Systems of scansion
Encyclopedia
A system of scansion is a way to mark the metrical
patterns of a line of poetry
. In classical poetry, these patterns are based on the different lengths of each syllable
, and in English poetry, they are based on the different levels of stress placed on each syllable. In both cases, the meter often has a regular foot
. Over the years, many different systems have been established to mark the scansion of a poem.
( ¯), and short syllables were marked with a breve
( ˘). A system for describing conventional rhythms by dividing lines into feet indicating the locations of accents and counting the syllables (marking the rhythm of the poem)
( ˘).
Corn goes on to state that the most common approach adopted for marking fine gradations of stress has been to add the symbol \ for 'intermediate stress'.
Turco's version of this is to use a dot (·) to indicate the middle syllable in a string of three unstressed syllables has been 'promoted' to a secondary or weaker stress.
classifies the following types of syllable:
asserts that "We should never use four degrees of speech stress for scanning." His objections include that any four-stress system abolishes the spondee
, and that the system from , for example, is "too much machinery ... to keep track of."
in his "Notes on Metre" was the first to use a four-stress system. He used the numbers 1 to 4, to indicate varying degrees of stress: strong, half-strong, half-weak, and weak. Steele (1999) and McAuley (1966) both use this as a secondary style of notation. Chomsky and Halle (1968) (in a linguistic, not specifically metrical context) use a similar notation, but in reverse: "1" signifying primary stress, "2" signifying secondary, etc.; some linguistically oriented descriptions of meter published thereafter used this notation, with "1" being the strongest stress.
published The Science of English Verse, in which he developed a novel theory exploring the connections between musical notation and meter in poetry.
This has not always been viewed kindly. For example Vladimir Nabokov
in his Notes on Prosody says: "In my casual perusals, I have of course slammed shut without further ado any such works on English prosody in which I glimpsed a crop of musical notes." (pages 3–4)
Meter (poetry)
In poetry, metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set of metres alternating in a particular order. The study of metres and forms of versification is known as prosody...
patterns of a line of poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. In classical poetry, these patterns are based on the different lengths of each syllable
Syllable
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
, and in English poetry, they are based on the different levels of stress placed on each syllable. In both cases, the meter often has a regular foot
Foot (prosody)
The foot is the basic metrical unit that generates a line of verse in most Western traditions of poetry, including English accentual-syllabic verse and the quantitative meter of classical ancient Greek and Latin poetry. The unit is composed of syllables, the number of which is limited, with a few...
. Over the years, many different systems have been established to mark the scansion of a poem.
Classical scansion — macron and breve
The classical marks for scansion came from the quantitative meter of classical prosody where long syllables were marked with a macronMacron
A macron, from the Greek , meaning "long", is a diacritic placed above a vowel . It was originally used to mark a long or heavy syllable in Greco-Roman metrics, but now marks a long vowel...
( ¯), and short syllables were marked with a breve
Breve
A breve is a diacritical mark ˘, shaped like the bottom half of a circle. It resembles the caron , but is rounded, while the caron has a sharp tip...
( ˘). A system for describing conventional rhythms by dividing lines into feet indicating the locations of accents and counting the syllables (marking the rhythm of the poem)
| Symbol | Syllable Type | Description |
| ¯ | Long | Syllable has a long duration |
| ˘ | Short | Syllable has a short duration |
Classical system adopted to English — macron and breve
In the accentual prosody of English verse, these marks are still sometimes used to represent stressed and unstressed syllables. However, this robs them of their still potentially useful role in marking quantity (that is, the duration of syllables). criticize this form of notation as inappropriate notation that is often used to phrase poetry rather than scan it.( ˘).
