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Accentual verse has a fixed number of stresses per line
Line

Line or lines may refer to:* Line , an infinitely-extending one-dimensional figure that has no curvature* Line , the fundamental unit of poetic composition...
 or stanza
Stanza

In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "Verse " ....
 regardless of the number of syllables that are present. It is common in languages that are stress-timed such as English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 as opposed to syllabic verse
Syllabic verse

Syllabic verse is a poetic form having a fixed number of syllables per line or stanza regardless of the number of stresses that are present. It is common in languages that are syllable-timed language such as Japanese or modern French language or Finnish language, as opposed to accentual verse, which is common in stress-timed languages such as...
, which is common in syllable-timed languages such as classical Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
.

Nursery Rhymes are the most common form of Accentual verse in the English Language. The following poem, Baa Baa Black Sheep, has two stresses in each line, but a varying number of syllables.






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Accentual verse has a fixed number of stresses per line
Line

Line or lines may refer to:* Line , an infinitely-extending one-dimensional figure that has no curvature* Line , the fundamental unit of poetic composition...
 or stanza
Stanza

In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "Verse " ....
 regardless of the number of syllables that are present. It is common in languages that are stress-timed such as English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 as opposed to syllabic verse
Syllabic verse

Syllabic verse is a poetic form having a fixed number of syllables per line or stanza regardless of the number of stresses that are present. It is common in languages that are syllable-timed language such as Japanese or modern French language or Finnish language, as opposed to accentual verse, which is common in stress-timed languages such as...
, which is common in syllable-timed languages such as classical Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
.

Nursery Rhymes are the most common form of Accentual verse in the English Language. The following poem, Baa Baa Black Sheep, has two stresses in each line, but a varying number of syllables. (Bold represents stressed syllables, and the number of syllables in each line is noted) Baa, baa, black sheep, (4) Have you any wool? (5) Yes sir, yes sir, (4) Three bags full; (3) One for the mas-ter, (5) And one for the dame, (5) And one for the lit-tle boy (7) Who lives down the lane. (5)

Accentual verse derives its musical qualities from its flexibility with unstressed syllables and tends to follow the natural speech patterns of English.

Accentual-syllabic verse
Accentual-syllabic verse

Accentual-syllabic verse is an extension of accentual verse which fixes both the number of stresses and syllables within a line or stanza. Accentual-syllabic verse is highly regular and therefore easily scannable....
 is an extension of accentual verse.

See also

  • Bridges' Prosody of Accentual Verse
    Bridges' Prosody of Accentual Verse

    In this final section of his book Milton's Prosody , Robert Bridges describes a prosody of accentual verse....


Links

  • by Dana Gioia
    Dana Gioia

    Michael Dana Gioia is an American poet and critic who retired early from his career as a corporate executive at General Foods to write full time....