How to determine the size of a poem? It's all about stress!

Eugene Onegin in Pushkin’s novel of the same name “couldn’t ... distinguish iamba from a chorea ...”. Maybe it is very difficult? Unlikely. It’s just that the hero of Pushkin was not occupied with questions about how to determine the size of a poem. And if you comprehend the secrets of versification, then the recognition of the forms of poetic rhythm will be a fascinating activity and will allow you to penetrate deeper into the secret of poetic labyrinths. By the way, the novel in verses “Eugene Onegin” was written by four-foot iamba, due to which it has an energetic, life-affirming intonation.

How to determine the size of a poem?

First of all, it should be said that the sizes are monosyllabic, two-, three-, four-, five-syllable and even more. What does it depend on? In order to correctly determine the size by which a poem is written, one needs to understand what stop poetry is. This is the name of the syllable group, where one of them is stressed. So, the first thing to do is to paint the poetic line with your feet and place the stress. Then emphasize stressed syllables.

Two complex dimensions

1. If a word consists of two syllables and the first of them is stressed, then we have a trochee. To record the size, scientists came up with a schematic image. For example, here is: ∩́ __, here we write the stressed syllable with the sign ∩́, and unstressed with the symbol __. Chorea looks like this: ∩́ __. This size is written by the famous poem of Alexander Pushkin "Winter Evening". If you schematically write the first line of this lyrical work, it turns out like this: ∩́ __ / ∩́ __ / ∩́ __ / ∩́_.
2. In iamba, on the contrary, the stress falls on the second syllable in the feet, consisting of two syllables. The entry will be: __ ∩́. This size is written poem by Konstantin Batyushkov "My genius." The first line will look like this: __ ∩ / / __ ∩ / / __ ∩ __ / __ ∩.. These are the most common two-syllable sizes. And we, unlike Onegin, will now be able to distinguish them from each other.

Three complex sizes

And how to determine the size of a poem, if it is three-syllable? Their names, like the previous ones, came to us from the Greek language. They are called dactyl, amphibrach, and anapest. Three-complex sizes are in the feet, consisting of three syllables.

1. In dactyl, emphasis always falls on the first syllable, followed by two unstressed ones. Like this: ∩́ __ __. This size is written by the poem of Mikhail Lermontov “Clouds”. We write the line like this: ∩́ __ __ / ∩́__ __ / ∩́ __ __ / ∩́ __ __.
2. If in words of three syllables the emphasis falls on the second (middle) syllable, then we are dealing with amphibrachia. Here is the diagram: __ ∩́__ (alternation of syllables: unstressed, stressed, unstressed). “The Song of the Prophetic Oleg” (A. Pushkin) was created by amphibrach. Schematically, the first line is written like this: __ ∩́__ / __ ∩́__ / __ ∩́__ / __ ∩́__.
3. If a poetic line consists of words in three syllables, and the emphasis falls on the last, you, following this logic, can easily determine the size by which the poem is written - this is an anapest. Scheme: __ __∩́. This size created the poem by Athanasius Fet "I will not tell you anything." Sign record: __ __∩́ / __ __∩́ / __ __∩́.

Special sizes

But in the world of poetic rhythms there are subtleties. For example, it happens that in the place where, according to the logic of size, stress should be placed, it is skipped. When there are two unstressed syllables in a double-handed size (iamba or chorea) in a row, we see the pyrrhic. And if such a combination is present in a three-step size (anapest, amphibrachia, dactyl), then this is tribrachium. Neither one nor the other affects the type of size, but they can confuse a novice literary critic. What do you mean "do not affect"? This means that the iambic remains an iambic, and the trochee remains a trochee, but with a “complicated” pyrrhichia. Accordingly, the three-complex dimensions remain by themselves, but have omissions of stress - tribrachia. If the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in the foot is violated in the opposite direction - there are two stresses in a row (where, logically, there should be an unstressed syllable, it is replaced by stressed), we are dealing with a sponde.

Here, perhaps, are all the sizes that are used in modern versification. Unless worth mentioning is the hexameter, with which the legendary "Iliad" of Homer was written and which is sometimes imitated by current poets. It consists of six choreic feet with an arbitrary last syllable. It is written like this: ∩́__ __ / ∩́__ __ / ∩́__ __ / ∩́__ __ / ∩́__ __ / ∩́X (where X denotes an arbitrary syllable).

It also happens that we have to rack our brains over how to determine the size of a poem, because in the line we find an alternation of different sizes. Dactyl alternates with chorea, etc. Such a phenomenon in versification is called "logaed." It was used by Marina Tsvetaeva. For example, in the poetic work “Table” she uses alternation according to the iamb-anapaest-iambic pattern.

Why do you need to know how to determine the poetic size?

Poems are not just rhymed lines. Unmatched examples of lyrics are made by well-used poetic devices, the most important of which is rhythm. The sound and mood of the work depend on it. If the trochee creates a melodious, slightly mysterious intonation, then the iamb gives the poem strict outlines, is businesslike and energetic. Three-part dimensions are similar to the conversational style, reminiscent of the narrative. The hexameter gives the lines a grand solemn sound.

Possessing the ability to recognize poetic dimensions, we can explain what exactly accounts for the bewitching music of a poetic masterpiece.