Task 29: A New Year

I was struggling to think of an apt image to head this post, and so I went for this instead.
My daughter's second name is Kavita (which is the Hindi for POEM)...

So here we are. The first task of the new academic year. And to those of you new to the workshop - either as moderators or as students - welcome to wordvoodoo.

Much of this term is going to return to poetry, on the assumption that it is there that we can all refine our writing skills most effectively, before we apply them to prose and drama later in the year. There is something about the discipline and exactitude poetry can demand that is perfect training ground for the young writer.

But first, a word about rules. Over the next few weeks, we will be mastering a number of different poetic principles and conventions - rules, really. But this is NOT to say that I think good writing is rule-bound. On the contrary, some of the best writing breaks the rules on a regular basis, but it does so DELIBERATELY and for a REASON. And the only way to learn how to break the rules deliberately and for a reason is to learn how to stick to them first. Many of the best and most original (and anarchic) musicians, artists, writers only attained that flair through learning the rules first of all.

Last year, we did a lot of work on IAMBs and IAMBIC METER. Whilst some of you were better at this than others, I don't think ANY of you mastered it completely; and I think I moved on too quickly to all the other types of feet for many of you really to keep up. So, as you've probably guessed by now, it's back to the IAMB.

Before I explain to you again what an IAMB is, you need to understand three other things: syllables; stress; and feet.

A SYLLABLE is, essentially, the building block of sound within any word/sentence. At primary school, you may have learnt syllables by clapping along to a word. For example:

• the word syllable has 3 syllables: SYL-LA-BLE
• the word example has 3 also: EX-AM-PLE

Now look at those two words and say them aloud. As you do so, you will find yourself giving emphasis or STRESS to some syllables and not to others. For example:

• the word syllable naturally has a stress on the 1st syllable: SYL-la-ble
• to stress the 2nd syllable would sound strange and wrong: syl-LA-ble
• although the adjective from this noun WOULD have the second syllable stressed: syllabic (syl-LA-bic)
• as for the 3rd syllable, I guess we could say it is stressed (SYL-la-BLE) or unstressed (SYL-la-ble) - and such flexibility will prove really helpful when writing our poetry.

Now, on your own, write down, on a piece of paper, 10 different polysyllabic (i.e. more than one syllable) words at random. Then work out which syllable(s) within each one is stressed. When we are annotating poetry, we would usually put a / sign above each stressed syllable and a U sign above each unstressed one.

Hopefully, now, you understand SYLLABLES and how they are STRESSED (or unstressed).

So what is a FOOT?

Any of you for whom music makes you want to dance, sing in the shower, or simply tap your fingers or foot (i.e. ALL of you) will have some understanding of the concept of a BEAT. Dance without sticking to the beat and you look silly; dance TO the beat, and (unless you are me) you can look cool.

Well, poetry, also, has a beat - and, once you 'tune into' it, you will find it just as powerful and contagious as any song on your MP3 player. In poetry, each line consists of a number of beats - but, in poetry, we call them FEET.

Look at this famous nursery rhyme:

Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow
And everywhere that Mary went
Her lamb was sure to go

If you read this out loud, you will find yourself stressing certain syllables, and, in doing so, you are identifying the beat (and therefore the FEET) of the poem. Here it is again, but with the stressed syllables in capitals:

MA-ry HAD a LIT-tle LAMB
its FLEECE was WHITE as SNOW
and EVE-ry-WHERE that MA-ry WENT
her LAMB was SURE to GO

Now look at the feet (beats). See how there are 4 feet in lines 1 and 3, and 3 feet in lines 2 and 4. How about this famous line by William Wordsworth:

I wandered lonely as a cloud

Or, broken down:

i WAN-dered LONE-ly AS a CLOUD

Again, 4 feet.

Hopefully, now, you have some understanding, therefore, of SYLLABLES, STRESS and FEET.

Now, in poetry, there are different types of foot. To confuse you, here are some of them:
anapest (anapestic meter) = UU/ (dee-dee-DUM)
spondee (spondaic meter) = /UU (DUM-dee-dee)
trochee (trochaic meter) = /U (DUM-dee)

But the simplest (and most common) of all is:
the iamb (iambic meter) = U/ (dee-DUM)

All except one of the feet in the nursery rhyme above is iambic (apart from the first foot, which is a half-iamb - the DUM without the dee); all four feet in Wordsworth's line are iambic too.

Some of you, in fact, have iambic names: na-JAF, a-NIQ-a, me-LIS-sa.

And this last example leads me to my first WARNING. Just because an iambic foot has two syllables, does NOT mean that iambic verse can only consist of TWO-syllable words.
Look at this, for instance:

Melissa is intelligence itself
[me-LIS-sa IS in-TEL-li-GENCE it-SELF]

See how I have built into that line 1-, 2-, 3- and even 4-syllable words, whilst still sticking to the iambic rhythm.

If you are still unclear about all this, you could do a lot worse than have a look at some of the really early tasks from last year (e.g. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 17). Also, I have been browsing through a fantastic little book this weekend all about poetic rhythm and meter. It's called 'The Ode Less Travelled', and it is written, in a completely accessible and light-hearted style, by the comedian Stephen Fry. You might want to mention it, in passing, to your parents each morning and see if they get the hint and buy it for you. :)

Now, your task for this week comes in two parts, both of which will require you to write in iambic PENTAMETER. This might sound like a complicated word, but actually, just like a PENTAGON is a shape with 5 sides, so a pentameter is a line with 5 feet. And, this week, you do NOT have to rhyme!

