Donald Davie's Some Notes on Rhythm in Verse
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Some Notes on Rhythm in Verse by Donald Davie
first appeared in Agenda Poetry, in the Autumn / Winter issue 1972–73, and was later collected in his book of essays and interviews, Trying To Explain.
It is a short piece comprising seven numbered paragraphs. He makes a case for scansion
being 'a sort of crutch or scaffolding in the act of composition'.
The first paragraph states that the boundary between free verse
and metred verse is 'smudged'. He writes: "If you shorten an iambic
measure to the trimeter
, and then allow yourself all the liberties that traditional prosody allows you, you have a measure which few readers will scan, even subconsciously."
Donald Davie
Donald Alfred Davie was an English Movement poet, and literary critic. His poems in general are philosophical and abstract, but often evoke various landscapes.-Biography:...
first appeared in Agenda Poetry, in the Autumn / Winter issue 1972–73, and was later collected in his book of essays and interviews, Trying To Explain.
It is a short piece comprising seven numbered paragraphs. He makes a case for scansion
Scansion
Scansion is the act of determining and graphically representing the metrical character of a line of verse.-Overview:Systems of scansion, and the assumptions that underlie them, are so numerous and contradictory that it is often difficult to tell whether differences in scansion indicate opposed...
being 'a sort of crutch or scaffolding in the act of composition'.
The first paragraph states that the boundary between free verse
Free verse
Free verse is a form of poetry that refrains from consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any other musical pattern.Poets have explained that free verse, despite its freedom, is not free. Free Verse displays some elements of form...
and metred verse is 'smudged'. He writes: "If you shorten an iambic
Iambic pentameter
Iambic pentameter is a commonly used metrical line in traditional verse and verse drama. The term describes the particular rhythm that the words establish in that line. That rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables; these small groups of syllables are called "feet"...
measure to the trimeter
Iambic trimeter
iambic trimeter is a meter of poetry consisting of three iambic units per line.In ancient Greek poetry, iambic trimeter is a quantitative meter, in which a line consisted of three iambic metra and each metron consisted of two iambi...
, and then allow yourself all the liberties that traditional prosody allows you, you have a measure which few readers will scan, even subconsciously."
Sources
- Donald Davie, Trying To Explain, University of Michigan, 1979; Carcanet, 1980. ISBN 0-85635-642-5