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With four feet, the iambic tetrameter line mores slightly faster than pentameter. The quickened tempo of a shorter line intensifies the rhythm and therefore the meaning. The shorter a line, the quicker the eye moves down the page. More vertical space is covered. The poem is falling, plunging, speeding rather than spreading across the page. Iambic tetrameter is shorter than pentameter, more compressed with a slightly rushed breath rhythm. It is still long enough to seem close to speech.
~~Francis Mayes, The Discovery of Poetry, A Field Guide to Reading and Writing Poems |
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At the beginning of 2008, I decided to discuss various poetry forms and meters. In January, we looked at the rhyming Minute Poetry Form and in February we featured the Grossblank, a form using blank verse. The meter used for these forms is iambic meter, a version of accentual meter.
For the purposes of review, iambic meter is measured in feet, where:
1 iambic foot (iamb) = 1 unstressed syllable + 1 stressed syllable.
The Grossblank form used iambic hexameter, which is six iambic feet or six iambs. Since an iambic foot is two syllables (an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable), there are twelve total syllables (or six iambic feet) in a line of iambic hexameter.
Using a line from my Grossblank poem “An Evening's Excursion,” I will show the scansion for a line of iambic hexameter
a rare| excur|sion, driv|ing crowd|ed in|terstates
The bars represent the division of the iambic feet and the syllables in bold represent the stressed syllables. Within the bars are two syllables (1 iambic foot). In the simplest terminology, a stressed syllable, when pronounced, has a stronger or heavier accent than an unstressed syllable.
The form we will discuss for this edition of the newsletter is called the Revanche, a form invented by David Hirt. I could find very little about the Revanche form. I discovered it on the website of Australian poet Graeme King:
http://www.kingpoetry.com/white%20water.htm.
I was unable to contact either Graeme King or David Hirt to learn more about the Revanche. From the poem “White Water,” written by Graeme King, I discovered the following information.
A Revanche poem has eight stanzas, four quatrains and four couplets which alternate. The Revanche poem is written in iambic meter.
Stanza one is a quatrain (4 lines), each line is written in iambic tetrameter – 4 iambic feet (8 syllables).
Stanza two is a couplet (2 lines) written in iambic tetrameter. (all couplets – stanzas 2, 4, 6, and 8 - are written in iambic tetrameter).
Stanza three is a quatrain. The first three lines are in iambic tetrameter; the fourth line is in iambic trimeter – 3 iambic feet (6 syllables ). The remaining quatrains – stanzas 5 and 7 – are also written with the first lines in iambic tetrameter and the fourth line in iambic trimeter.
All quatrains are blank verse – non-rhyming.
All couplets are end-line rhymes.
I like the variance of stanzas and meter used in this poetry form. In her book The Discovery of Poetry, Francis Mayes states that poets will often use varying meters in a poem to keep the poem from sounding monotone. I think the variance in alternating stanza lengths and using both tetrameter and trimeter is quite affective in the Revanche.
With / = unstressed syllable and x = stressed syllable, here is the layout for the Revanche poetry form (a,b,c,d are the rhymes for the couplets):
/x/x/x/x
/x/x/x/x
/x/x/x/x
/x/x/x/x
/x/x/x/a
/x/x/x/a
/x/x/x/x
/x/x/x/x
/x/x/x/x
/x/x/x
/x/x/x/b
/x/x/x/b
/x/x/x/x
/x/x/x/x
/x/x/x/x
/x/x/x
/x/x/x/c
/x/x/x/c
/x/x/x/x
/x/x/x/x
/x/x/x/x
/x/x/x
/x/x/x/d
/x/x/x/d
Following is the only Revanche poem I have found:
“White Water”
by Graeme King
an Australian poet
A smile as grim as winter splits
his face as tension forces bones
to pull with muscles urgent strength
and keep the fragile craft upright.
The water's murmur rises more
as he approaches canyon's door.
Now spume is seen in rainbows orb
afloat from river's awesome drop,
and eddies try to rip the boat
from course of straight and true.
His paddle digs to stay the tide
as river's chasm beckons wide.
With no escape he rushes on
in cataract's magnetic grip
as ever faster water boils
and hurtles to the edge.
An oath is caught on gasping breath
approaching seeming certain death.
A missile dropping through the falls
to smash into the waiting pool
and live, to cheat the river's hold
to float upon the day.
So once again he drifts on home
to dream at night of rapids foam.
“White Water”
©2007 KINGPOETRY
Graeme King
http://www.kingpoetry.com/white%20water.htm
Remember that the last line of the first quatrain (stanza 1) has iambic tetrameter, while all remaining quatrains (stanzas 3, 5, and 7) the last line is iambic trimeter. All couplets are iambic tetrameter.
While I could find no other guidelines for the Revanche, it seems to be a poem that is one of action, possibly man versus nature, but for this discussion the topic will be the choice of the individual poet.
Now, try your hand at the Revanche.
If you wish to participate in a monthly challenge for the form presented in this newsletter, please stop by and check out:
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By participating in the non-contest activity “Poetry Scratch Pad,” you will receive 500 gps for posting a Revanche poem during the month of March. If you post to four consecutive monthly challenges presented by larryp in the Poetry Newsletter, you will receive a Poetry Merit Badge. |
Poems using iambic meter from Writing.com poets
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Grossblank poems created for the February challenge and posted in "Invalid Item"
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Bruce Michael Anderson 
Hello this is the frist time I have read any of the news letters, I must say this was very nice and I love the poem (Top)...
Thank you for reading the Newsletter Bill. I am glad you enjoyed it.
kanaspoet
Larry
A thinker never sleeps
More great poetry information and another good newsletter. And thank you for including the links too!
Thank you! Please feel free to stop by "Invalid Item" . I am glad you enjoyed the newsletter.
JudithJean France
Thanks for the review. You write in a wonderful teaching style. Your manner is humble
Keeping from lofty mumble jumble
Blessings...-
Thank you JudithJean for your faithfulness to read the Poetry Newsletter. Thanks also for the words of encouragement. |
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Poetry: February 27, 2008 Issue [#2248]
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