| ˘ ¯ ˘ ¯ ˘ ¯ ˘ ¯ ˘ ¯ |
| But SOFT! What LIGHT through YONder WINdow BREAKS? |
| Symbol | Syllable Type | Description |
| – | Stressed | Syllable carries the stress |
| ˘ | Unstressed | Syllable is not stressed |
Ictus and breve
, , and all use the ictus for stressed syllables, and the classical breve for unstressed syllables. describes this as a notation which evolved from the classical notation.| ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / |
| But SOFT! What LIGHT through YONder WINdow BREAKS? |
| Symbol | Syllable Type | Description |
| / | Stressed | Syllable carries the stress |
| ˘ | Unstressed | Syllable is not stressed |
Corn goes on to state that the most common approach adopted for marking fine gradations of stress has been to add the symbol \ for 'intermediate stress'.
| Symbol | Syllable Type | Description |
| / | Stressed | Syllable carries strong stress |
| \ | Intermediate stress | Stress on syllable is between strong and weak |
| ˘ | Unstressed | Syllable is not stressed; that is, weak. |
Turco's version of this is to use a dot (·) to indicate the middle syllable in a string of three unstressed syllables has been 'promoted' to a secondary or weaker stress.
| Symbol | Syllable Type | Description |
| / | Stressed | Syllable carries strong stress |
| · | Secondary stress | A weak syllable 'promoted' to secondary stress. |
| ˘ | Unstressed | Syllable is not stressed; that is, weak. |
Ictus and x
regards the use of the ictus (or slash) and x notation as "normal," and argues for its benefits. By avoiding the macron and breve traditionally associated with the quantity (length) of syllables, ictus and x notation avoids possible confusions; it also has the advantage of being easily typed. This notation is used by, for example, , and some less specialist books. This is the notation used in the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. This is the notation preferred by the Poetry WikiProject for Wikipedia articles displaying scansion.| x / x / x / x / x / |
| But SOFT! What LIGHT through YONder WINdow BREAKS? |
| Symbol | Syllable Type | Description |
| / | Stressed | Syllable carries the stress |
| x | Unstressed | Syllable is not stressed |
Robert Bridges' accentual prosody
In developing a prosody for accentual verse, Robert BridgesRobert Bridges
Robert Seymour Bridges, OM, was a British poet, and poet laureate from 1913 to 1930.-Personal and professional life:...
classifies the following types of syllable:
| Symbol | Syllable Type | Description |
| Stressed | Syllable carries the stress | |
| – | Heavy | Is genuinely long, slows down the reading. For example: broad, bright, down. |
| Light | All syllables with short vowels, even those that would be long 'by position' in Classical terms. That is, if the consonants around a short vowel do not genuinely retard the syllable then it will be counted 'light'. Light also includes all classically short syllables. For example the second syllables of 'brighter' and 'brightest' are both light, despite the consonants in the latter. | |
| Very Short | Very short syllables, such as a syllable containing a short 'i'. Bridges' symbol is actually a shorter version of . |
| ˘ ⋀ ˘ ⋀ – ⋀ ˘ ⋀ ˘ ⋀ |
| But SOFT! What LIGHT through YONder WINdow BREAKS? |
Trager-Smith notation
The linguists George Trager and Henry Lee Smith described a four-stress system in their An Outline of English Structure, (1951). describes and uses the system. Corn describes this system as "a little confusing to the eye" and prefers to use a numerical system such as Jespersen's original four-stress system.asserts that "We should never use four degrees of speech stress for scanning." His objections include that any four-stress system abolishes the spondee
Spondee
In poetry, a spondee is a metrical foot consisting of two long syllables, as determined by syllable weight in classical meters, or two stressed syllables, as determined by stress in modern meters...
, and that the system from , for example, is "too much machinery ... to keep track of."
| Symbol | Syllable Type | Description |
| / | Primary Stress | Heavy stress |
| ⋀ | Secondary Stress | Medium Stress |
| \ | Tertiary Stress | Medium-Light |
| ⌣ | Weak | Light syllable |
Jespersen's system
In 1900, Otto JespersenOtto Jespersen
Jens Otto Harry Jespersen or Otto Jespersen was a Danish linguist who specialized in the grammar of the English language.He was born in Randers in northern Jutland and attended Copenhagen University, earning degrees in English, French, and Latin...
