Syllabic verse

Syllabic verse is a poetic form having a fixed number of syllables per line or stanza regardless of the number of stresses that are present. It is common in languages that are syllable timed such as Japanese or modern French or Spanish, as opposed to accentual verse, which is common in stress timed languages such as English.

Related Topics:
Poetic form - Syllable - Line - Stanza - Language - Syllable timed - French - Spanish - Accentual verse - Stress timed language - English

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The following two stanzas from "No Swan So Fine" by Marianne Moore are an example of syllabic verse in English.

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No water so still as the

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dead fountains of Versailles." No swan,

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with swart blind look askance

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and gondoliering legs, so fine

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as the chintz china one with fawn-

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brown eyes and toothed gold

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collar on to show whose bird it was.

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Lodged in the Louis Fifteenth

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Candelabrum-tree of cockscomb-

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tinted buttons, dahlias,

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sea urchins, and everlastings,

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it perches on the branching foam

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of polished sculptured

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flowers--at ease and tall. The king is dead.

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My raptured song shall ever be,

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God has been merciful to me.

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A number of English-language poets in the Modernist tradition experimented with syllabic verse. These include Marianne Moore, Dylan Thomas, Louis Zukofsky, Cid Corman, and Leo Yankevich. When writing syllabic verse, there is some flexibility in how one counts syllabes. For example, diphthongs may count as one or two syllables depending on the poet's preference.

Related Topics:
Modernist - Marianne Moore - Dylan Thomas - Louis Zukofsky - Cid Corman - Leo Yankevich - Diphthong

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