A Look at Scansion Methods.docx
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A Look at Scansion Methods.docx
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ALookatScansionMethods
ALookatScansionMethods
byCalebMurdock
Ilearnedaboutmeterandscansionintheearly1980's,primarilyfromthebooksofJudsonJerome.ThemethodthatJerometaughtisonethatIhaveseenmentionedinmanybooksandarticles,andIcametoacceptitasthestandardmethodofscansion,andIstillbelievethatitisthestandardmethod.Ididn'tconsiderscansiontobeanareaofcontroversyuntilIstartedthissiteandbecameacquaintedwithvariousformalistpoets.
Jerome,whomadepoetryhislife-longstudyandcareer,estimatedthat35%-40%ormoreoftheiambicpoetryinthecanonofgreatliteratureiscomposedofvariantfeet,primarilytrochees(DUMda),anapests(dadaDUM),pyrrhics(dada),andspondees(DUMDUM).(Forthosewhodon'tknow,around90%ofallmeteredEnglishpoetryiswritteniniambicmeters;aniambis"daDUM".)However,Iquicklylearnedthatmanyoftoday'sformalistpoetsconsideranythingmorethanabout20%ofvariantfeettobeexcessive.TheseissuesbecamethesourceofmanyargumentsonEratosphere,thepoetrybulletinboardattheAbleMusesite,whichIusedtofrequent.Itquicklybecameapparentthatnoteveryonewasscanningthesameway.
Thestandardmethodofscanningisreallyquitesimple.Wordsthatreceiveastrongormoderatestresswhenspokenarestressedinscansion,whereaswordsthatreceivenostressoraslightstressarenotstressedinscansion.Thus,thislinebyBrowning,theopeninglineof"MyLastDuchess",wouldbescannedasfollows:
That'smylastDuchesspaintedonthewall,
THAT'Smy/LASTDUCH/essPAINT/edon/theWALL
trochee/spondee/iamb/pyrrhic/iamb
Herearetwootherwaysofrepresentingthestresses,whichIwon'tbeusingbecauseIthinktheyarelessvisuallycompelling:
That'smy/lastduch/esspaint/edon/thewall
Thatlinehas60%variantfeet(otherlinesinthepoemaremoreregular).Buthereiswherethecontroversybegins.Inthefourthfoot,theword"on"cantakewhatJeromecalleda"theoreticalstress"–that'sbecauseitcanbegivenaslightstresswithoutsoundingawkward,andsomereadersmayindeedreaditthatway.However,elevatingaslightlystressedsyllabletoastressedpositionsuggeststoanyonewhoisreadingthescansionthatthesyllablereceivesmorestressthanitactuallydoes.
Thatlinecontainsyetanotherfootwhichisasourceofcontroversy,thesecondfoot.Theword"last"canbespokenwithslightlylessstressthan"duch"andtherefore,somewouldsay,shouldberepresentedasanunstressedsyllable(theideabeingthatonlyonesyllableinafootshouldreceiveastress).Yet,tome,"last"receivesfarmorestressthananyoftheunstressedsyllablesinthelineandshouldthereforebescannedasastressedsyllable.
Withthosetwofeet"smoothedout"toconformwiththemeter,thelinethenhasonlyonefootwhichisvariant,foratotalof20%variantfeet.Hereishowthatlinewouldscan:
THAT'Smy/lastDUCH/essPAINT/edON/theWALL
Tome,thatisanartificialscansionthatdoesn'treflecttherealityoftheline.Toactuallyreadthelinelikethatwouldruinit.Removingthestressfrom"last"removestheimpactofthoseopeningwords,andputtingastresson"on"soundsamateurishandunnatural.Theresultinglinelacksdramaandsoundsmonotonous.Infact,Idoubtthatanypersoncouldactuallyreaditthatwaywithoutmakingaconcertedefforttodoso.Soifthelinecan'treasonablybereadthatway,whatisthepointofscanningitthatway?
Morespecifically,whatexactlyareweusingscansionfor?
Scansionhasatleasttwouses:
Weuseittostudythepoetryofotherpoets,andwealsomentallyscanourownpoemsaswewritethem.Perhapsasareactiontoacenturyofformlessfreeverse,Ibelievethatsomepoetsareover-reachingintheirefforttore-establishthemetricaltradition.Insuchanatmosphere,variantfeetwouldcertainlybesuspect,andaconservativepoetwouldseektominimizethem.Buttheyreallycan'tbeminimized.Englishbeingwhatitis,trochees,pyrrhicsandspondees(lesssoanapests)can'tbeeliminated.Iftheycan'tbeeliminated,thenatleastapoetcanpretendtoeliminatethem–andthatismybestguessastothemindsetthathasresultedinthistypeof"meter-based"scansion,asIwillcallitfromnowon(i.e.,scansionwhichreflectsthebasemeterasmuchaspossible).
Theshortcomingofmeter-basedscansionisthatitdoesn'trevealmuchaboutthepoembeingscanned.That'sbecauseitdoeslittlemorethanrevealtheunderlyingmeter,whichpresumablythepersondoingthescanningalreadyknows.Ifone'spurposeistodeterminehowcloselyapoemadherestothemeter,thenmeter-basedscansionisthebestmethod;butmostpeoplescanapoemtofindouthowandwhyitworksordoesn'twork.Itisbycontrastingthestressesofapoemwiththebasemeterthatthosethingsarerevealed,andtheactualstressesofapoemcanonlybeseeninthetraditionalscansionmethod.
