lish1936 wrote:Jan wrote:
I may have missed this in reading through the comments, but does that mean both "patterns" must match up as one in the same?
I'm not sure that I understand that question.
Meter has two components: syllable count and the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
1. The syllable count should have a consistent pattern. In the example you've provided, this stanza is (7, 6, 6, 4, 4, 4). This is an unusual syllable count, but you could maintain that consistently in every stanza, making this a quirky and unique poem. Most poems that are rhymed and metered have a more regular syllable count. If you go back to the original lesson and click the link for "Megan's Hands," you'll see a poem I wrote with an unusual meter: (8, 7, 10, 8, 7, 10). It's not a typical pattern--but it's the same in every stanza.
2. The stressed/unstressed bit is what seems to be giving the most trouble. I really don't want to go into the names for the different patterns of stressed/unstressed, but I'll give you some examples:
unstressed - stressed: like the name Annette, pronounced a--NET
stressed - unstressed: like the name Robert, pronounced ROB--ert
unstressed - unstressed - stressed: like the name Marianne, pronounced mar-i-ANN
stressed - unstressed - unstressed: like the name Jericho, pronounced JER--i--ko
There are many other patterns, but these are the most common.
Here's your stanza, with the stressed syllables as I hear them:
al THOUGH i'm ARMED for CON quest
no MAT ter WHAT i WIELD
a GAINST its RAYS the SUN
shoots THROUGH my SHIELDS
of HAT for SHADE
and LEM on ADE
It seems to me that this stanza is very close to having a meter that works. It's very consistently made up of sets of unstressed/stressed syllables. A few tweaks of the 3rd and 4th line might give you something like this:
Although I'm armed for conquest (7)
No matter what I wield (6)
Against its rays, the sunshine (7)
Shoots through my futile shields (6)
Of hat for shade (4)
And lemonade (4)
If you don't care for "futile," any other 2-syllable word with the accent on the first syllable would do.
Please let me know if I haven't understood your question, and I'll give it another shot.