Formal Fluency: Meter Challenge II

Details

In a previous challenge, I had you all create a poem in strict iambic pentameter.  Although that was useful in learning what meter is, and how to apply it, it’s not so useful in writing really great poetry.  That’s because any poem which sticks strictly to one specific meter, and never employs any variation, is going to sound unnatural.

Switching up the meter is also a great way to emphasize lines—they’ll stand out from the rest of the poem subtly but effectively if you suddenly go from da DUM da DUM da DUM to da da DUM da DUM, or to any number of different stress patterns.  You can also use rhetorical tricks (e.g. repetition of the same phrase in slightly different ways) or elision (e.g. don’t instead of do not) to vary the sound of your lines.

This week, then, we’re going to return to meter and learn a bit more about varying meter.  We’re also going to return to the same source document from that earlier competition, Timothy Steele's "Introduction to Meter."  If you took part in the first Meter Challenge, that makes your reading assignment for this competition everything from “THE EFFECT OF VERBAL, GRAMMATICAL, AND RHETORICAL CONTEXT ON ENGLISH METER” to the end.  If you didn’t, you’ll probably want to look through the entire link unless you already have a good idea of how to create iambic pentameter.

Then create a poem (the length and form are up to you) putting what you’ve learned into practice, and post it using the “meter challenge II” tag by Sunday, April 29th at 23:59:59 UTC.

Winning entries

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Prizes

Rules

• Entries must be received before midnight of Sunday, April 15th (UTC time), and winners will be announced within one week of that date.

• Entrants should read Timothy Steele's Introduction to Meter before participating.

• Entries must be a poem of any length and form.

• Part of our mini-contests is sharing what you've learned: although it's not required, we'd appreciate it if you come weigh in on the group discussion thread here

• Only one entry per member, please. Multiple entries will all be disqualified.

• Work must have Public visibility on Scribophile until winners are announced.

• Winners must have a valid Paypal account, or we won't be able to send the prize money!

Submission guidelines

• To enter the contest, post your work on Scribophile and check the box that says "Enter this work into the FF Line Break Challenge contest". Your work will automatically be considered. The checkbox will be visible until the contest deadline, which is in UTC time.

• Entry is free, but you'll need karma points to post your work. You can earn karma points by writing critiques of work by other members.