Iambic Pentameters in a Free-Verse Poem by Arda Collins
an erstwhile Twitter thread re clarifications re scansion, the metrical code, etc.
I find myself posting bits about meter on my Twitter account (@anniefinchpoet) whenever something I run across there inspires a response. Recently someone posted a poem by Arda Collins. I mentioned the iambic pentameter subcurrent I felt in the poem. Some folks asked to know more, and I decided to turn it into a special bonus post in the shape of a Twitter thread . . . at the bottom are a couple of useful and/or intriguing corollary mini-discussions and some very kind words. Since some of this was on Twitter, this post is set to fully available to all including free subscribers. Enjoy! Love, Annie
AF: How did I know that this poem would end in an iambic pentameter? As I was reading it, I knew that it would, I felt the pressure mounting, and sure enough it did. It had been teasing it all along. Contemporary poems about chaos often do this.
THE INTENDED TWEET THREAD THAT WASN’T FULLY POSTED
For those who asked about iambic pentameters in the poem by Arda Collins, here is my scansion, and the discussion is in a tweet thread below...
THE NEWS by Arda Collins
At last, terror has arrived.
Next door, the house has gone up in flames.
A woman runs from the burning wreck, her face smeared
with blood and ashes. She screams that her children are kidnapped.
u /|u u / | u u u / | u / | u u /
It’s truly exciting, and what more would anyone ask?
For a rare and beautiful egg to present itself in the grass?
For sex with the liquor store owner to progress into something meaningful?
u / | u / | u / | u / | u u / | (u)
You don’t know what I’ve done in front of the mirror.
u / | u \ u / | u u / | u / | u u /
I’ve pulled my shorts up high like a thong. I’ve walked back and forth
u u /|u / | u u u / | u u / | u /
doing little kicks and making faces. I’ve stopped, I’ve stared.
I try to get my mind around the sight of myself. I make a face.
u u / | u u / | u u / |u u u / | u /
Of great seriousness. I imagine that I’ve just received
a large and upsetting piece of news. Then I look into my eyes.
u u / | u u u / | u u u / | u / | u /
Can I guess what I am thinking? Can I tell you what it is?
For those curious about my scansion: lines 5,8,9,10, & 12 are the lines that ‘tease’ the approach to the final iambic pentameter in line 14. All six lines are in rising meter and have 5 beats.
(rising meter.’ for those new to scansion, includes any accentual-syllabic meter (a pattern of accents and syllables) with the stress on the final syllable—including iambs (u/), anapests (uu/) and the (rare!) fourth paean (uuu/))
Like an approaching distant drumbeat, as we approach the end of the poem, iambs become gradually a little more prominent in various ways in each of these 6 lines. In line 12, for the first time, there is one iamb each at the beginning and end of the line.
Line 14 ends with two iambs in a row, the first of the 6 lines to do so. in spite of the variations from the iambic base in the line’s earlier 3 feet, due to the huge cultural prominence and long hegemonic history of i.p., combined with the position of these two , , .
. . . final feet in the most impactful spot in the poem, & the prior metrical “teasing” that accustoms our ears to desire & ultimately accept the familiar weight of a full I.p., this concluding line lands with the full force of an iambic pentameter’s weight to the receptive ear.
Again, because of the extreme hegemony of iambic pentameter (alas, in spite of my unflagging work on behalf of what i call ‘metrical diversity’ over the past decade or two, i.p. is still the ONLY meter known to the vast majority of poets & readers),
because of this hegemony, we are very sensitized to the sound of ip. and. a teeny bit of this meter goes a long, long way, in this poem’s case to re-establish a sense of order and perhaps also to reassert poetic authority.
Let's recall that a line with the base meter of iambic pentameter does not need to have five iambs in a row but can have huge variations. In A Poet’s Craft (or A Poet’s Ear) I discuss lines of i.p. varying from 9 to 16 syllables in length & including as few as one iamb per line.
Any rising foot can appear anywhere in an iambic pentameter without disrupting the meter. (Falling feet (trochees, dactyls, etc) are trickier & can be more disruptive. Collins’ iambic pentameters here have no falling feet).
In a metrical poem, the base is strong enough to absorb many variations and still keep its identity. In a free-verse poem, it may not be so obvious. But, especially when it comes to I.p., there are good reasons to read 5-beat rising lines such as these as iambic pentameters: (continued in next screenshot)
1. As we will see, the iambs are in crucial places in the lines. 2. the cultural momentum and significance of i.p. is so strong that it tips the balance in favor of cumulatively these read as iambic lines with anapestic variations, not the reverse.
