Shakespeare’s Rhythm

“True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,

As those move easiest who have learn’d to dance”

Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism

Shakespeare was supremely skilled at employing verse rhythm for expressive effect.

Today the importance of meter in Shakespeare’s work is often very underrated, or even ignored - and this is largely because meter is so poorly understood.

So, getting down to basics, what is iambic pentameter?

Here’s a simple definition: it is a line of five beats, where the beat lands on every other syllable; and in which a beat can be either pulled back a syllable or pumped forward a syllable under certain conditions.

Here is an unvaried line, which I have split up into feet (metrical units containing one beat):-

When I | do count | the clock | that tells | the time

di-dum | di-dum | di-dum | di-dum | di-dum

Here is an example of a beat being pulled back:-

Now is the time | that face | should form | another

dum-di-di-dum | di-dum | di-dum | di-dum-di

This “dum-di-di-dum” pattern is a swinging movement from one post to the next (and for this reason, it is important not to pause too heavily after the first syllable, as this will destroy the rhythmic swinging movement).

This line also contains a feminine ending, or tail: an extra unstressed syllable at the end of the line (“di-dum-di”, instead of “di-dum”).

And here is an example of a beat being pumped forward:-

Affec | tion, puh. | You speak | like a green girl

di-dum | di-dum | di-dum | di-di-dum-dum

Just to confuse you, there is also one very particular (and less frequent) metrical pattern that combines a displaced beat with a spondee. A spondee occurs when an offbeat syllable is stressed: “dum-dum”, instead of “di-dum”. Here’s an example of two consecutive spondees:-

Rich gifts | wax poor | when gi | vers prove | unkind

The beat is marked by every other syllable (“gifts”, “poor”, “gi-”, “prove”, “-kind”), however, the offbeats “Rich” and “wax” also receive stress, creating a heavy emphasis which commands our attention. Even more emphatic is this rare example of three consecutive spondees:-

Thoughts black, | hands apt, | drugs fit, | and time | agreeing

Now, as I said, there is one unique metrical pattern which combines a displaced beat with a spondee: normally, when a beat is pulled back a space, it creates the pattern “dum-di-di-dum” (as in “Now is the time…”); however, when this displaced beat is combined with a spondee, it creates the pattern “dum-di-dum-dum”:-

Claps her pale cheek, | till cla | pping makes | it red

dum-di-dum-dum | di-dum | di-dum | di-dum

Both this pattern and the “di-di-dum-dum” pattern created when a beat is pumped forward are lopsided metrical figures (they lack the symmetrical balance of the swinging “dum-di-di-dum” pattern), and therefore need the support of a grammatical structure if they are not to disrupt the rhythm. The grammatical structure for the “dum-di-dum-dum” pattern is often (though not always) the very one from the previous quote:-

Verb (“Claps”)/small connecting word (in this case, the pronoun “her”)/monosyllabic adjective (“pale”)/ noun (“cheek”)

And the “di-di-dum-dum” pattern often follows the exact same grammatical structure on the last three syllables (small connecting word / monosyllabic adjective / noun). Here’s a line that contains both patterns:

Pluck the keen teeth | from the fierce ti | ger’s jaws

dum-di-dum-dum | di-di-dum-dum | di-dum

It is also important to note that when a beat is pulled back (creating the pattern “dum-di-di-dum”; or “dum-di-dum-dum” when combined with a spondee) the displaced beat needs to be placed either at the opening of the line or after a break within the line: if it is not preceded by a break, the displaced beat is not clearly recognisable as such. Here’s an example of the “dum-di-dum-dum” pattern occurring mid-line (and also a very nice example of how expressive metrical variation can be):-

From an | cient grudge | break to new mu | tiny

di-dum | di-dum | dum-di-dum-dum | di-di

Though there is no punctuation mark, there is a clear phrasal break and natural pause after the word “grudge” (“From ancient grudge / break to new mutiny”). In this case, the break is marked by the emphatic displaced beat on the word “break”! Which also echoes the “ancient grudge” through assonance: the shared vowel sound of “break” and “ancient”. And the spondee, too, is given heightened emphasis through assonance: the shared “u” sound of “new mutiny”.

