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Unread 01-25-2001, 09:08 AM
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Location: Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, Canada
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I would argue that some syllabic poetry belongs on the metrical side, but I can't explain why except to say I suspect it has something to do with a quality that I will call "cadence" for now, and some sort of regularity in line duration. It's what differentiates oratory from ordinary speech. Maybe, as Alan suggests, much free verse has this too. I'm reminded of Tim Murphy's comments on another thread:

"Alan and I learned how to write isochronous verse in Modern English. Using a substantial proportion of trisyllabic feet and heavy caesuras, we crafted lines which impose their duration on the reader."

I would argue that something happens in some syllabic poetry that amounts to more than free verse, and whatever it is, it's a quality of sound and pacing that is "metrical". I've seem "syllabic" poems posted that look like free verse chopped up into regular lengths with little regard for sound except to avoid line-endings in the middle of words. In other syllabic verse there is a definite "feel" to the sound that makes the line-breaks seem natural. "Fern Hill" is a good example. I say these poems belong on the metrical board because their success depends on whether or not the overall "cadence" of the lines works.

Porridginal
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