in his "Notes on Metre" was the first to use a four-stress system. He used the numbers 1 to 4, to indicate varying degrees of stress: strong, half-strong, half-weak, and weak. Steele (1999) and McAuley (1966) both use this as a secondary style of notation. Chomsky and Halle (1968) (in a linguistic, not specifically metrical context) use a similar notation, but in reverse: "1" signifying primary stress, "2" signifying secondary, etc.; some linguistically oriented descriptions of meter published thereafter used this notation, with "1" being the strongest stress.
| Symbol | Syllable Type | Description |
| 4 | Strong | Heavy stress |
| 3 | Half-Strong | Medium Stress |
| 2 | Half-Weak | Medium-Light Syllable |
| 1 | Weak | Light syllable |
Corn's three-stress numerical system
uses a simple numerical notation, much like Jespersen, with 1 representing the weakest syllable, and 3 indicating the heaviest stress. He argues that in Jespersen's system the half-strong and the half-weak are the hardest to distinguish, and should be merged.| Symbol | Syllable Type | Description |
| 3 | Strong | Strong Stress |
| 2 | Medium | Either half-strong or half-weak |
| 1 | Weak | Light syllable; unstressed. |
Attridge's single-line scansion
defines a fairly complicated and descriptive notation:| Symbol | Syllable type | Description |
| / | Stressed syllable | In metrical verse this is used for a stressed syllable not functioning as a beat (i.e. 'demoted') |
| \ | Syllable with secondary stress | Secondary or subordinate stress. In metrical verse this is used for such a syllable that is not functioning as a beat (i.e. 'demoted') |
| / | Stressed beat | Stressed syllable functioning as a Beat |
| \ | Secondary stress beat | Syllable with secondary or subordinate stress which is functioning as a beat |
| x | Unstressed syllable | An unstressed syllable. In metrical verse this is used for such a syllable that is functioning as an offbeat or as part of an offbeat |
| x | Unstressed beat | An unstressed Syllable functioning as a Beat (i.e. promoted) |
| - | Elided syllable | |
| [/] | Virtual beat | |
| [x] | Virtual offbeat | |
| /̳ | Primary beat in quadruple verse | The symbol is a slash with double underlining. |
| a/ | Stress with alliteration | Used in Alliterative verse Alliterative verse In prosody, alliterative verse is a form of verse that uses alliteration as the principal structuring device to unify lines of poetry, as opposed to other devices such as rhyme. The most commonly studied traditions of alliterative verse are those found in the oldest literature of many Germanic... |
| | | Division | Division between phrases or stress groups |
| R | Rising stress group | |
| F | Falling stress group | |
| M | Mixed or monosyllabic stress group | |
| ANT | Anticipation | Phrase of anticipation |
| ARR | Arrival | Phrase of arrival |
| STA | Statement | Phrase of statement |
| EXT | Extension | Phrase of extension |
| > | Continuation | Continuation of phrase over line juncture |
Lanier's musical notation
In 1880, Sidney LanierSidney Lanier
Sidney Lanier was an American musician and poet.-Biography:Sidney Lanier was born February 3, 1842, in Macon, Georgia, to parents Robert Sampson Lanier and Mary Jane Anderson; he was mostly of English ancestry. His distant French Huguenot ancestors immigrated to England in the 16th century...
published The Science of English Verse, in which he developed a novel theory exploring the connections between musical notation and meter in poetry.
This has not always been viewed kindly. For example Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
in his Notes on Prosody says: "In my casual perusals, I have of course slammed shut without further ado any such works on English prosody in which I glimpsed a crop of musical notes." (pages 3–4)
Further reading
- Edward Bysshe, Rules for Making English Verse
- Bastiaan Adriaan Pieter van Dam, Chapters on English Printing, Prosody, and Pronunciation
- Alan Holder, Rethinking Meter
- Tom Hood, A Practical Guide to English Versification
- George SaintsburyGeorge SaintsburyGeorge Edward Bateman Saintsbury , was an English writer, literary historian, scholar and critic.-Biography:...
, Manual of English Prosody