HereisthefirststanzaofWilliamButlerYeats's"TheSecondComing":
Turningandturninginthewideninggyre
Thefalconcannothearthefalconer;
Thingsfallapart;thecentercannothold;
Mereanarchyisloosedupontheworld,
Theblood-dimmedtideisloosed,andeverywhere
Theceremonyofinnocenceisdrowned;
Thebestlackallconviction,whiletheworst
Arefullofpassionateintensity.
TURNing/andTURN/ingin/theWID/eningGYRE
theFAL/conCAN/notHEAR/theFAL/coner
THINGSFALL/aPART/theCEN/terCAN/notHOLD
MEREAN/archy/isLOOSED/uPON/theWORLD
theBLOOD-/DIMMEDTIDE/isLOOSED/andEV/erywhere
theCER/emon/yofIN/nocence/isDROWNED
theBEST/lackALL/conVIC/tionwhile/theWORST
areFULL/ofPAS/sionate/inTENS/ity
Outof40feet,Icount15variantfeet,or37%–parforthecourse.Youmayquibblewithsomeofthem."Mere",whichstartsthefourthline,issandwichedbetweentwostressedsyllables,andthusthereisatendencytotakesomestressoffit(ortopausebeforeit).Inthatsameline,"PON"canbespokenwithlessemphasis,therebygivingmoreemphasisto"WORLD".Inthesixthline,thatstretchoffourunstressedsyllablesisthemostthatyouwilleverfind,consecutively,inmeteredpoetry.Youcan't,however,elevate"mon"toastressedpositionbecausethatwouldchangethepronunciationof"ceremony",whichtakesthestressonthefirstsyllable.
Someformalistpoetswouldlookattheabovescansionandconsideritheretical.Theywouldpromptlysmoothoutabout50%ofthevariantfeettoconformwiththemeter,butthentheywouldhaveascansionthatwouldreveallittleaboutthepoem.Yeatsusesseveraltechniquestoprovideemphasisinthepoem.Oneisthespondee,andanotheristheuseofmanyunstressedsyllablesbeforeastressedsyllable,therebygivingthestressedsyllableextraweight.Thesixthlineofthepoemissopowerfulpreciselyforthatreason.Itendsinabangwiththeword"drowned",butthatwordwouldhavelessforceifitwerenotprecededbythreeunstressedsyllables.Asseeninthescansionabove,thatlineofiambicpentameterhasonlythreestresses,andeachstressislikeasmallexplosion.Incontrast,hereisthe"meter-based"scansionofthatline:
theCER/eMON/yofIN/noCENSE/isDROWNED
Theimpactisgone.Youcanseethatthelinehasananapestforthethirdfoot,butthat'saboutit.
Oneoftheingeniousqualitiesofthispoemisthatithasapatternofpyrrhicsandiambs(dadadaDUM)overlyingthebasiciambicmeter,yetthatoverlyingpatterncan'tbeseeninmeter-basedscansion.Butwhenthescansionreflectsthewaythepoemisactuallyspoken,theoverlyingpatterncanbeseen.Thatallowsyoutocomparetheoverlyingpatternwiththebasemeterandtherebygaininsightintowhythepoemworks.
Manyunstressedsyllablesinarowcanalsocontributetoasenseofmelancholy,andthatcanbeseeninthefinallineofthestanza.Whereasmostoftheotherlinesendwithastress,thatlineendswithunstressedsyllableswhichgivethelineafallingrhythmindicativeoffutility.However,ifyouscanthelineaccordingtothemeter,thefallingrhythmcan'tbeseen:
areFULL/ofPAS/sionATE/inTENS/iTY
Whatdoesthatscansiontellusabouttheline?
Ittellsusabsolutelynothing,exceptthatthelineisiambicpentameter(whichwealreadyknow).Indeed,itmisleadsusintobelievingthatthelinehasarisingrhythm,whichitdoesn't.Andaswithotherlinesscannedinthisway,itdoesn'tsoundnaturalwhenspokenaloud.Infact,oneofthetestsofagoodscansionishownaturalitsoundswhenspoken.
AnothertechniqueYeatsusesistooccasionallythrowinametricallyregularlineamidstthemorechaoticlines;yetifallthelinesarescannedasregular,howcanwetellwhichiswhich?
Thepointis,ascansionwhichonlyshowsanimaginarymetricalperfectionisofnovalue.
IcreatedsomethingofastironEratospherewhenIpostedthefirstlineofoneofShakespeare'smostfamoussonnets:
Letmenottothemarriageoftrueminds
Admitimpediments.Loveisnotlove...
LETME/NOTto/theMAR/riageof/TRUEMINDS
spondee/trochee/iamb/pyrrhic/spondee
(AlthoughIcountthefirstfootasaspondee,ithasaslighttrochaicquality,sothefirstfootcouldbecountedasatrochee.)
That's80%variantfeet.Someposterssaidthatsince"of"cantakealittlemorestressthan"riage",andsince"true"cantakealittlelessstressthan"minds",thelasttwofeetareactuallytwoiambs:
-riageOF/trueMINDS
Butwhenspokenaloud,thatsoundsunnatural.Oneofthepostersevenclaimedthathecouldpronouncethefirsttwofeetasiambs,andIcontemplate
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