History Accentual verse

english

accentual verse traditionally common prosody in germany, scandinavia, iceland , britain. accentual verse has been widespread in english poetry since earliest recording, old english poetry written in special form of accentual verse termed alliterative verse, of beowulf notable example. anglo-saxon poetry added 2 further basic elements basic four-beat accentual verse pattern: alliteration of 3 of 4 beats, , medial pause (caesura). anglo-saxon poets made frequent use of epithets achieve desired alliteration, , had various other more complex rules , forms, though these have not been popular in later poetry.

accentual verse lost dominant position in english poetry following norman conquest of england when french forms, syllabic emphasis, gained prominence. accentual verse continued in common use in forms of middle english poetry until codification of accentual-syllabic verse in elizabethan poetry; thereafter largely vanished literary poetry 3 hundred years while remaining popular in folk poetry. notable example period william langland s piers ploughman, here retaining alliteration:

i loked on left half || þe lady me taughte
and war of woman || worþeli ycloþed.

i looked on left side || lady me taught
and aware of woman || worthily clothed.

a well-known source accentual verse post-elizabethan period mother goose s melody (1765). accentual verse experienced revival in 19th century development ( discovery ) of sprung rhythm gerard manley hopkins. although hopkins example not adopted in literary circles, accentual verse did catch on, poets flirting form, , later poets more strictly following it. modern codification given robert bridges in 1921, in bridges prosody of accentual verse section of milton s prosody. modern literary use includes w. h. auden, , has notably been advanced dana gioia.

outside of children s poetry , literary poetry, accentual verse remains popular in verse composed oral presentation, such cowboy poetry , rap.

modern form

in modern literary use, in addition detailed codification given in bridges prosody of accentual verse, 3 basic rules followed:

some variations , other subtleties found:

rather triple alliteration in line, having 2 pairs of double alliterations on either side of pause, or having single double alliteration, 1 alliterating stress on each side of pause.
alliteration falls on (first) stressed syllable of word, not first syllable of word.
minor stresses eliminated reduce ambiguity.
while individual lines may have regular syllabic structure, not kept constant on poem – stress pattern consistent – otherwise poem becomes accentual-syllabic verse.




^ accentual verse , dana gioia