In this line, the final beat is light, creating the flourish of two light syllables at the end. When you have a light beat (“di-di”, instead of “di-dum”), this is known as a pyrrhic (the “y” is pronounced with a short “i” sound, as in “tip”). In this case, it is an appended pyrrhic: a pyrrhic at the end of a word (“mu-ti-ny”). Normally, any pyrrhic at the end of a line or before a line break is an appended pyrrhic. When there is no line break, the pyrrhic joins with the following foot to form a run of light syllables, which provide heightened emphasis to the next heavy beat: instead of “di-dum-di-dum”, we have the pattern “di-di-di-dum” (in the following line, not everyone would stress the opening word “My”, but in the context of the passage, I feel it’s an effective reading):-

My boun | ty is as bound | less as the sea

dum-dum | di-di-di-dum | di-di-di-dum

The beat syllables “is” and “as” are light, creating runs of light syllables which serve to highlight the heavy beats on “boundless” (echoing “bounty”) and “sea”.

There are also metrical variations which are specific to Shakespeare’s dramatic verse: variations you will not find in his Sonnets or his narrative poems (though you will encounter them in modern poetry). By far the most common of these is the mid-line feminine ending (formally known as the epic caesura):

And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep,

Can you see the extra syllable before the full stop? Here's the line again, split up into "feet":

And by | oppo | sing end them. | To die, | to sleep,

di-dum | di-dum | di-dum-di. | di-dum | di-dum

The epic caesura only ever comes before a clear break in the line. But with the extra syllable, there is not only a break in the line, but a disruption to the iambic rhythm...and then a return to the iambic rhythm after the break.

di-dum-di-dum-di-dum-di...di-dum-di-dum

This disruption often serves to highlight a contrast between the two halves of the line. In Hamlet’s line, the searching tone first instigated by his question (“To be or not to be...”: “Whether” this “Or” that) is replaced by a direct assertion: “To die, to sleep,” (by which he means ‘to die is to sleep’).

In terms of practising scansion (the metrical reading of a line), besides familiarising yourself with the various metrical patterns, I think the single most important tip is this: read the verse out loud and see if you can hear a rhythm, and then mark where you hear the beats. And then check if your beat placements are consistent with the meter.

If they aren’t, and you don’t know why, it's usually best to start at the end of the line and work backwards.

Sometimes you’ll find there’s a beat on a word which you didn’t expect to receive emphasis, for which there will be an expressive purpose intended (and I provide a particularly interesting example here: What you can end up missing when you ignore the iambic rhythm…).

And sometimes it will be a matter of working out the syllable count: some words can be either expanded, contracted or glided together to fit the meter - even more so in Shakespeare's day (and in this post, I explore the principles of expansion and contraction quite thoroughly: Making the words fit the meter). Examples of expansions include the pronunciation of the '-ed' suffix as a separate syllable, and the stretching out of '-tion' or '-ssion' into two syllables (with the short “i” pronounced separately). One common contraction is that of words with a medial 'v', e.g. "Heav'n", instead of "Heaven". He became much bolder with his contractions in his later plays, which is why there’s a mistaken perception that his meter became more irregular. Reading the line out loud with pace can often make it easier to identify where a contraction might occur.

Such contractions often fulfilled a dramatic purpose - it could, for instance, convey a sense of urgency. Take, for instance, the desperation of Othello’s response when Desdemona tells him she doesn’t have the handkerchief: “Is’t lost? Is’t gone? Speak, is’t out o’th’ way?”. Consider how much less dramatic the line is without the contractions: “Is it lost? Is it gone? Speak, is it out of the way?”. It just doesn’t have the same impact, does it? There is something else about this line: it’s missing a non-beat syllable...

Is’t lost? | Is’t gone? | _ Speak, | is’t out | o’th’ way?

Missing a syllable within the line is, again, a technique specific to Shakespeare’s dramatic work - and it’s a technique he used very sparingly, and only for specific dramatic effect. A line, such as this, with a missing non-beat syllable at the break, is known as a broken-backed line. In this instance, the syllable pause, followed by the abrupt demand, “Speak”, certainly helps to convey Othello’s extreme agitation.

I hope I’ve succeeded in providing a clear explanation of “the rules of the dance”, and that I’ve conveyed something of its expressive power.

{N.B. I provide more detailed exploration on my blog page: versemeter

Part 1 is the post that explores the metrical variations created by stressing or destressing individual syllables: Iambic pentameter & the principles of metrical variation: part 1 – feminine endings & simple variations

Part 2 is the post that explores variations containing displaced beats, which are formed by swapping the stress level of two adjacent syllables: Iambic pentameter & the principles of metrical variation: part 2 – radical variations

Part 3 is the post that explores more unusual variations: Iambic pentameter & the principles of metrical variation: part 3 - double-trochees, hexameters, epic caesuras in shared lines, missing syllables, emphasis on a non-beat syllable & the false choriamb

For a comparison of iambic pentameter to other meters:

and

And you can find links to all my most useful answers on meter at the bottom of my profile page: Keir Fabian}