One of the challenges facing syllabic poetry in English is how to securely shape a line. In metrical poetry lines are often, usually, formed by consistent use of rhythmic feet; so even when rhyme is not used (as in blank verse) the metrics signals the listener where the lines break. By definition syllabics does not have this option. There are two choices left, as far as I can tell. First, grammatical phrasing (similar to how French and Japanese poetry defines a line), and rhyme. Because of the absence of metrics, these other two ways of shaping a line become more significant for the syllabic poet.
2 comments:
Nice. I love the unexpected use of rhyme in syllabic poetry.
One of the challenges facing syllabic poetry in English is how to securely shape a line. In metrical poetry lines are often, usually, formed by consistent use of rhythmic feet; so even when rhyme is not used (as in blank verse) the metrics signals the listener where the lines break. By definition syllabics does not have this option. There are two choices left, as far as I can tell. First, grammatical phrasing (similar to how French and Japanese poetry defines a line), and rhyme. Because of the absence of metrics, these other two ways of shaping a line become more significant for the syllabic poet.
Best,
Jim
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