguageLab Thank you for this video! I have a couple of questions please - 1) The word "Outside" - the stress naturally falls on "out" not side, so how is it following a stressed beat at the end of the line? 2) Some bricks or a pile of logs for their fort - Pile and logs are both stressed so its missing a syllable to follow the anapestic meter. Is my understanding correct?
@@rajeshwarichakravarty1829 Hello! Here are some answers for you: :) 1) If you look at Merriam-Webster online you'll see the word is out-SIDE. It's true that, when used as an adjective, it could also be pronounced OUT-side, as in "Turn on the OUT-side lights," as a way to stress you want the OUTside lights turned on, not the INside lights. Both INSIDE and OUTSIDE can be pronounced both ways, just to make matters more complicated! It's often a matter of usage, context, and placement in a line of verse. In this cast, outSIDE is indicating place, so SIDE is stressed. These two words are almost spondees, aren't they? 2) PILE is one of those tricky words like FIRE and WHILE. Although they are technically one-syllable words, there is a "schwa" sound in there so it sounds like PIE-yel (two syllables). Go to a few different online dictionaries and listen to the pronunciations carefully. That said, there are certain regional dialects/accents in which PILE might indeed be pronounced with a single syllable (like PAHL). But either way, it still works in the meter because you can leave off an occasional unstressed syllable (in moderation!). I hope this helps! :)
@@LyricalLanguageLab I've been looking for guidance on words like these! If we are looking to force the reader to read words like fi-re or sty-le as two syllables to hit the meter, do you think we should hyphenate the word in our manuscript to emphasize it is intentional to an agent / editor? Seems to me as long as the rest of the meter is strong, the reader will naturally read the word this way, so perhaps better not to call attention to it? Thanks for all your helpful videos!
@@archnavlogss That's practice and training your ear. The more you read metered verse, the easier it will become for you to quickly recognize the patterns. :)
Hey Renée - thanks for the video! I just wanted to ask a quick question, if I may! You've mentioned three feet in the last line, but I'm struggling to identify them. Would you mind breaking them down please? Thank you!
Hi Tim. Do you mean the last line of this manuscript? I show the scansion in the video: in-STEAD midge was HOLD-ing a DOG = u/uu/uu/. That's three feet. Perhaps you didn't see the last word DOG, which is on a different line...? Let me know if you are referring to something else!
I'm not sure if you answered this question in one of your videos, and I missed it. When it comes to a caesura, I understand that you can skip an unstressed beat, as we see in the first line of the ‘Friendstorm’ text (uu/uu/u /uu/). But I have these questions: 1. Does the caesura always happen AFTER the stressed beat/punctuation, or could it happen before it, too (uu/u /uu/uu/)? 2. Can you skip two unstressed syllables instead of one, ending up with two stressed beats next to each other (uu/uu//uu/)? 3. Instead of skipping an unstressed syllable, can you ADD an unstressed syllable (uu/uu/uuu/uu/)? 4. Could you even add TWO unstressed syllables (uu/uu/uuuu/uu/?
@danielstamm9957 Great questions! I think most of them are answered in this video: th-cam.com/video/BNo12qHekhw/w-d-xo.html In a nutshell, though, I'd say that for questions 1-3 the answer is a tentative YES -- it all depends on how the rest of the line(s) flow. You need to be sure you aren't creating glitches in your meter that will make the reader stumble. For question 4, I'd be careful with that. While metrical variation allows for the addition of one or two unstressed syllables in a line, they should be used judiciously -- and putting four unstressed syllables together like that would most likely create a meter glitch. Actually, I suspect that those would NOT be four unstressed syllables -- somewhere in there there would HAVE to be a stressed syllable, no? And that would mean you are adding an extra STRESSED syllable to the line, which you cannot do once you've established your meter.
No, the main meters are either disyllable (iambs and trochees) or trisyllable (anapests and dactyls). Any extra unstressed syllables are variations to those meters. There are, however, a few other meters like amphibrachs, but I personally think everything can be explained with just the four main meters. Check out Stephen Fry's book The Ode Less Travelled for discussion of other meters (though Fry comes to the same conclusion -- that while there are other meters, we really only need to know these four).
My soon to be published book is… uluuluul uluuluuluul uluuluuluul uluuluuluul Would this be anapestic tetrameter because that is dominant? Only the first lines have three feet.
Hi Chad -- we only consider the meter to be dominant (as in anapestic, iambic, etc.) but not the number of feet because that can vary, such as in a 4/3/4/3 quatrain. I do have to say that I'm a little concerned that your first lines have only three feet if all the rest have four. I would have to read it to see if it works, though.
Another interesting lesson--thanks for these videos.
My pleasure!
Thank you so much Renee! One of my critique partners had the same concern about the caesura in the first line. I love the idea to at least take it out for submission purposes.
You are so welcome, Lisa! And thank you for letting me use your work for this video. It's a lovely manuscript!
@@LyricalLanguageLab Thank you for this video! I have a couple of questions please -
1) The word "Outside" - the stress naturally falls on "out" not side, so how is it following a stressed beat at the end of the line?
2) Some bricks or a pile of logs for their fort - Pile and logs are both stressed so its missing a syllable to follow the anapestic meter. Is my understanding correct?