Part One

First of all, I just want you to write some iambic pentameters for me. 20 lines, in fact.

They do NOT need to rhyme.

They do NOT need to have anything in common with each other.

They do NOT need to be profound or complicated.

Just write about the first things that come into your mind - just make sure you do so in 5 iambic feet.

I don't mind if you write 20 single (and unrelated) lines, or if some of them are pairs of lines. Just let it flow, and don't try to THINK about it too much.

Here is my attempt, just to give you an idea of what I mean:

My bed is far too warm to leave behind.

A little child is lost within the man

I really should not eat so much ice cream,
But Ben and Jerry call me from the tub.

A poor resigned facsimile of joy

If chocolate cake were healthy I'd be fine.
I reckon I could manage five-a-day

The tin you want is always at the back

My life without an iphone is bereft

If only I could tell her how I felt

It comes in waves and takes me by surprise

There's nothing you can do to ease my pain

When I was six I lost the right to smile
You'd think by thirty four I'd have it back

It's finished: don't return it to the fridge

Five thirty isn't morning, it is night.
So please go back to bed and let me sleep.

The sky is crying - I know how it feels

A loyal friend loves ugliness as well

You have to start to THINK iambically

Your moderators will look closely at each one and help you work out how closely you have adhered to iambic pentameters throughout. They will also comment on any particular original ideas, words or phrases, and they will help you explore ways to make some of your lines even more effective.

--------------

What we have worked on so far is individual lines of iambic pentameter - and, even where we have produced pairs of lines, there is still a very obvious break at the end of each one.

The term for this type of line is END-STOPPED. Lots of poetry is written in this way, leaving each separate line kind of self-sufficient, even if it relates in some ways to those before and after it.

END-STOPPED poetry is fine. Honestly. It does the job, and, often, it can be extremely powerful. In fact, some of the best lines of poetry ever written have been end-stopped.

But it can also be a little tedious, a touch restrictive and, sometimes, rather dry. So, with the second part of your task this week, you are going to learn and practise two techniques to free up your iambic verse: CAESURA and ENJAMBEMENT.

A caesura is a strong, deliberate break or pause WITHIN a line of poetry. Sometimes it might be marked only with a comma, but often it will be shown by a semi-colon, a colon or even a full stop. However it is written in, it consists of exactly the same sort of pause we are used to hearing at the END of a line, but right in the middle of a line instead.

Here are some examples:

• I love to go to school; it is my home.
• I seem to have upset you. I will go.
• Some people tell the truth, whilst others lie.

Enjambement is when the entire meaning of a line of poetry runs on to the next, often without even any punctuation whatsoever. The word comes from the French, enjamber (meaning to stride). When enjambement is used, the line makes no sense whatsoever without the line that follows it.

Here is an example:

I cry. I shake. You take me underneath
Your wing. Newborn, I wrap myself within
The warmth of everything you are, my friend.

See how each line is completely dependent on the one before and/or after it.
Notice also how I have still stuck to the rhythm and structure of the iambic pentameter throughout.

And look how, in using enjambement, it becomes even easier to incorporate caesuras too.

Part Two

The second part of your task requires you to write a series of couplets (paired lines), each in iambic pentameter, and each making maximum use of caesura and enjambement.

The themes for this task I have borrowed from Stephen Fry's book, because I love the variety and accessiblity of them and I hope you will too. So I would like you to write 5 couplets, one under each of the following titles/headings:

1. Outside the window
2. What I'd like to eat
3. A recent dream
4. Annoying tasks overdue
5. My body

Your moderators will look here very closely not only at your use of iambic pentameter, but also at your mastery of caesura and emjambement. In addition, they will also, hopefully, be able to identify any particularly original phrases and profound ideas within what you have written. So, if you find that the rules I have set become easy, why not set yourself the additional challenge of sneaking in some stylish metaphors or similes, some alliteration or even some rhyme.

As always, here is my attempt:

1. Outside the window
The willow weeps. Its sombre branches hang
Like mourners at a funeral. I cry.

2. What I'd like to eat
No crunchies in Australia. Instead
They have the Violet Crumble: it's divine.

3. A recent dream
I swear I was awake. The terror gripped
Me hard with all the certitude of truth.

4. Annoying tasks overdue
The bookshelf bursts its banks; it inundates
Each table, worktop, chair with homeless tomes.

5. My body
My tonsils are defunct. A moonscape scarred
By childhood craters of disease, they suck!

Good luck! I recognise this is a pretty meaty task, and each part carries many challenges. But I thought it would be a great opportunity for you all to kickstart the new year with a bang. :)

All submissions MUST be posted by MIDNIGHT on Saturday 11th October. To miss your FIRST deadline would be VERY serious indeed.

I have asked your moderators to log on any time during the subsequent week to post their comments.

If any of you get stuck, you are welcome to email me during the week. In addition, I will make myself available Monday and Tuesday lunchtimes for anyone who wants some one-to-one support. :)