How to measure a poem
A poem is a poetic composition that, as a general rule, is usually written in verse, although it is not subject to no rhyme, However, it is also possible to find poems written in prose, of a greater length, usually. These lyrical compositions are characterized by having a sound and musicality unique, which embellish the text while it is read aloud. There are branches in the study of Spanish literature and poetry dedicated solely to the meter of a poem. To do this, it is necessary to know and master stylistic resources such as rhyme, rhythm or the syllabic division of verses.
In this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to explain the guidelines that we must follow in order to know how to measure a poem. To know how to measure a poem we must follow a series of very simple steps that we will explain throughout this lesson. Keep reading!
Index
- Before you start measuring a poem
- Starting to measure a poem
- Metric licenses in a poem
Before starting to measure a poem.
In order to determine the metric of a poem more easily, the first thing we have to do is read the text carefully.
After making a first silent reading, it is advisable to read the poem again, worse this time out loud, paying special attention to the rhythm of each one of them. verses, in order to establish, in a first general analysis, whether or not the text presents some type of rhyme or, on the contrary, the verses are free or lack of rhyme.
In this other lesson from a TEACHER we will discover the different rhyme classes in a poem.
Starting to measure a poem.
Once the poem is read, we must establish the number of syllables that make up each verse and, later, write it down at the end of it. To determine how many syllables each verse has without making mistakes, it is necessary that we know what the rules are by which the syllables of a poem are divided. These hyphenation rules have as their starting point the rules of accentuation of the Spanish language, since playing with the accent of the words, we will be able to give a sound or another to each verse. For this reason, before proceeding with the hyphenation, it is convenient to indicate the stressed syllable of the words with which each verse concludes.
The hyphenation rules establish that, the verses that end in a sharp word, must add one more syllable to the total. of the same, so that it matches with the rest of the verses, since, as a general rule, the verses must end with a word flat. On the contrary, if the verse ends with a word esdrújula, we have to do the operation contrary, that is, subtract one syllable to make it coincide with the flat rhythm of the rest of the poem. Similarly, in verses that end with an sobreesdrújula word, two syllables must be subtracted.
In this other lesson you will discover the different types of verses according to their syllables.
The metric licenses in a poem.
Once we have already measured the verses of the poem, we must also bear in mind that, in poetry, there are so-called "metric licenses", which are a series of resources used by the author to match rhythm and meter of the poem from the syllabic count of the same. The most important are the following:
Sinalefa
It is the union of the final syllable of a word with the first syllable of the next word, as long as the first one ends in a vowel and the second begins with a vowel. With the sinalefa it is achieved that two syllables are pronounced as if they were one.
It must be taken into account that the synalepha is also applied when the first syllable of the second word begins with the letter "h" (since in Spanish this letter is silent) and also when it begins with "y" (since this letter, despite being a consonant, has a vowel sound and is pronounced as "i").
Dieresis
With the objective of add one more syllable to the verse, the poet uses the resource of the umlaut which consists of the break of a diphthong from the umlaut, which is an orthographic sign formed by two points, which is placed above the vowel corresponding to indicate that there is no diphthong and therefore that should be pronounced as two syllables instead of one.
The author can also choose to carry out the opposite process, that is, syneresis, which consists of join two different syllables and create a diphthong, that is, a single syllable in order to remove one at the verse.
In this other lesson we will discover the structure of a poem.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to Measure a Poem - Easy to Study!, we recommend that you enter our category of Literary concepts.