3. A glance at Collins’ other work indicates that she’s a poet for whom iambic pentameter still bears extreme metrical authority; for example, both the first and last lines of her poem ‘Wuthering Heights’ are clearly iambic pentameters
[https://lithub.com/wuthering-heights-a-poem-by-arda-collins/]
4. This 14-line poem reads well as a sonnet; all but one of the i.p.’s occur during or after the sonnet’s ‘turn; most sonnets have traditionally been i.p. 5. The line about showing off in front of a mirror has the most (4) iambs - #metricalcode tipoff of iambic self-awareness
Ultimately, the inner poetic ear is the ultimate guide. Reading lots of poetry in meter, especially sounding it aloud or ‘hearing’ it aloud in your mind, is the best way to learn to pick up the rhythms. The book Measure for Measure collects poems in different meters.
To go deeper, check out my books A Poet’s Craft or A Poet’s Ear, and The Ghost of Meter on #themetricalcode.
A COROLLARY DISCUSSION THAT MAY HELP CLEAR UP QUESTIONS FOR OTHERS NEW TO SCANSION
Amanda: You’re using this term [iambic pentameter] oddly. Say more? (Attaches Wiki definition of i.p. as “a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable, for example Two households, both alike in dignity”
AF: Hello Amanda, as you know since your bio calls you “a Shakespeare aficionado,” meters can absorb variations. e.g.: two lines after the example you post comes “From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,” which includes a trochee in 3rd foot and a spondee in 4th foot. More on all this very soon! :)
Amanda: I agree! And yet I would assert that the poem you’ve posted here doesn’t contain any lines of iambic pentameter, irregular or not!
AF The expansion of the idea of an acceptable line of iambic pentameter beyond ten syllables happened mainly in the 19th century. I have a chapter on it in my book #TheGhostofMeter. A fascinating development.
AF Again, i think you're likely counting syllables, a pre-19th c. approach. My book #APoetsCraft has full discussion of i.p. with examples of lines from 9-16 syllables that scan as perfectly metrical i.p.'s according to current metrical understanding, including lines w only one iamb.
Amanda: penta, penta, penta
AF: it has five feet per line. that is why it is called a pentameter. A foot can have a varying number of syllables and still be a metrically acceptable variation within iambic pentameter.
Amanda: *‘From ancient grudge break to new mutiny’ is a perfect line of iambic pentameter.
AF: Well, it does not adhere exactly to the base pattern of five iambs, the way "In fair Verona where we lay our scene" does. it has a trochee and a spondee. Maybe what you mean by "perfect" is that it has ten syllables--no anapests or first paeans?
Amanda: The poem below [The News by Arda Collins], which is what I’m responding to, is not in iambic pentameter. Sent you a DM!
AF: Yes, it's a free-verse poem, not "in" iambic pentameter. However, as with much contemporary f.v., there are lines (here, 6 of them) that can scan as i.p. & could appear in an i.p. poem without breaking the 'metrical contract.' These lines create a kind of i.p. subplot--common in f.v.
The DM
Amanda: If you have time, I’d love to hear why these aren’t words you use? (Attaches this page https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-iambic.html
AF: These are all examples of the unvaried base meter. But for centuries (since the Renaissance), accentual variations in the base meter have been common expressive devices (see John Thompson's book The Founding of English Meter). Since the 19th century, variations in numbers of syllables have been common. You will find a full explanation in my book A Poet's Craft, and I am also starting an accessible online program in meter within my free community poetrywitch.org
AN INTERESTING RESPONSE LEADS TO THE METRICAL CODE (SOMETIMES I THINK ALL ROADS LEAD TO THE METRICAL CODE—IT’S PART OF METER’S MAGIC IN SUCH A DEEP WAY)
Matthew: Funny — before you scanned it as such, I was reading the last line as trochees the whole way through, with stresses on both instances of “can.” Like Dickinson’s ballad metre. Now I can see it both ways.
AF: Totally! This cd be a great scansion of the line on its own. In context of this poem, the previous 5 rising 5 beat lines have primed us to hear it as i.p.. Still,the trochaic possiblity remains as a counterpoint. And a good #metricalcode analysis would interweave both scansions.
Matthew: Very cool.
AF: Truly! the #metricalcode is an incredibly exciting mode of poetic analysis, if I do say so myself. Looking forward to when a few cool grad students start to learn enough prosody to figure this out and apply it more widely. It's all explained in #TheGhostofMeter from @UofMPress
A KIND COMMENT THAT HELPED MAKE IT ALL WORTHWHILE
Laurence: You're one of the greatest contemporary anglophone poets in form -- I wonder why the commenter felt compelled to question you, to be a little too blunt... [1/2]
AF: thank you Laurence! There is so much misunderstanding of meter out there that I’ve found quite a bit of educating seems to come with the territory:) #apoetscraft