Metre in Poetry: Defined
Metre, when it comes to poetry, can be confusing at first. After all, metre is not necessarily the same as the rhythm or beats in the poem. So what is metre exactly in poetry? According to the renowned Canadian professor of poetry, Dr. Anne Marie Randolph, metre is the predictable pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that creates rhythm in each line of a poem, making the syllables “dance”.
Dr. Randolph clarifies that a poem should have thoughtfully measured metres, making the poem more meaningful and impacting. She believes a poet, through their own creativity, uses metre as a tool to express personal experience and emotion, by crafting the sound patterns in a line. Dr. Randolph believes that no two poems have the same metre, and metre, therefore, gives a poem its originality and personality.
Metre is an important quality of a poem. As English is a stress-timed language, the emphasis within an organised metre scheme helps with the flow, making the poem sound pleasing to ears. For instance, in the ‘heroic couplet’, the lines are solely composed of iambic pentameter, which when read aloud, creates a pattern of five beats per line, and can transform from light to weighty in seconds.
Syllables are the chief components in metre formation. Dr. Randolph explains that the study of syllables is one of the many fundamentals in poetics. Poets often use rhetorical devices such as assonance, alliteration, and consonance to emphasise syllabic patterns and create a desired effect. Therefore, by paying attention to the number of syllables, and what can be emphasised within a poet’s use of metre, will help readers better appreciate the content of a poem.
Dr. Randolph states that the essence of poetry is in how it is written, not what it is expressing. Therefore, observing metre is a crucial part of understanding a poem. Furthermore, Dr. Randolph mentions that metre is composed of both external and internal elements. External elements include factors of cultural influence such as place and time, and internal elements consist of the poet’s own control to express the message of a poem in the most favourable way.
Applying Metre When Writing
When crafting poems, Dr. Randolph elaborates that poets need to be aware of the fluctuation of emotions a poem should express and understand how metre can assist in conveying emotions. Subtle changes to syllable emphasis or structure can instantly change the feeling of a poem from subdued and moving to vibrant and lively. By having a working knowledge of basic metre structures, poets can create a desired effect in their own poem, or make adaptations and variations to a metre for personal expressions.
Moreover, poets should be attentive to the rules of the classical metre and the rules of verse composition when it comes to idea development. This allows for the lines to work together with its metre scheme, instead of working against it, resulting in stronger ideas and powerful expressions.
Furthermore, Dr. Randolph explains that where metre is concerned, there are many possibilities as to how a poem’s metre can be structured and how a poet can play with these elements. However, what might truly make a poem distinctive and beautiful, is when a poet chooses words that are suitable for the metre they are composing, supplementing their chosen metre scheme with a unique style.
Interpreting and Enjoying Poetry With Metre
Dr. Randolph believes that, as a reader, one should pay attention to the metre and rhythm of a poem in order to understand it on a deeper level. As metre is built within a poem, understanding it can help readers interpret the poem’s meaning, as well as its feeling. Randomness, or irregularities usually found in the metre scheme of a poem, provides a certain unpredictability that heightens emotions and adds to the impact of a poem. Thus, when reading a poem, readers can pay attention to the controlled randomness of metre, as it can help appreciate the intended emotion the poet wanted to portray.
Metre is essential for the enjoyment of poetry, as it creates order and structure in a poem, accentuating its beauty. However, readers need not be overly analytical and interrupt the poem unnecessarily. Metres should be read out naturally, while paying attention to the individual sound and emotions of each line. As observed by Dr. Randolph in her research, poems with metre and rhythm will sound like music and can, in a sense, dictate its own flow when read.
In conclusion, metre brings distinction and depth to a poem. Without metre, a poem might not be as successful with communicating its intended feeling. Therefore, by understanding metre, poets can create and readers can appreciate poems to their full potential.
Metre in Lyrical Music
Another way metre is often seen, is in lyrical music. Dr. Randolph explains that metre is the fundamental aspect of lyrical music, as the combination of the internal and external elements produces metre composed of different patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables.
According to Dr. Randolph, metre and rhythm are two different concepts. metres focus more on sound, while rhythm is an expression of metre that can be moved to various speeds and emphasises the feelings of a song. Music with rhythm will reflect certain feelings and emotions, creating a different layer of understanding between the listeners and the song.
The importance of metre in lyrical music lies in the story it communicates. After the initial expression of emotions and feelings, the poetic metre of a song should have an even pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables throughout to carry the story and message of the song smoothly.
Furthermore, metre in lyrical music moves beyond the beauty of words, as imbedded within different music genres, lies different metres that are uniquely appropriate. For example, a song with a jazzy tune rarely has the same metre as a Rock song. Therefore, it is up to the artist and their style of vocal delivery to determine the suitable metre for each project.
The Impact of Metre on Popular Culture
The impact of metre has extended to popular culture, as people enjoy music with direct and easily accessible messages. Metre in lyrical music allows artists to express their message clearly through the interplay of syllables and words.
Limited metre in popular songs often creates a sense of familiarity to the audience. Therefore, the understanding and use of metre has become an integral part of popular music.
Additionally, metre has become a sort of tool in popular culture. When trying to explain a concept to a wider audience, popular music chooses to utilise metre and its conventions in order to relay its message to the public. It has become a method of communication in both the music industry and society.
Moreover, metre is often used in popular culture to drive a sense of nostalgia and recognition among the audience. Songs used in movies and television shows, for example, abide by the conventions of metre, as the song’s metre appeals to a broader audience that can easily comprehend and interpret it.
Metre’s Role As an Art Form
Ultimately, metre is first and foremost an art form. The use of metre in poems and songs are essential in expressing concepts and ideas without limiting the audience. It creates an effect that carries further than words, one that complements the emotion rather than overrides it.
As an art form, metre should express a spaciousness and breathability to the poem or music by giving it a melodic structure. The metre should bring in the listener or reader into itself and its story, enthralling them until the finish.
Therfore, metre is not merely a tool to follow, but a art form to be experimented with and tested. It is an opportunity for the creator of a poem or music to experiment with new ideas and words in order to produce a refreshing, unique piece of work.
The Future of Metre in Poetry
Dr. Randolph explains that metre in poetry should be seen as a medium for experimentation, as it allows poets to express and communicate in different ways. In order for poets to remain interesting and relevant, adapting to the ever-altering dynamics of cultural, political, and other contexts, is essential.
The internet has made traditional and formal interpretations of metre less dominant. This has caused metre to become more open to personal interpretations, and less associated with traditional forms such as sonnets and the like. As a result, metre has been used as a bridge between difference contexts, instruments, and cultures. For example, the mixing of hip-hop beats with poetry verse, or a combination of Latino and American metre styles.
Overall, metre will remain an important part of poetry, especially in the world of popular culture. However, poets should not limit themselves by the conventions of poetry and explore metre’s unlimited possibilities. Metre should, then, not be a constraint but a guide to produce original and interesting works of art.
