William FitzGerald Fall 2006
English 220 - Introduction to Literary Study


Homework for Wednesday, September13:


To read:

The class readings for today focus on reading poems in terms of their line, rhythm and meter. (Please review the essay on versification in Norton Anthology of Poetry (NAP), p.1251-1263, especially the material on metric feet, e.g, iamb, dactyl.

Emphasis on line:
Donne, "Song (Go and Catch a falling star)", p. 192
Frost, "After Apple-Picking", p. 799
Moore, "Fish", p.855
Brooks, "We Real Cool", p. 999

Emphasis on rhythm and meter:
Bradstreet, "The Author to her Book", p. 285
Yeats, "Easter 1916", p. 772
Blake, "The Tiger", p.446
Poe, "The Raven", p. 615 (just read the first two verses)


To write:

1. In this first assigned exercise in scansion, take one of the poems (or at least ten lines or it) in the first group and two of the poems) in the second group above and mark each poetic line with its stressed and unstressed syllables. You may need to read over and aloud several times to convince yourself of a particular pattern. You may even decide that there are multiple ways to read a given line. After you have "scanned" the poem, identify the prevalent rhythm and meter. (to be handed in)