@@rajeshwarichakravarty1829 Hello! Here are some answers for you: :)
1) If you look at Merriam-Webster online you'll see the word is out-SIDE. It's true that, when used as an adjective, it could also be pronounced OUT-side, as in "Turn on the OUT-side lights," as a way to stress you want the OUTside lights turned on, not the INside lights. Both INSIDE and OUTSIDE can be pronounced both ways, just to make matters more complicated! It's often a matter of usage, context, and placement in a line of verse. In this cast, outSIDE is indicating place, so SIDE is stressed. These two words are almost spondees, aren't they?
2) PILE is one of those tricky words like FIRE and WHILE. Although they are technically one-syllable words, there is a "schwa" sound in there so it sounds like PIE-yel (two syllables). Go to a few different online dictionaries and listen to the pronunciations carefully. That said, there are certain regional dialects/accents in which PILE might indeed be pronounced with a single syllable (like PAHL). But either way, it still works in the meter because you can leave off an occasional unstressed syllable (in moderation!). I hope this helps! :)
@@LyricalLanguageLab Thank you so much for the detailed response! Incredibly helpful!
@@LyricalLanguageLab I've been looking for guidance on words like these! If we are looking to force the reader to read words like fi-re or sty-le as two syllables to hit the meter, do you think we should hyphenate the word in our manuscript to emphasize it is intentional to an agent / editor?
Seems to me as long as the rest of the meter is strong, the reader will naturally read the word this way, so perhaps better not to call attention to it? Thanks for all your helpful videos!
Who’s here from Eminem - The Way I Am?
Me lol
😂😂
Haha rappers unite
read my mind
wtf 😭
Another great example to learn from.
Glad it was helpful!
I love what you do its a great pleasure, thanks very much 😀
Thank you! I'm glad you find the content useful!
You are so good in scansion 👍
Thank you! Hope you found it helpful! :)
@@LyricalLanguageLab I have subscribed you to learn lyrical language.
I feel, finally I found a great teacher 🙏
How do you recognise meter pattern so quickly just by reading the line? Can you help us?
@@archnavlogss That's practice and training your ear. The more you read metered verse, the easier it will become for you to quickly recognize the patterns. :)
Please help and guide us for such practice
Hey Renée - thanks for the video!
I just wanted to ask a quick question, if I may!
You've mentioned three feet in the last line, but I'm struggling to identify them.
Would you mind breaking them down please?
Thank you!
Hi Tim. Do you mean the last line of this manuscript? I show the scansion in the video: in-STEAD midge was HOLD-ing a DOG = u/uu/uu/. That's three feet. Perhaps you didn't see the last word DOG, which is on a different line...? Let me know if you are referring to something else!
I'm not sure if you answered this question in one of your videos, and I missed it. When it comes to a caesura, I understand that you can skip an unstressed beat, as we see in the first line of the ‘Friendstorm’ text (uu/uu/u /uu/). But I have these questions: 1. Does the caesura always happen AFTER the stressed beat/punctuation, or could it happen before it, too (uu/u /uu/uu/)? 2. Can you skip two unstressed syllables instead of one, ending up with two stressed beats next to each other (uu/uu//uu/)? 3. Instead of skipping an unstressed syllable, can you ADD an unstressed syllable (uu/uu/uuu/uu/)? 4. Could you even add TWO unstressed syllables (uu/uu/uuuu/uu/?
@danielstamm9957 Great questions! I think most of them are answered in this video: th-cam.com/video/BNo12qHekhw/w-d-xo.html
In a nutshell, though, I'd say that for questions 1-3 the answer is a tentative YES -- it all depends on how the rest of the line(s) flow. You need to be sure you aren't creating glitches in your meter that will make the reader stumble. For question 4, I'd be careful with that. While metrical variation allows for the addition of one or two unstressed syllables in a line, they should be used judiciously -- and putting four unstressed syllables together like that would most likely create a meter glitch. Actually, I suspect that those would NOT be four unstressed syllables -- somewhere in there there would HAVE to be a stressed syllable, no? And that would mean you are adding an extra STRESSED syllable to the line, which you cannot do once you've established your meter.
Perfect! Thank you for the clarification, Renee! @@LyricalLanguageLab
I came here from the way I am a rap song that uses this meter the entire song it’s really impressive
Is there a name for u u u / vs anapest (u u /) ?
No, the main meters are either disyllable (iambs and trochees) or trisyllable (anapests and dactyls). Any extra unstressed syllables are variations to those meters. There are, however, a few other meters like amphibrachs, but I personally think everything can be explained with just the four main meters. Check out Stephen Fry's book The Ode Less Travelled for discussion of other meters (though Fry comes to the same conclusion -- that while there are other meters, we really only need to know these four).
My soon to be published book is…
uluuluul
uluuluuluul
uluuluuluul
uluuluuluul
Would this be anapestic tetrameter because that is dominant? Only the first lines have three feet.
Hi Chad -- we only consider the meter to be dominant (as in anapestic, iambic, etc.) but not the number of feet because that can vary, such as in a 4/3/4/3 quatrain. I do have to say that I'm a little concerned that your first lines have only three feet if all the rest have four. I would have to read it to see if it works, though.
Did anyone else rap the poem to Eminem's the way I am
using this in rap is AMAZING