How Rhythm is Achieved in Poetry

 

How Rhythm is Achieved in Poems

Introductions

When we dance, our bodies move in unison with the beat or rhythm. Depending on the beat, our bodies can move quickly, slowly, or moderately. Rhythm is a concept that can be found in both spoken and written languages.

What exactly is rhythm in Poetry?

Rhythm is defined as a predictable pattern of repeated beats or sounds. It is an arrangement of recurring strong and weak beats or a repetition of musical beats. Every spoken and written language has its own rhythm. Rhythm improves a poem's meaning and delivery. A poem with a fast paced rhythm may imply excitement, fear, or suspense, whereas a poem with a slow rhythm may imply contentment, love, or sadness. The distribution of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry lines, as well as sound patterns, meter, repetition, and even punctuation, all contribute to the rhythm of a poem. 

Let us concentrate on each of them as we learn the ins and outs of each of them.

Ways of Finding Rhythm in a Poem

1.Through Repetition

It is the repeated use of any linguistic element, such as a sound, word, phrase, clause, idea, or even a sentence. Repetition is a common literary device used in the literary texts we encounter during our literary studies. Repetition in poetry frequently involves the recurring use of specific words, images, structures, and devices. Rhyme, alliteration, and rhythm are all repetitions  of sounds or sound patterns. In poetry, a refrain is a repeated line or group of lines. Repetition as a literary device when used in a poem makes a poem achieve rhythm and musicality,  therefore making the poem memorable. Let's look at some poems that have achieved rhythm through repetition.

All the world is a stage—William Shakespeare

That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

Shakespeare described old age, which he called second childishness, as the stage of oblivion in which a man sinks into nothingness in the lines above. The emphasis on the word 'sans' means that a man dies without teeth, eyes, taste, or many other things.

 Stopping by the woods in the snowy evening, Robert Frost

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.
But I have promises to keep.
And miles to go before I sleep.
And miles to go before I sleep.

These are very famous lines by Frost. The individual is standing in the snowy evening with his horse. He was pondering the beauty of the surroundings when his horse alarmed him. He is prepared to return because he must perform worldly duties and tasks. The poet wishes to express his devotion to his responsibilities while also providing rhythm to the lines through repetition.

Excelsior, Henry W. Longfellow

The shades of night were falling fast…
A banner with the strange device,
Excelsior
There is a twilight cold and gray,
Lifeless, but beautiful, he lay…
A voice fell like a falling star,
Excelsior.

The word excelsior appears twice in the preceding lines. Excelsior is a Latin word that means "always higher and higher." In other words, keep your sights set on the prize. It not only relieves stress but also aids the poet in the creation of rhythm.

O Captain! My Captain! – Walt Witman

O Captain! My Captain! Rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up – for you the flag is flung- for you the bugle trills….

To emphasize the mournful theme, the poet uses repetition throughout the lines. In the example, the words 'rise up,' 'for you,' and 'O Captain' are repeated. The lines are dominated by a sense of distress. Along with these repeated words, the melancholy call for the captain reinforces the theme.

The Bells – Edgar Allan

To the swinging and the ringing
of the bells, bells, bells-
Of the bells, bells, bells, bells
Bells, bells, bells-
To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!’

The word 'bells' appears several times throughout the poem. The goal of this repetition is to build enthusiasm and rhythm. It is meant to mimic the continuous ringing of bells. The poem's impact is mirrored by the continuous and alarming sound.

War Is Kind – Stephen Crane

Do not weep, babe, for war is kind.
Because your father tumbles in yellow trenches,
Raged at his breast, gulped and died,
Do not weep
War is kind.

To express the horrors of war, the phrase 'do not weep, war is kind' is repeated in the given line. It appears at the end of the stanza, so it can also be referred to as a refrain. The poet attempts to persuade his readers that war is not a good thing. This is the name of destruction, which causes many people to cry.

In a nutshell, any poem that employs repetition as a literary device achieves rhythm.

2. Through Alliteration

The repetition of stressed initial consonant sounds at the beginning of words in the same line of a poem is referred to as alliteration. Alliteration lends the poem a musical quality and aids in the creation of a sense of unity and coherence. It also draws the reader's attention to specific words or phrases, emphasizing their significance and making them more memorable. Poets can use alliteration to create a specific mood or atmosphere in their poems, thereby increasing the overall impact of their message. Let's look at a few examples to put the concept into context.

