Walk, run, use a hammer, a pen, a shovel, a pair of oars, a garden fork. Heartbeat, breathing, being alive. That\u2019s where rhythm comes from. The language that poets use takes its rhythm from the way we live and move. Poets today are also influenced by three main English language sources.<\/p>\n
1) The oldest is the ballad, or working song. Ballads usually rhyme. Often they use a stressed 4\/3 beat, with 4 thumps in the first line, 3 in the second, like this:<\/p>\n
\u2018I mar<\/strong>ried a man<\/strong> from Cou<\/strong>nty Roscom<\/strong>mon
\nAnd I live<\/strong> at the back<\/strong> of beyond<\/strong>
\nWith a field<\/strong> of cows<\/strong> and a yard<\/strong> of hens<\/strong>
\nAnd six<\/strong> white geese<\/strong> on the pond<\/strong>.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n(\u2018Overheard in County Sligo\u2019. GC)<\/p>\n
2) Next came Shakespeare. He didn\u2019t invent the 5 beats of iambic pentameter that he used in his poems and plays:<\/p>\n
\u2018It was<\/strong> the night<\/strong>ingale<\/strong> and not<\/strong> the lark<\/strong>\u2019.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
(Romeo and Juliet). He heard it and spoke it. Even today we still often use this speech rhythm: \u2018Come on, a cup of tea will do you good.\u2019 \u2018Get out of bed and do a bit of work!\u2019<\/p>\n
3) Then came the way we think and speak. The rhythms of natural speech are natural as breathing and are the drums that beat in the poetry of today. These, and something unique in each one of us, create that special thing, the poet\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
You will find all these influences in my poetry, and in the work of most poets writing today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Walk, run, use a hammer, a pen, a shovel, a pair of oars, a garden fork. Heartbeat, breathing, being alive. That\u2019s where rhythm comes from. The language that poets use takes its rhythm from the way we live and move. Poets today are also influenced by three main English language sources. 1) The oldest is… Continue reading Rhythm<\/span>