Substitution (poetry)
In English poetrysubstitution,also known asinversion,is the use of an alien metricfootin a line of otherwise regularmetrical pattern.[1]For instance in aniambicline of "da DUM", atrochaicsubstitution would introduce a foot of "DUM da".
Trochaic substitution[edit]
In a line of verse that normally employs iambic meter, trochaic substitution describes the replacement of an iamb by a trochee.
The following line fromJohn Keats'sTo Autumnis straightforwardiambic pentameter:[2]
- To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
Using '°' for a weak syllable, '/' for a strong syllable, and '|' for divisions between feet it can be represented as:
| ° | / | ° | / | ° | / | ° | / | ° | / | |||||
| To | swell | | | the | gourd, | | | and | plump | | | the | ha- | | | zel | shells |
The opening of asonnetbyJohn Donnedemonstrates trochaic substitution of the first foot ( "Batter" ):
| / | ° | ° | / | ° | / | ° | / | ° | / | ||||||
| Bat- | ter | | | my | heart | | | three- | per- | | | soned | God, | | | for | you | | |
Donne uses an inversion (DUM da instead of da DUM) in the first foot of the first line to stress the key verb, "batter", and then sets up a clear iambic pattern with the rest of the line
Shakespeare'sHamletincludes a well-known example:
- Tobe,ornottobe:thatis thequestion:
- Whether 'tisnoblerinthemindtosuffer
- Theslingsandarrowsofoutrageousfortune
In the first line the wordthatis stressed rather thanis,which would be an unnatural accent. The first syllable ofWhetheris also stressed, making a trochaic beginning to the line.
John Miltonused this technique extensively, prompting the critic F. R. Leavis to insultingly call this technique the Miltonic Thump.[3]
Iambic substitution[edit]
Sometimes the opposite substitution, of an iamb in place of a trochee, is found, as in the following lines fromShelley'sOde to the West Wind:
- Thou,from whoseunseenpresencetheleavesdead
- Aredriven, likeghosts froman enchanterfleeing.
Here the wordsthe leavesare an iamb (da DUM) in a place in the line where normally there would be a trochee (DUM da).
References[edit]
- ^Fry, Stephen(2005).The Ode Less Travelled.Arrow Books.ISBN978-0-09-950934-9.
- ^Steele, Timothy(1999).All the fun's in how you say a thing.Ohio University Press.ISBN0-8214-1260-4.
- ^Adams, Stephen (1997-04-07).Poetic Designs: An Introduction to Meters, Verse Forms, and Figures of Speech.Broadview Press. pp.17.ISBN9781551111292.
miltonic thump.
External links[edit]
The dictionary definition ofanaclasisat Wiktionary
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