An Example of Alliteration

“Lo! the Spear-Danes’ glory through splendid achievements
The folk-kings’ former fame we have heard of,
How princes displayed then their prowess-in-battle.
Oft Scyld the Scefing from scathers in numbers
From many a people their mead-benches tore.”
               —Beowulf (translated from the Heyne-Socin text by Lesslie Hall)

The use of alliteration in the opening lines of Beowulf's epic poem creates a sing-song rhythm and also aids in the formation of associations. Because of its alliteration, the name "Scyld the Scefing" is easier to remember, which is important in a long poem with so many characters. This excerpt demonstrates that alliteration does not have to be limited to adjacent words. Spear/splendid; folk/former/fame; and princes/prowess are all examples of alliteration between nearby but not necessarily adjacent words.

Finally, when used as a poetic device, alliteration aids in the creation of rhythm in a poem.

3. Through the use of assonance

Assonance is the repetition of a vowel sound in words that are close together, usually on stressed syllables. It improves the poem's overall rhythm and flow by adding musicality and harmony. The poet can create a melodic quality that captivates the reader's attention and heightens the emotional impact of the words by using assonance. Consider the following example from the Bible:

An Example of Assonance

“Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.”
—The Lord’s Prayer, New Testament

In this well-known Bible example, kingdom and come rhyme, while done in the next line repeats the same vowel sound without rhyming. The repetition of vowel sounds makes this prayer easy to remember without relying on rhyme.

4.Through Consonance

Consonance is a poetic device in which consonant sounds are repeated, usually at the end of stressed syllables and without the repetition of vowels. Consonance is more adaptable than alliteration because the repeated sounds can occur anywhere in a word, not just at the beginning. It gives the text a musical quality and can create a sense of harmony or discord, depending on how it is used. The poet employs consonance in this poem to improve the rhythm and flow of the lines, as well as to emphasize specific words and ideas. Let us look at a passage from William Blake's poem The Tyger.

“The Tyger” (1794): William Blake’s 1794 poem 

“The Tyger” repeats the consonant “r,” creating a rhythmic quality to the poem.

“Tyger Tyger, burning bright,

 In the forests of the night;

What immortal hand or eye,

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”

5. Through the regularity in the length of lines.

Poets use a few words that serve a purpose to convey their message. This technique of using short lines of the same or nearly the same length helps poems achieve rhythm.

6. Through the use of punctuation

Poets punctuate their poems to achieve a specific goal. When used correctly, punctuation marks such as dashes, commas, and other punctuation marks aid in the creation of rhythm in the poem.

7. Through the distribution of stressed and unstressed syllables

The amount of force required to pronounce a syllable is defined as stress. A syllable is the smallest unit of a word that can be spoken. Words are broken down into syllables. Some are one syllable, such as cat, while others are two syllables, such as sub.ject. We have stressed and unstressed syllables in English.

For example, in two-syllable words like pro.duce and sub.ject, you stress the first syllable, which is SUBject and PROduce to make them nouns. The syllable written in capital letters is stressed because it is pronounced with great force, whereas the second syllable written in lowercase is said to be unstressed. The distribution of stressed and unstressed syllables in words in a poem's line or verse creates rhythm. What tells the reader which syllables are to be  stressed and which are unstressed is the poet's intended message. For example, if the reader understands that the word is a noun or a verb, the appropriate stress will be applied. Stress must be used correctly because it can alter the meaning of a word.

8. Through the use of rhyme or rhyming words in a poem

Rhyme is a poetic device that enhances a poem's musicality and harmony. It happens when words with similar sounds end up on the same line or within the same line. Rhyme can add a sense of unity and structure to a poem, enhancing its overall aesthetic appeal. It can also help to emphasize specific words or ideas, making them more memorable to the reader. 

9. Through the use of Onomatopoeia and Ideophones

Onomatopoeia is a literary device in which English words are used to mimic or suggest the sounds they describe. They give the writing a sensory and vivid quality, allowing readers to better visualize and experience the text. Onomatopoeia frequently mimics natural sounds, whereas ideophones ( actual sounds) capture non-linguistic phenomena such as emotions or movements. Writers who use these devices not only create a more immersive and engaging reading experience for their audience, but they also create rhythm in a poem.

 

Rhythm in poetry is achieved through sound patterns, regularity in line length, the distribution of stressed and unstressed syllables in words, punctuation, and repetition, as illustrated above.