I do apologise for the curt comment, but I enjoyed your poem, especially its rhythm, and wondered whether it had any rigid metre. Please excuse my impertinence, and well done in the contest.
The poem is written in Sapphic stanzas. Greek verse plays by different rules for determining stress, but in English, Sapphic metre has three lines of trochee/ trochee/ dactyl/ trochee/ trochee, and then a fourth line that goes dactyl/ trochee. It's not a common system in English verse.
Some poets are more rigid in keeping to the strict metre than others. In this poem, I was strict with myself.
I do apologise for the curt comment, but I enjoyed your poem, especially its rhythm, and wondered whether it had any rigid metre.
ReplyDeletePlease excuse my impertinence, and well done in the contest.
Mark - thanks. I don't detect any impertinence!
ReplyDeleteThe poem is written in Sapphic stanzas. Greek verse plays by different rules for determining stress, but in English, Sapphic metre has three lines of trochee/ trochee/ dactyl/ trochee/ trochee, and then a fourth line that goes dactyl/ trochee. It's not a common system in English verse.
Some poets are more rigid in keeping to the strict metre than others. In this poem, I was strict with myself.
Thanks again.
Congratulations for the commendations. Good work.
ReplyDeleteThanks David.
ReplyDeleteMany congratulations Rob - great to see such a hard working guy doing well :o)
ReplyDeleteMore lucky than hard-working, but thanks!
ReplyDelete